Legendary Iowa high school baseball coach set to retire

Heelan’s Andy Osborne stepping down at conclusion of 2025 season

SBLive

Whenever the Iowa high school baseball season ends for Sioux City Bishop Heelan High School, it will also end for legendary head coach Andy Osborne.

The Crusaders advanced in the Class 3A postseason with a 14-1 victory over Greene County on Friday. They now take on Glenwood in Sioux City from Lewis and Clark Park on Monday in the second round of substate action.

Heelan is the top seed in its substate and would need to win two more games to reach the state tournament, which is set for Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City this year.

Last year, Osborne reached 500 career victories as a head coach, adding to that number this season with a 27-10 record. He has led the Crusaders since 2008, reaching the state tournament seven times, winning at least 23 games each of the past nine seasons other than the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign when they went 13-4.

Osborne is the longest-tenured baseball coach in school history. 

Good morning, Crusaders, As the Bishop Heelan High School baseball team prepares for a postseason run beginning July...

Posted by Bishop Heelan Catholic High School on Friday, July 11, 2025

2014 Heelan graduate Tyler Cropley called Osborne not just a great baseball coach “but a mentor, a role model and a steady presence in my life during some of the most important years of my growth.”

“He taught me how ot play the game the right way,” Cropley said. “With heart, discipline and respect but more importantly, he taught me how to carry those same values off the field.”

Andy Foster, co-athletic director at the school, said Osborn “has been the heart of our baseball program.”

“His commitment to our school, our student-athletes and our mission has been extraordinary,” Foster said. “He’s left a legacy that will endure for generations.”

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