Sharyland High baseball head coach Barton Bickerton announced his retirement Wednesday, after spending more than 25 years at the helm of the program. Bickerton, who wraps up his career with nearly 550 wins to his name, leaves behind a lasting legacy as one of the great Rio Grande Valley high school baseball coaches of all-time.
“I would like to thank my former players for taking me on one heck of a ride. You don’t win almost 550 games without talented and high-character kids,” Bickerton said in a statement. “Our kids were always the example for the school on and off the field. Thank you to all of the former coaches I was able to work with. Thank you for your loyalty and friendship on and off the field.”
Before beginning his high school coaching career, Bickerton played college baseball at Texas-Pan American in Edinburg from 1990-92 under hall of fame coach Al Ogletree.
Since then, Bickerton has been an instrumental figure in representing RGV high school baseball on a statewide level. He has repeatedly served as an officer with the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association and was an All-State Committee Chairman during the 2020-21 school year.
He also worked bring baseball scouts to the Valley, helping shine a light on the often overlooked area. The result has been multiple RGV baseball products being drafted and/or signed to play in Major League Baseball in recent years.
Over the last two years, Bickerton has coached alongside his son, Austin Bickerton, a Sharyland High alum and the Rattlers’ current pitching coach.
“Wherever I coached I was blessed to have extremely talented assistant coaches. Thank you to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association for taking me in and allowing me to grow and learn from some of the best in the business,” Bickerton said in the statement. “Thank you to Sharyland for allowing me to not only coach my two sons and see my daughter play, but allowing me to coach with my son these last two years. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for making all the sacrifices they made for me and allowing me to pursue my dreams. Thank you, Debbie, for always being my best friend, wife and biggest fan.”
Joining Bickerton in retirement is longtime Sharyland High assistant baseball coach JR Martinez, who spent 17 years with the program.
During their time together at Sharyland High, the Rattlers created program history by reaching the 2019 Region IV-5A Final and winning multiple district titles.
