20  Patrick Hallmark
	Position: Assistant Coach At Rice: seventh season

Former Rice baseball letterman Patrick Hallmark (Brown College) is already in his seventh year of coaching at his alma mater.

Hallmark is a hitting coach, but he also trains the catchers and works on the defensive skills and positioning of the outfielders. He coaches at third base on game days and serves the program under head coach Wayne Graham in a variety of roles, including the recent addition of recruiting to his growing list of responsibilities. He shares the recruiting duties with pitching coach Mike Taylor.

By carrying out coach Graham's directives, Hallmark helped the Owls rank among the Conference USA leaders in hits, doubles and runs scored in 2011. Last season Rice outscored its opponents by more than 100 total runs and averaged a steady 5.9 runs per game. With 104 doubles Hallmark's hitters showed they could hit for extra bases, but the players also had the skill from his daily training to lead the league in sacrifices and disciplined-enough to rank among the NCAA national leaders with 305 walks in 63 games.

Offense is only part of the story. On defense, Hallmark's outfielders are well-coached, consistently put in the right spot, and reach a defensive-potential they might never even knew they had. Last season Rice outfielders threw-out an eye-opening 14 opposing runners who were attempting to reach an extra base.

A former catcher for coach Graham, Hallmark started 56 games in 1995 to help lead Rice to its first 40-win season in 11 years. In that second-to-last season of the Southwest Conference, he batted .354 against the league with a .430 slugging percentage, 57 runs, and 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts.

Hallmark was selected by Kansas City in the 18th round of the 1995 major league draft and played professionally for nine seasons. He reached the AAA level in the Royals' organization. Hallmark was part of three consecutive championship teams in the minor leagues from 1997-99.

Playing primarily as a catcher and outfielder, Hallmark hit over .300 three times and stole 30-plus bases five times in his pro playing career. He twice stole more than 40 bases (2000 and 2002) and was selected to play in two minor league all-star games.

Hallmark continued to pursue his Rice degree in the off-seasons and earned it in human performance in 2002. He played his final pro season in 2003 and began his coaching career. He worked one season at nearby St. Thomas High School before returning home to Rice.

A Houston native, Hallmark was a two-time all-district honoree in baseball in 1991 and 1992 at Westbury High School. He went on to earn all-conference honors at Alvin Community College in 1993 and 1994. He was named to the all-Southwest Conference team in 1995.

Hallmark is married to the former Jada Sanders of Kingwood, a 2001 Rice graduate (Sid Richardson) and four-year letterwinner and record holder for the Owls' swim team. Jada began serving as a volunteer coach for the swim team in the fall of 2006 and was promoted to assistant coach in 2007. Both Hallmarks coached their respective Rice teams to C-USA Championships in the spring of 2011.

The couple have three children, Christian (6), Tanner (4) and Grayson, born in March of 2009.

Brown College