MAGNOLIA – “Goodheart” and “baseball” have been a dynamic duo in Magnolia for nearly half a century.
Steve Goodheart compiled a Hall of Fame career as skipper of Southern Arkansas from 1981-2003. Then his son, Matt, led the Panthers to a state championship in 2016 before taking the JUCO route to becoming a two-time All-SEC selection for the Razorbacks.
About a half-decade removed from his time as a Hog, following a brief playing career in the minors and an independent league, Matt Goodheart is carving his own path back home as head baseball coach of Columbia Christian, a small private school in Magnolia.
Between finishing his career with the Hogs to his role now, Goodheart signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in the summer of 2021. He made the most of his 21 at-bats with the organization’s rookie affiliate FCL Phillies, registering a .381 batting average and .887 OPS but was still cut following his first season with the club.
For the next two years, Goodheart balanced multiple duties that included playing in the American Association of Professional baseball independent league, working for a roofing company, and various positions in coaching. He was actually an assistant for Columbia Christian in 2023 under legendary coach David Sisson and his current boss, Superintendent Jimmy Walker, was who hired Matt. Walker also played for Steve Goodheart at SAU.
Before he retired following the 2025 season with the Crusaders, Sisson informed Matt Goodheart there could be a prime opportunity awaiting. Goodheart was working for the SAU Tech baseball program at the time.
“He told me he was going to hang it up to watch his grandson play sometime after the spring,” Goodheart told HawgBeat. “I knew the availability was going to be there, and I had talked with Jimmy Walker towards the end of the spring of 2024. I told him that I was going to be off that summer, but once I come back I would be highly interested in pursuing the job and it ended up working out.”
Work out, it did.
After competing many years in a private school league, the Crusaders, only in their second year as a member of the Arkansas Activities Association, finished 15-9 and made it to the semifinal round of the 1A state tournament as the four-seed from their region. They were eliminated by nearby conference foe Taylor, who will be playing for its fifth-consecutive 1A state championship on Saturday.
Seeing Doubles
Goodheart transferred to Arkansas prior to the 2019 season after playing at San Jacinto (Texas) Community College his freshman year.
A few things Goodheart was known for during his time at Arkansas: being a relentless competitor, a reliable bat in the lineup, and his eyesight.
Right before Arkansas’ opening SEC series against Missouri in March of 2019, Goodheart got a new pair of contacts that fans and viewers were reminded of by the TV broadcast crew essentially every game. It was similar to the constant “Robert Moore’s dad is the GM of the Kansas City Royals” and “Connor Noland used to play football” reminders.
“It is hilarious to me that this still gets brought up,” Goodheart recalled, laughing. “It was so much less exciting than everyone made it out to be. I had worn contacts since grade school, but they were pretty old technology, I guess, and they got dry pretty easily. I never found any others that were comfortable, really. Anything else that was more comfortable was absurdly expensive.”
Looking to crack the everyday lineup, Goodheart went to get his eyes checked. Little did he know that checkup would change the trajectory of his career.
“I was hitting like .240-.250, a borderline DH starter going into conference play,” Goodheart said. “I went to the eye doctor, and he asked if I had ever tried daily contacts and I said no. I ended up getting an eye exam and my prescription had changed, so that played a role a little bit. Some guys hit better at night, but I hit in natural light better.
“I got the daily’s and then ended up starting against Mizzou and had two hits. Then I played again the next day, probably because I had two hits the night before, and then I had another two hits. The next thing you know, we are halfway through conference play and I’m hitting like .450.”
Goodheart helped the Hogs to their second consecutive College World Series berth that season and was tabbed Second Team All-SEC while leading the squad in batting average (.345) and on-base percentage (.444). Additionally, he had 16 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, and 47 runs batted in. He was also selected to the SEC All-Tournament Team that spring and First Team All-SEC as a designated hitter/utility his senior season in 2021.
Adding On To a Stable Foundation
Coming back to Columbia Christian almost made too much sense for Goodheart.
Not only had he previously coach there and had long-standing relationships within the school, he was also enrolled as a student through his freshman year before transferring to Magnolia High.
Additionally, Goodheart gets to have his greatest and most-tenured mentor in the dugout with him, which was a dealbreaker during the hiring process.
“One of my stipulations was that I would be the head coach and do what you want me to do, but on one condition: my dad has to be my assistant,” Goodheart stated. “(To which) They said, ‘I was hoping you would ask.’”
Steve Goodheart is not just an SAU Hall of Famer. He is a legend across the game of baseball in The Natural State. His 764 all-time wins trail only long-time Razorback coach Norm DeBriyn’s 1,161 and Matt Goodheart’s college coach, Dave Van Horn’s 969, for all college divisions. Steve Goodheart won nine AIC championships with the Muleriders.
Matt not only wants Steve by his side for game decisions but the latter’s reputation of molding young men for multiple decades.
“Now that I am in charge of setting standards, being the CEO of the business itself has to be done with structure and I am always going to refer back to my dad,” Matt Goodheart said. “It is not just the baseball knowledge. There are things we will go back and forth on, debate things, and call each other on wrong baseball-specific things.
“But here is the part that he is good at, or as right about as any coach that I have ever known, and that is the standards portion of it. There is no one better at pushing guys to be the best versions of themselves that they can possibly be. It starts with setting standards, and if they don’t meet those standards, then you are doing them a disservice by not developing them. Developing character that produces better societies is kind of what it eventually reduces to.”
Having glimpses that he would be able to coach the way he desired was a key reason Matt Goodheart wanted to lead the Crusaders.
“This is why I wanted to come to the small high school realm,” said Goodheart, who also still mentors at the higher levels as the current head coach of the Martinsville (Va.) Mustangs of the Coastal Plain League. “I felt like just observing what I did in 2023 and the tail end of 2024 when Columbia Christian made it to the regional was that I could really make a difference in a lot of young athlete’s lives.
“I told them up front there was going to be a lot of times where they are upset with me just because of how hard I am on them. But it is important to me that if you’re trusting me to do this that you are going to be better once we are done with it. I hope we win. That is what matters to me, and I think it ties into the development side but growing up and maturing as young men is the primary goal.”
Now heading into Year 2 with most of his team returning, plus a host of incoming freshmen who expect to contribute, Goodheart hopes the standards of the program have been set and players know what to expect.
The team has also gotten a taste of making a deep run and being one game away from playing for a state title. He believes the program can reach that point on a consistent basis, similar to the one that ended the hopes of that state championship berth.
“Not to knock down any of the other sports, but I would like for us as a school to be known as having a dominant baseball program,” Goodheart said. “Like, you think of Taylor, as an example, having a dynasty. That is what I want to create.”
Goodheart circled back to what he believes is the root of success.
“I think what is in conjunction with a dynasty at any level is they have those standards and an expectation that is always met. I want to be, the very least, the guy who gets that ball rolling even if I’m not the guy who maintains it for the next 30 years.”
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