The hard-throwing left-hander took the job in 2012, two years after retiring from MLB at the age of 38 in 2010, where he reached his seventh All-Star Game as a closer. He finished his 16-year career with 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA with the Houston Astros, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.
Now in his 14th season as head coach, Wagner has a 257-99-4 career record after the 2025 state championship.
The Mavericks defeated Paul VI (Chantilly) 16-3 and Wagner's youngest son,
Kason Wagner, won a state title after getting a double in the game.
Before he started piling up state championships as a coach at the high school level, Billy Wagner saved 422 games over 16 MLB seasons and reached seven All-Star games. (PHOTO: Danny La)
Wagner has now won a state championship with three of this sons.
Will Wagner was an eighth grader on the 2012 squad and played five seasons for his father, winning a state championship as a senior in 2017. He is in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as an infielder and made his MLB debut in 2024.
Will went 2-4 with 2 RBI and a double in the 2017 title game while younger brother
Jeremy Wagner, then a sophomore, went 3-3 in that banner-winning contest.
Jeremy won state titles again in 2018 and 2019 as the Mavericks won three straight state crowns. He played four seasons of college baseball at Austin Peay and Towson.
Kason joined the varsity team as a sophomore last spring and has been a star with his arm just like his dad. Over his two-year varsity career, he is 13-2 with 84 strikeouts and a 0.72 ERA. In his first three starts as a junior this season, he went 16.2 innings without allowing an earned run while punching out 16.
During his tenure at Miller School, Wagner has also coached
Connor Gillispie, who played with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 and Miami Marlins this season.
Drue Hackenberg graduated from Miller in 2021 and is now the No. 4 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization. Two more former players in
Adam Hackenberg (Chicago White Sox) and
Ethan Murray (Milwaukee Brewers) are also playing minor league baseball.
Billy was a star high school athlete himself. As a senior in 1990 he hit .451 and stole 23 bases at
Tazewell (Va.). On the mound he fanned 116 batters in 46 innings with a 1.52 ERA and a 7-1 record.
After a stellar career at Ferrum College in Virginia, he was drafted 12th overall in the 1993 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros and made his debut in 1995.
The Astros reached the postseason four times during Wagner's tenure in Houston between 1995-2003, where he shined alongside Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.
On July 27 he will become teammates with Bagwell and Biggio once again, this time for eternity as he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside C.C. Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki.
