2026 NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced four honorees to be inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Three coaches and one contributor have been selected to join the 2026 class. Read below for more on Dusty Hart, Dr. James Paronto, Michael Martin, and Steve Murry.
Dusty Hart | Coach | Grayson College (TX) & Blinn College (TX)
Dusty Hart served as a head baseball coach at Grayson College for 17 years and assumed his current position as Head Coach at Blinn College ahead of the 2023 season. Overall, Hart has compiled a career record of 766–329. His teams have won two NJCAA Division I National Championships (2008, 2024) and made five NJCAA World Series appearances (2008, 2011, 2023, 2024, 2025).
Hart earned ABCA/ATEC NJCAA Division I National Coach of the Year honors twice (2008, 2024) and led his programs to multiple conference titles, including seven North Texas Region V championships and three NJCAA Region XIV championships. He also received several regional and conference Coach of the Year awards.
In addition to coaching, Hart has been involved in community service, working with special needs organizations and participating in events such as the San Jacinto College Special Needs Challenge and the JUCO World Series Challenger Game. Hart attended Grayson College and was a two-year starter at shortstop before moving on to the University of Texas-Pan American.
Dr. James Paronto | Contributor
Dr. James Paronto had a long career as a baseball umpire and administrator at the collegiate and national levels. He served as the JUCO World Series Coordinator of Baseball Officials from 2003 to 2021 and worked 15 JUCO World Series events as an umpire. Dr. Paronto also umpired five times at the Connie Mack World Series and served as a past president of the Colorado High School Baseball Umpires Association.
In addition to his on-field work, Paronto contributed to the development and oversight of the game through administrative roles, including serving as Secretary Editor of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee from 2003 to 2015. He was also a co-founder of both the Colorado Umpire Training Evaluation and Promotion (UTEP) program and the Colorado Collegiate Umpires Association.
Earlier in his career, Paronto received NAIA District Coach of the Year honors and was part of programs that finished as national runners-up in football at both the NAIA (1974) and NCAA Division II (1990) levels.
Michael Martin | Coach | Dallas College Eastfield (TX)
Michael Martin served as the head baseball coach at Dallas College Eastfield and previously coached at the University of Arkansas–Monticello. Over the course of his career, he compiled a record of 945–558–3, including 839–473–1 at the NJCAA level.
Martin led the Harvester Bees to two NJCAA national championships (2006, 2011) and three national runner-up finishes (2022, 2023, 2024). He was named NJCAA Coach of the Year twice (2006, 2011) and is a twelve-time Dallas Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Martin has coached 35 NJCAA All-America honorees and 129 All-Conference/All-Region players as well as helping hundreds of players continue playing at the four-year level.
In addition to coaching, Martin has been active in community service, participating in multiple outreach efforts each year, including supporting food pantries and working with local churches.
Steve Murry | Coach | Neosho County (KS)
Steve Murry has led the Neosho County Community College baseball program for over four decades, building one of the most consistent programs in NJCAA baseball. As just the second head coach in program history, Murry has recorded more than 1,200 career wins, placing him among the winningest coaches at the junior college level, while maintaining a near 100 percent graduation rate among his student athletes. Murry was an inaugural recipient of the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award in 2025, recognizing the winningest coaches in NJCAA history.
Under his leadership, Neosho won Region VI Championships in 2003, 2012, and 2013 and made multiple appearances at the NJCAA World Series. Murry has also contributed to the development of Hudson Field and has helped advance his players, with 59 going on to be drafted or signed to play professional baseball.
He is a multiple-time Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year and has received recognition both regionally and nationally, including Neosho Instructor of the Year and the NISOD Award of Excellence. Murry was presented the Homa Thomas Sportsmanship Award at the 2013 JUCO World Series. Murry graduated from Cloud County Community College in 1981.
