Bobby Sprowl Inducted Into Shelton State Athletics Hall of Fame

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Shelton State announced on Monday that the program will induct its long-time head baseball coach Bobby Sprowl into the program's athletics hall of fame on June 21. 

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Sprowl has spent 35 years with Shelton State's baseball program, achieving over 1,200 wins, which ranks him seventh among active NJCAA head coaches. He has sent more than 300 players to four-year colleges and 30 players to the Major League Draft, with three going on to play in the MLB.

Shelton State's head baseball coach has brought the team 18 Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) regular-season titles, eight ACCC Region XXII championships, eight South District Championships, and has led eight teams to the NJCAA World Series, with Sprowl leading the Bucs to the World Series for the last three seasons (2023, 2024, 2025) with this being the second time the Bucs have done this in his 35-years with the program with the last time being 2007, 2008, and 2009 which saw Sprowl lead the Bucs to four-straight 40 win seasons from 2006-2010 with the head coach leading the team to a program record 49 wins in 2008 when the Bucs finished as runner ups in the the NJCAA World Series.

Sprowl is a three-time Hall of Fame coach, with Shelton's head coach being inducted into his first Hall of Fame back in 2010, when Sprowl was inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame alongside his former co-worker Bobby Pierce, with the two coaches both working as assistants under former Alabama head coach Dr. Barry Shollenberger from 1990-1994.

His second Hall of Fame came in 2024 when Sprowl was inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame, with the ceremony taking place the night before the 2024 NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

Sprowl first took over for the program back in 1986-1989, where he led the team to a 138-45 record throughout his four seasons with the program before joining Dr. Shollenberger's staff at Alabama in 1990, where Sprowl became an assistant and pitching coach for his alma mater for the next five seasons before reuniting with the Bucs in 1995 where the coach has been ever since. In 1991, Sprowl helped lead the Tide to a 42-20 record. Alabama's relief pitcher, Ben Short, recorded a program record and the nation's best 14 saves on the season, a mark that stood until Carson Ozmer broke it this past season.  

Father Time has yet to catch up with the 69-year-old coach, who has led Shelton State to an impressive record over the last five seasons. During this period, Sprowl and the Bucs achieved 198 wins, averaging 39.6 victories per season. Throughout these seasons, Shelton State secured four ACCC Region XXII championships, four South District Championships, and made four appearances in the NJCAA World Series. In 2025, Sprowl guided the Bucs to a remarkable overall record of 48-14, marking 48 wins as the second most in the program’s history.

Sprowl was an impressive pitcher during his time with the Tide from 1976 to 1977. He earned recognition as a Second Team All-American and was named to the All-SEC team in 1977, thanks to his remarkable average of 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings, which led the NCAA. Sprowl had 118 strikeouts during the 1977 season, which still ranks second on Alabama's single-season strikeout list. Sprowl was drafted in the second round of the 1977 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox as the 39th overall pick. He went on to have a professional career that lasted eight years.

The 2025 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Martin Campus Atrium on Shelton State’s campus. Click here to purchase tickets for the ceremony. 

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