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Highland Park baseball coach Fred Oliver retires; Irving ISD names new athletic director

Highland Park baseball coach Fred Oliver has retired.

Oliver led Highland Park to the playoffs in all four seasons there. His 37-year career also included state tournament appearances with Lufkin (1992 and ’96) and Lubbock Monterrey (2005.)

“I was always able to pick where I wanted to be, and I was blessed to be in the right place at the right time,” said the 60-year-old Oliver, also a career world history teacher. “Older coaches always told me you’d know when it was time, and I feel that it is.”

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Highland Park overcame an injury-plagued 5-11 start to share the District 10-4A title with Forney this season before being ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Prosper.

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Highland Park was 101-43-2 under Oliver, who has nearly 700 career wins including stints at Plainview, Lufkin and Monterrey. In 2011, Oliver was named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Irving ISD picks AD: Dallas ISD assistant athletic director Clint Roddy was named Irving ISD's athletic director Monday night by the district's board of trustees. Roddy will replace Joe Barnett, who is retiring June 30 after a decade in that position at Irving ISD.

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Roddy will work on a part-time basis starting May 13, transitioning to a full-time role in early June.

He has been an assistant athletic director in DISD since 2007, moving into DISD’s athletic office when current athletic director Jeff Johnson was promoted. Since then, Roddy has overseen a variety of sports — baseball, football, golf and swimming this year — and served as the primary supervisor for District 11-4A. Prior to moving into administration, Roddy was the head coach and athletic coordinator at Seagoville for four years. He also worked at A. Maceo Smith as a teacher and coach.

Staff Writer Corbett Smith contributed to this report.