Jonathan Estes was named head baseball coach at his alma mater for the 2009-2010 season. He begins his fourth season with the Freed-Hardeman baseball program after spending three seasons as the skipper at Harris-Stowe State University (Mo.). Estes was named Transouth Coach of the Year after leading the Lions to an appearance at the NAIA National Tournament and Transouth Conference Regular Season Championship.
Estes has a Freed-Hardeman record of 96-75 (.561) and an overall record of 160-156 at the collegiate level. Estes tallied his 100th career win on February 14, 2011 in a 9-2 win over his former team, Harris-Stowe.
The 2012 Transouth Conference Championship was the first for the Lions since the 1997 squad that won a school record 44 games. The Lions cracked the Top 25 in the first regular season poll and were ranked in all six regular season rankings. The Lions highest ranking came on April 3 after taking two of three games from #18 Bethel. The series win propelled the Lions into first place in the conference and #18 nationally.
At Harris-Stowe, Estes helped rebuild a team that had been to post-season just twice in the previous 12 years. In his first two years at the helm, Estes led the Hornets to consecutive conference tournaments including a second place finish in 2007, their highest since 1994. That 2007 squad swept conference doubleheaders from four of five teams helping Estes earn American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year. In 2008, the Hornets rallied to win seven of their final eight games to earn a return trip to postseason play.
Estes’ first six recruiting classes have yielded 25 All-Conference Selections, seven Gold Glove winners, four conference Freshmen of the Year, one conference Player of the Year, a national Player of the Week and a national Pitcher of the Week. This year’s class includes eight freshmen and nine transfers that figure to make immediate impacts for the Lions.
Estes’ teams have also excelled in the classroom. His programs have produced 13 All-American Scholar Athletes and earned NAIA Scholar Team Awards in 2008 and 2009. A total of 80 players have been named to Conference academic teams.
Estes spent two seasons in the high school ranks as an assistant baseball coach at Ritenour High School in metropolitan St. Louis. The Huskies reached the district championship game both years. Estes also served as an assistant basketball coach for five seasons.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Estes spent parts of three seasons in professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. The Cardinals drafted Estes after his senior season at FHU in the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Estes went 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA covering 52 appearances in his professional career working as both a starter and a reliever.
Estes spent three years at FHU as a pitcher from 2000-2002 after transferring from NCAA Division 1 St. Louis University. Estes earned All-Conference honors each season with the Lions and NAIA Scholar Athlete after his junior and senior seasons. Upon graduation, Estes ranked in the top five in 16 of the 18 career and single season pitching records at FHU, holding nine. Estes still holds records for single season innings pitched, single season and career complete games, career batting average against and career ERA.
Estes holds a degree in Marketing from FHU graduating Magna Cum Laude and a Masters in Teaching degree from Lindenwood University. Estes is married to the former Ashley Bennett and they have two sons, Dean (6) and Lane (4).
J.D. Flowers is entering his fifth season as an assistant coach of the Lion baseball team after serving three years as the graduate assistant coach and playing for the Lions for four years.
Flowers duties consist of being the hitting coach, infield coach, and base-running coach. His off-the-field duties include being the groundskeeper for the baseball, softball, and soccer fields.
Under Flowers’ direction, the 2012 Lions offense had a historical year. The Lions broke team records for doubles (127) and at-bats (1799) in a single season. The 2012 Lions also rank second in runs (448), hits (567), and RBI (383) in a single season. For the season the Lions hit .315, slugged .464, had an on-base percentage of .414, while stealing 116 bases.
Flowers joined the coaching staff after playing for the Lions from 2002-2005. For his career he hit .365 with 44 doubles, 94 RBIs, 10 homeruns, and 59 stolen bases, while playing at six different positions. He ranks in the top 10 in 4 categories of career records including runs scored, doubles, triples, and games played. He also holds the single season record for at-bats (203) and is third on the all-time single season hits list (82). As a sophomore in 2003, Flowers earned team MVP honors while hitting .388, with 10 doubles, three homeruns, a slugging percentage of .592, and a .471 on-base percentage. During his senior season in 2005, he earned 2nd team All-TranSouth honors when he hit .404 with 18 doubles, three homeruns, 44 RBI, 27 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .483.
Flowers earned his degree in Physical Education as well as an add-on endorsement in Special Education from FHU in 2005. He earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from FHU in 2008.
In 2009, Flowers helped the Lions defense post a .954 fielding percentage, the highest since 2003. Along with his varsity duties, he also took over as the first head coach of the junior varsity program.
In 2010, Flowers saw his responsibilities step up tremendously. Along with coaching the infield, he also took over as the hitting and base-running coach. Under Flowers' direction, the Lions hit .318 as a team, with a .480 slugging percentage, .405 on-base percentage, .885 OPS, while stealing 74 bases. Along with his on-field duties, he also took over as the head groundskeeper for the baseball, soccer, and softball fields at FHU.
Flowers joined the coaching staff after playing for the Lions from 2002-2005. For his career he hit .365 with 44 doubles, 94 RBIs, 10 homeruns, and 59 stolen bases while playing at six different positions. He ranks in the top 10 in 6 categories of career records including batting average, runs scored, doubles, triples, stolen bases, and games played. He also holds the single season record for at-bats (203) and is second on the all-time single season hits list (82). As a sophomore in 2003, Flowers earned team MVP honors while hitting .388, with 10 doubles, three homeruns, a slugging percentage of .592, and a .471 on-base percentage. During his senior season in 2005, he earned 2nd team All-TranSouth honors when he hit .404 with 18 doubles, three homeruns, 44 RBI, 27 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .483.
While playing for the Lions, Flowers helped a team climb to a fourth place finish in the TranSouth Conference his senior year after years of struggling. Along with that fourth place finish in 2005, the Lions finished above .500 (8-7) in the conference for the first time since 1999, and earned its first postseason win since the same year.
Flowers earned his degree in Physical Education as well as an add-on endorsement in Special Education from FHU in 2005. He earned a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from FHU in 2008.
Carlisle enters her second season as student assistant for the Lions. Carlisle’s main responsibilities are coordinator of the Diamond Dolls as well as game day operations manager. Carlisle is a sophomore from Pacific, MO and is majoring in Early Childhood Education.
Ihde enters his first season as graduate assistant coach after playing his senior season for the Lions. His primary responsibilities include working with catchers, 1st base coach, and assistant hitting coach.
Ihde hit .352 for the Lions with three home runs and 29 RBIs while helping them to the National Tournament. Ihde played at Lambuth University in 2011 where he was the everyday starter at third base. He spent his first two seasons at Wabash Valley College where he helped them to a 74-34 record over his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a freshman, Ihde hit .344 with 10 doubles and three home runs. During his sophomore campaign, he hit .318 with six home runs and 46 RBIs. The Cincinnati Reds took Ihde in the 34th round of the 2006 Major League Draft at the conclusion of his high school career.
Ihde graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from FHU in 2012. He is currently working on his Masters in Business Administration with a concentration on Leadership.
Overturf joins the coaching staff after a three-year pitching career for the Lions. His primary responsibilities include academic coordinator, bullpen coach and strength/conditioning coordinator.
Overturf appeared in 41 games making 23 starts and registering a 13-7 record. His 138 career innings ranks 14th in school history. Before coming to FHU, Overturf spent one season at Daytona State College where he pitched in 17 games.
Overturf is the 2012 Transouth Conference winner of the Dr. Leroy Walker Award as well as a two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete. He graduated from FHU in 2012 with a degree in Biology and has been accepted to attend Medical School next fall.
