Hattiesburg, Miss.- William Carey Baseball Head Coach Bobby Halford has been announced as an inductee into the NAIA Hall of Fame. Halford is the first ever NAIA Hall of Fame recipient from William Carey.
 
A native of Meridian, Miss., Halford was a member of a state championship baseball team at Meridian High School before arriving on the campus of William Carey to play for legendary coaches John O'Keefe and John Stephenson as a two sport athlete (baseball and basketball).
 
In 1976-77, Halford joined the Carey coaching staff as an assistant coach under Stephenson for baseball and became the first head coach of the women's basketball program. He led the Lady Crusaders for ten seasons amassing a 152-112 record including the 1982-83 GCAC championship. Three former players moved on to play professionally during his tenure. In addition to his duties with women's basketball, he served as the assistant baseball coach for eight seasons. During his time as an assistant the Crusaders won three GCAC championships, captured the 1978 NAIA regional tournament and advanced to the 1978 NAIA World Series. In 1984, he became the Athletic Director at Carey and served in that role until 1987.
 
Halford's baseball head coaching career began in 1986 when he led the Crusaders to a GCAC Championship. In 1988, the Crusaders won the GCAC Championship again and earned a berth in an NAIA Regional. Halford was named the 1988 GCAC Coach of the Year. Following the 1988 season, Halford's Crusaders won the GCAC Championship 5 more years in a row with NAIA Regional berths in each of those seasons except 1992. Halford was named the GCAC Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1993, as well as being named the 1990 Rawlings Area 2 Coach of the Year and 1990 ABCA Regional Coach of the Year.
 
The Crusaders again won GCAC Championships in 1995 and 1996 and advanced to the NAIA Regionals. Halford was named GCAC Coach of the Year in both seasons, as well as being named 1995 Rawlings SW Region Coach of the Year, 1995 Louisville Slugger SW Region Coach of the Year, and 1995 ABCA Region Coach of the Year. From 1997-2000, the Crusaders earned berths in an NAIA Regional each season as well as capturing the 2000 GCAC Tournament Championship.
 
From 2001-2004, the Crusaders captured four straight GCAC Championships, as well as four straight NAIA Regional appearances. Halford was awarded GCAC Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was also named ABCA Region Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004, as well as being named the 2003 Rawlings Region 13 Coach of the Year. Halford led the 2005 Crusaders to a GCAC Tournament Championship and another NAIA Regional appearance.
 
Halford's final GCAC Championship came in 2009, before the Crusaders moved to the Southern States Athletic Conference. The Crusaders posted a 28-7 record in the conference en route to the title and was awarded as a host in the Opening Round of the NAIA National Tournament. In the first season of SSAC competition in 2011, the Crusaders finished Runner-up and earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament. Carey also made trips to the NAIA Tournament in 2013 and 2016.
 
In 2017, Halford led the Crusaders to an NAIA Opening Round Championship and a berth in the NAIA World Series. The Crusaders finished one game shy of the championship game for a third place finish. It was the highest finish for a William Carey team since the 1969 NAIA National Championship team. For his efforts, Halford was awarded as the 2017 ABCA Regional Coach of the Year, as well as being selected as the 2017 NAIA Coach of the Year. The Crusaders also earned a trip to the NAIA Opening Round as a host in 2018 where they missed a repeat trip to the NAIA World Series by one game.
 
In 2021, Halford was awarded the National Small College Coach of the Year by Perfect Game after the Crusaders finished the season as the SSAC Tournament Champions and missed another trip to Lewiston by one game in the O'Fallon Opening Round. The 2022 the Crusaders, once again, won the SSAC Tournament before falling in the Gwinnett Opening Round.

In 2023, the Crusaders won the SSAC Regular Season Championship, setting an SSAC record for winning percentage in the process. Halford was rewarded as the SSAC Coach of the Year. Carey was selected as an Opening Round host where they defeated Ave Maria 27-4 in the championship round en route to another NAIA World Series birth. The Crusaders finished in the semi-finals at Lewiston with Halford picking up win number 1300 in the process, the most in Mississippi history at a single institution. The 2023 season saw the Crusaders break virtually every offensive school record, many that had been in place for over forty years. The forty-nine wins during the season were also the most during the Halford era.

The 2024 season was another banner year in the Halford file. The Crusaders won another SSAC Tournament championship, hosted another NAIA Opening Round, and once again advanced to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston. This marked the first time in school history that the program made back to back appearances at the World Series.
 
Halford was inducted into the William Carey Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and received the Legacy of Leadership Award at the 2018 WCU Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. During his head coaching career, over forty-five former players have moved on to play professionally and many more are in the coaching ranks.

"I'm very humbled to be inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. It's an organization made up of mostly Christian based schools and we've always tried to place our faith and beliefs at the forefront of what we were doing. I'm grateful for everyone along the way that has made this possible," said Halford.
 
The Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized throughout the year at their respective NAIA National Championships, national coaches' association meetings or at the NAIA National Convention.