In the intervening years, his father, Hall-of-Famer Gary Ward, worked as head coach of the Aggies while Rocky assisted.
In his two seasons in Stillwater, the Cowboys reached the 1987 College World Series final and amassed a 61–8 record in 1988 and were at the top the Baseball America poll for 12 weeks.
[1] After graduating from Oklahoma State, Ward established the Mid-America Baseball School, and was marketing director and an instructor with the program which helped develop the skills of young players until 1994, when he became an assistant coach at Indianapolis.
After one season with the Greyhounds, he moved to Kansas State, where he spent two years as recruiting co-ordinator and worked with infielders and hitters.
Since then, New Mexico State has appeared in the NCAA tournament twice and won the Western Athletic Conference regular season title once.