KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The search for a new head baseball coach at both Harlingen High and Harlingen South is over.
On Tuesday, the Harlingen CISD school board approved Juan Rangel as the new head coach for the Cardinals and Christopher Gracia was tabbed as the Hawks’ new skipper.
Rangel was previously on the coaching staff at San Benito and replaces Bryan Aughney, who left a few weeks ago after accepting the head baseball job at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. Prior to his stint at Harlingen, Aughney had been the skipper at the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.
The Cardinals went 9-5 in District 32-6A this past season and made the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. However, the team dropped three in a row to end the regular season and were swept out of the postseason by the Edinburg North Cougars in the bi-district round.
Meanwhile, Gracia was already on the baseball coaching staff at South and replaces longtime coach Tony Leal, who had been the Hawks’ skipper since 2005 and led the program to the UIL Class 5A state title game just two years later in 2007. Prior to South, Leal had coached at Los Fresnos (186-99) and La Feria (2000-03). In 12 years as a head coach, Leal has 304 career wins.
The Hawks were 6-8 in 32-6A play this season and missed out on the postseason as the league’s fifth-place team. However, they ended the 2017 campaign by winning their final four games against San Benito, Weslaco High, Weslaco East and Brownsville Rivera.