Larry B. Watkins Sr., ‘74, a longtime staple and fixture in the Alabama State University Athletics Department and on the campus of Alabama State University, is in his 15th year as a Special Assistant in the Alabama State University Athletics Department.
In his role, Watkins oversees ASU’s Athletic Facilities and Gameday Operations while serving as an instructor in the university’s Physical Education Department.
Alabama State University baseball cannot be discussed without bringing up the name, career, and achievements of Larry Watkins, who spent more than five decades as a player, assistant coach, or head coach of the Hornets baseball program.
Watkins spent 30 seasons as the third head baseball coach in Alabama State history, compiling 513 victories and leading the Hornets to 11 postseason appearances. He remains the program’s all-time leader in coaching victories and ranks among the winningest coaches in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) history.
A two-time SWAC East Division Coach of the Year and the 1991 SWAC Coach of the Year, Watkins pointed to the 1992 and 2002 seasons among the most memorable of his coaching career. The 1992 Hornets posted a 30-win season, while the 2002 squad led the nation with 164 stolen bases. That season, Bartowski Cowan led the nation individually with 54 stolen bases in 58 attempts.
After graduating from graduate school in 1975, Watkins was hired as the Assistant Baseball Coach under Herbert Wheeler, his former head coach, and he succeeded his mentor as the head baseball coach at Alabama State University in 1982.
Watkins began his journey with Alabama State as a student-athlete under Wheeler. The Thomasville, Ala., native, better known as “Toy Cannon” during his playing days, manned center field for the Hornets. In 1974, Watkins was a member of the first Hornet baseball team to advance to the NCAA playoffs.
His legacy at Alabama State was further cemented in 2012, when the university opened and dedicated the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex, jointly named in honor of Watkins and Wheeler.
In recognition of his accomplishments and devotion to the Hornets baseball program and the Alabama State Athletics Department, Watkins was inducted into the Alabama State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021, alongside the 1991 SWAC Football Championship Team, as well as into the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Thomasville. In 2018, the SWAC welcomed Watkins to its Hall of Fame, while he was individually inducted into the Alabama State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
He was recognized with the SWAC’s Charles “Chuck” Prophet Memorial Award, presented to an employee of a SWAC member institution who exemplifies spirit, dedication and loyalty to his school and the conference.
A devoutly religious man, Watkins, out of all his accomplishments, always puts God first in his life, his family, and Old Mother Dear. He is married to Louvenia Watkins and has three children – Kamela, Christopher, and Larry Jr.
