Oct. 13—Marty Lees was about to hit the road and head northeast. He was on his way to help out an old friend, Tom Holliday, head coach of the Cape Cod Baseball League's Chatham Anglers.
It didn't matter that a pair of prospective jobs at the collegiate level had just fallen through.
Around that same time, Stillwater High was in the market for someone to lead the school's baseball program following the departure of longtime coach Jimmy Harris. People in the area picked up the phone and called Kristy, Lees' wife.
"The more I got to thinking about it, we really like Stillwater," Lees told News Press. "We're going, 'You know what? The Lord may just be bringing this all back to one place.'"
Lees was named Stillwater's baseball coach on July 25, making him the man in charge of getting the Pioneers back to the state tournament for a second consecutive season.
He and Kristy weren't the only pieces of the puzzle coming to a town all too familiar to the Lees family.
Jake, the youngest, is now a junior at SHS. The middle son, Brady, is wrapping up his time as a student at Oklahoma State. The oldest son, Brandon, recently graduated from Arizona Christian this spring and landed at Central Oklahoma as a graduate assistant.
Lees and his family want to be in Stillwater — again. That was evident to Stillwater High activities director Brian Warwick.
"It's not the only variable, but the desire to be in Stillwater, and his family to be in Stillwater, his kids to go to Stillwater High and graduate here and be a part of this community. I mean, he spoke about that a lot when we talked," Warwick said. "That means something to us as well."
This will actually be Lees' third time living and working in Stillwater. He was on Oklahoma State's staff under Josh Holliday from 2013-15, showcasing his talents as a recruiter with the Cowboys landing two top-ranked classes during those three years. He returned to be OSU's third base coach and recruiting coordinator for the 2019 season.
Before then, Lees started his career in the high school ranks. Then, he joined the staff at Oregon State in 2002, eventually helping the Beavers win back-to-back Men's College World Series in 2006-07.
In between stints at Oklahoma State, Lees was the head coach at Washington State for four years, leading the Cougars to a record of 68-133-1.
But he keeps coming back to his roots, whether that be on the recruiting trail or on his way to Stillwater. The former recruiter in him helps him relate to high school players. He also knows how to help them get recruited.