Veteran baseball head coach Hank Banner will enter the 2010 season needing 26 wins to eclipse the 300 win plateau.  Meanwhile, the program needs 23 victories to reach 500 wins since 1986.  Throughout his tenure, Banner's squads have been known for consistency.  The Highland Cavaliers have posted at least 20 victories in five consecutive seasons.  Over that period UVa-Wise has posted two 30 win seasons to go along with back to back thrid places finishes in the NAIA Region XII Tournament.
    Highlighting Banner's tenure are the teams produced during the 2006-2008 seasons.  Over those three seasons the team combined for a 91-59-1 mark (.606).  The 2007 team finished fourth in the AAC regular season, fourth in the conference tournament, and returned the Highland Cavaliers to the NAIA Region XII Tournament for the first time in five years.  The 2007 Cavs' hold the school record for most wins in a season at 32.
    The 14th year head coach became the winningest coach in school history when UVa-Wise defeated Alderson-Broaddus on March 21, 2007 by the score of 5-0.  Banner currently stands at 274 victories over 13 seasons, averaging over 21 wins per campaign.
    The 2010 season will provide Banner with a challenging schedule as UVa-Wise will face four ranked or receiving votes squads in the national poll.  All AAC players Brad Robbins (Sr.), Luis Roa (Jr.), and three more seniors which include catcher Adam Skoranski, third baseman Dusty Haigler, and utility Billy Thompson will lead this years team.
    Banner is a 1992 graduate of UVa-Wise.  While a student, the coach was a four-year member of the Cavaliers' baseball team and started at second base on the 1989 and 1990 conference championship teams.
    His wife, Bridgette, also graduated from UVa-Wise.  The couple and their daughter, Brooke, live in nearby Castlewood, Virginia.