The Pioneer basketball team won its first NAIA District 8 championship in just its sixth year of competition thanks in large part to a group of athletes that make up a significant part of the Wayland Baptist Athletics Hall of Honor.  The latest of that group to join the Hall is Cecil Davis.  A native of Clovis, NM, Davis arrived in Plainview in 1950.  During his freshman season, he led the Pioneers to a 19-18 record and was the team’s leading scorer, averaging just over 15 points in 31 games.

Davis made such an impression with Pioneer Coach Harley Redin, he was named a team captain as a sophomore.  The team improved to 17-13 during that second year and Davis again made an important impact with his shooting skills.

The 1953-54 season, Davis’s third at Wayland and his second as team captain, was the breakout season for the Pioneers.  The team went 21-4 and won the District 8 championship and a berth in the NAIA tournament with an 84-74 victory over Howard Payne.  The Pioneers also took the Wayland Tournament Championship and Davis was presented a nice new suitcase as the tournament’s Most Popular Player.

The Pioneers repeated as District 8 champions during Davis’s final year at Wayland, going 22-6.  The ever-popular teammate was once again named as a captain and he set the school scoring record with 1,750 career points.

Basketball was not the only sport in which Davis excelled.  While he was in Plainview, he also pitched for the local minor league baseball team, the Plainview Ponies.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education in May of 1955, Davis went on to receive his Master’s Degree from Baylor University in 1960, and his New Mexico administrative certification from Eastern New Mexico University in 1980.  He taught and coached in the Amarillo Public Schools, then moved on to San Antonio where he coached baseball.  He eventually returned to New Mexico where he coached basketball before moving into administration.  He retired as superintendent of schools in Hatch, NM in 1992.

Davis credits Coach Redin for his career in public schools.

“It was an honor to play for Coach Redin.  He put his players first and winning came as a result.  Coach Redin is personally responsible for my experience of 26 years in public schools.  He is a winner in every area of life.”

Davis, who retired in 1992 as superintendent of schools in Hatch, NM, lives in Albuquerque with his wife, Alice.  They have three children, Lynne Thompson, Bryan Davis and Ann Davis, and one granddaughter, Ruth Thompson.