Cougar Chris Almendarez Named President of Round Rock Express
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ROUND ROCK, Texas â€" Former Houston Baseball letterman Chris Almendarez has been promoted from General Manager to President of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, announced on Thursday.
The former Houston student-athlete played for the Cougars during the 1995 season with current Houston head coach Todd Whitting. He appeared in 22 games - holding a .278 average with five runs scored.
"I am extremely excited and proud of Chris and his family for this well deserved promotion," Whitting said. "It is no surprise that he is a rising star in professional baseball due to his work ethic and passion for the game. He was a great teammate at Houston and continues to be a tremendous ambassador for UH and Cougar Baseball."
As mentioned on RoundRockExpress.com, Almendarez joined the Round Rock Express as a senior account executive in October 2009 following a successful career in the medical sales field. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager/Senior Vice president following the 2012 season. He held that position for one year before being promoted to general manager in 2013.
In his new position, Almendarez will continue to oversee all business-related aspects of the club while serving as the team's liaison for Pacific Coast League matters. He will also work closely with ownership to expand the Express' footprint in the Central Texas community and maintain the club's highly respected standing in the baseball industry. Almendarez holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Houston where he played baseball.
Almendarez is one of many Cougars currently working in professional baseball in either a front office role or on a coaching staff. Joining Almendarez is Jeff Banister, the Manager of the Texas Rangers, Chris Tremie, Manager of the Columbus Clippers, Rocket Wheeler, Manager of the Danville Braves and Doug Drabek, the pitching coach for the Hillsboro Hops to name a few.
Also, currently serving as MLB scouts are Mike Basso and Greg Runser.
2016 SCHEDULE QUICK HITS
Highlighted by 32 home games, 38 in the city of Houston, a neutral site matchup against the University of Texas, home contests against Texas A&M and Baylor and three first-time opponents, Houston Baseball and head coach Todd Whitting have unveiled an exciting 2016 schedule.
For the 10th consecutive season, Houston will open its slate at Cougar Field. In the five seasons under Whitting, Houston has accumulated a winning record of 14-1 in those season-opening series, which includes four weekend sweeps.
"We are excited about the challenges that are ahead during the 2016 season. Not only will we compete in the American Athletic Conference, which is one of the toughest leagues in the nation (#3 RPI in 2015), but we will once again play an aggressive schedule against non-conference opponents," Whitting, who will begin his sixth season at the helm said. "With 20 games against 2015 NCAA Regional teams, we must diligently prepare for success during this offseason. We are excited to build off back-to-back 40+ win seasons against some of the best competition in the country."
Houston will open the season hosting the Big East's Villanova Feb. 19-21. The Cougars and Wildcats will meet for the first time in the program's history.
OUR CITY
• 32 home games; 38 in the city of Houston
• First 12 games of the season will be played in the city of Houston
• 21 of the first 25 games will be played in the city of Houston
• 18 of the first 25 games will be played at Cougar Field
OPENING WEEKEND
• Houston will host Opening Weekend for the 10th consecutive season
• Cougars are 14-1 all-time during Opening Weekend under Todd Whitting
• Cougars have swept four of the five Opening Weekend series under Whitting
COLLEGE CLASSIC
• Houston to make 16th straight appearance in Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park
• Cougars to face Texas Tech, Arkansas and TCU
• Cougars own a 20-25 all-time record in tournament; has earned seven wins over Top 30 teams
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS
• Houston has three first-time opponents on the schedule: Villanova, Grand Canyon, George Washington
RICE & TEXAS IN SUGAR LAND, TEXAS AT CONSTELLATION FIELD
• Houston will meet both Texas (April 12) and Rice (May 17) for non-conference, midweek games at Sugar Land's Constellation Field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT COMPETITION
• 20 games this season will be played against an NCAA-tournament team from 2015
• Arkansas, TCU, Texas Southern, Rice, Texas A&M, East Carolina, Texas, USF, Tulane
A LOOK AT 2015
Houston is coming off its second straight 40-win season in 2015 as it captured its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title, first league title since 2002 and eighth in program history after recording a 16-8 mark among the toughest conference in the nation.
The Cougars, led by head coach Todd Whitting, who was named the ABCA South Central Regional Coach of the Year, notched its second straight 40-win season, finishing with a 43-20 record and ranked No. 18 in the nation.
With its impressive regular-season play, Houston was awarded an NCAA Regional hosting bid and the No. 1 seed at Cougar Field - the first time hosting since 2000 and just the third time ever in program history.
Houston finished the year with a 26-8 mark at home, tallying the most home wins ever, while earning five weekend sweeps and eight shutouts on the season - a number that ranks among the nation's Top 10. Houston went on to capture its second straight Silver Glove series - the first time since trophy was established in 1998.
Cougar Field saw a program-record 1,832 fans on average in 2015.
The Cougars were highlighted by sophomore Andrew Lantrip's Third Team All-America honor by Perfect Game and freshman Seth Romero, who led the league with a 1.94 ERA and was tabbed a Freshman All-American and the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
Three Cougars were named to the All-Region Team (Survance, Lantrip, Iriart) and seven Cougars earned All-Conference honors with Kyle Survance leading the way as a First Team selection.
Eight Cougars were selected in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Lemoine, Weigel, Survance, Iriart, Dowdy, Cobb, Fulmer, Rice) - the most since 11 in 2000.
Houston Baseball, once again, excelled in the classroom - posting a program-record 3.09 cumulative GPA and the fourth-highest spring GPA at 2.97 as 24 student-athletes posted a 3.0 GPA or better.
TICKETS
Houston Baseball season ticket renewals are available now by clicking the link located in the email you received from the Houston Athletics Ticket Office. 2016 deposits will be available at UHCougars.com. If you have any questions regarding tickets for the 2016 season, call (713) GO-COOGS.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
