TCU's Kirk Saarloos shares hilarious story connecting anniversaries, birthdays, and the College World Series

Friday is a big day for TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos in more ways than one. In addition to the Horned Frogs facing Oral Roberts in the first game of the College World Series, Saarloos is also celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife Kristen.

The couple was married 21 years ago, Saarloos shared on the ESPN broadcast. June 16 also happens to be his brother’s birthday.

“My wife and I decided 21 years ago to steal his birthday away from him. So it’s our 21st wedding anniversary for my wife and I. So it’s pretty awesome,” Saarloos said.

Saarloos played college baseball at Cal State Fullerton, before beginning his professional baseball career. He was in the minor leagues with the Astros at the time he got married.

“Thinking I was going to get married in June as a baseball player probably wasn’t smart, but I told the Astros I was going to get married at the Double-A all-star break,” Saarloos said. “I just so happened to make the Double-A all-star game. I declined, obviously. Went to Sammamish, Washington where Cole Fontenelle is from, and my wife and I got married.”

The excitement didn’t stop there as Kirk Saarloos was promoted following the all-star break. He went on to play seven seasons of Major League Baseball, including two with the Astros.

“The next thing you know, the Astros called me on my way to Seattle and said, ‘Hey, can you be in Milwaukee on Tuesday?’” Saarloos recalled. “I thought somebody was playing a joke on me. The whole wedding party decided they’d jump on a plane and follow me. So my big-league debut was two days later in Milwaukee. Not many people spend a honeymoon in Milwaukee, but my wife and I did.”

Quite the story by the TCU head coach.

Kirk Saarloos was confident entering 2023 season

Kirk Saarloos replaced Jim Schlossnagle as the head coach at TCU after Schlossnagle accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M following the 2021 season.

Some thought it might take the program some time to rebound from losing Schlossnagle but that certainly wasn’t the case. The Horned Frogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, and in Year 2 under Saarloos are in Omaha. Saarloos was confident the TCU program would do well this season.

“Well, nobody over here thought that. I don’t know who was talking about that,” he said when asked about a potential rebuild season.