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As head
coach at the University of South Carolina, Ray
Tanner continues to lead the Gamecock baseball
program to new heights. Committed to excellence,
Tanner has established one of the elite programs
in all of college baseball with milestones and
accomplishments piling up each season. Atop the
list includes three consecutive trips to the College
World Series from 2002-2004. Included in those
journeys to Omaha was a national runner-up finish
in 2002, a victory over SEC champion LSU in 2003
and three stratight wins over perennial powers
LSU, Miami (Fla.) and Cal State Fullerton in 2004.
Over the past five years, no college coach has
won more games than Tanner, whose squad is 260-87
in that time frame as well as an SEC-best 99-50
in conference matchups. Since the 2000 season,
Tanner's squads have reached five consecutive
NCAA Super Regionals, clinched four SEC Eastern
Division titles, earned two SEC Championships
and won the school's first SEC Tournament title.
In addition, Tanner has produced 20 All-Americans
as well as 25 All-SEC performers to go along with
48 players that have signed professional baseball
contracts.
To get to Omaha a third straight time, the 2004
Gamecocks finished with a 53-17 record and in
the process set or tied 20 school records. Four
of Tanner's players earned All-American honors
in 2004, catcher Landon Powell and pitchers Chad
Blackwell, Matt Campbell and Aaron Rawl. Powell
and Blackwell also earned All-SEC honors along
with Brendan Winn. Six Gamecocks were drafted
and signed professional baseball contracts in
the 2004 season including Powell and Campbell,
who were selected in the first round of the MLB
draft, the first time in history that two USC
players were taken in the first round.
Since coming to South Carolina in 1997, head baseball
coach Ray Tanner has compiled a 372-152 record,
winning close to 71 percent of baseball games
USC has played. Coach Tanner will enter his 18th
year of coaching and owns an overall record of
767-325-3 with 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament
as a head coach at NC State and South Carolina.
He is currently the sixth winningiest active coach
in Division I college baseball.
Tanner has also gained valuable experience at
an internationl level in his association with
USA Baseball. He has served five stints with Red,
White & Blue including his latest in 2003
as head coach for the USA National Baseball Team.
At the helm of some of the top freshmen and sophomores
in the country, Tanner's club finished with a
27-2 record, the best record for a U.S. National
Team (.931 winning percentage) and won a silver
medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. Prior to
his head coaching stint, Tanner served as an auxillary
coach for the 2000 Olympic Team under Tommy Lasorda
that won a gold medal at the XXVII Olympiad in
Sydney, Australia. He was also an assistant with
the 1995-1996 USA teams under former LSU coach
Skip Bertman that culminated in a bronze medal
win at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. Tanner
also served alongside current Mississippi State
coach Ron Polk on Bertman's staff. Tanner's first
stint with USA Baseball came as an assistant coach
to the national team in the summer of 1993.
Tanner was named the South Carolina head coach
June 14, 1996 after nine successful seasons at
North Carolina State. The 1997 Gamecocks compiled
a 33-24 record in Tanner's initial season and
qualified for the Southeastern Conference post
season tournament. The 1997 team produced a first
team All-America player in designated hitter Ryan
Bordenick. Bordenick and pitcher Brett Jodie were
named to the All-SEC team and shortstop Adam Everett
was chosen to play with the USA National Team.
Bordenick and catcher Rob Streicher were named
All-South.
The 1998 team was ranked among the top 20 in the
nation, compiled a 44-18 record and earned a bid
to the NCAA playoffs with Tanner earning SEC Coach
of the Year. Pitcher Kip Bouknight, outfielder
Mike Curry and shortstop Adam Everett were named
first team All-SEC. Bouknight, Everett, Curry
and Bordenick picked up All-Amerca recognition
and pitcher Peter Bauer was named freshman All-America.
Seven 1998 Gamecocks signed professional contracts.
The 1999 team won South Carolina's first Southeastern
Conference Eastern Division championship and finished
with a 35-23 record. It produced a first team
All-SEC dcsignated hitter Tim Angiolini with shortstop
Brian Roberts making the second team. Roberts
led the NCAA in stolen bases with a school record
67 and also earned All-America recognition. Four
players from the 1999 squad signed professional
contracts.
Tanner's 2000 South Carolina team won the Southeastern
Conference championship, a regional championship,
advanced to a super regional and finished with
a 56-10 record. The 2000 team was ranked first
in the final Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) compiled
by the NCAA and among the top ten in the thre
national final polls. Baseball America ranked
the Gamecocks fourth, Baseball Weeky eighth and
Collegiate Baseball ninth. In addition, Tanner
was named National Coach of the Year as well as
SEC Coach of the Year for a second time. Pitcher
Kip Bouknight, 2000 consensus All-America, won
the Golden Spikes Award for the nation's top amateur
baseball player and finished the year with a 17-1
record. Bouknight and pitcher Scott Barber were
first team selections on the 2000 All-SEC squad
and pitcher Peter Bauer, outfielder Nate Janowicz
and shortstop Drew Meyer were on the All-SEC second
team.
His 2001 Gamecocks finished with a 49-20 record,
won a regional and advanced to a super regional
finishing in the top 15 in the national final
polls. Carolina was 12th in the Baseball America
poll, 13th in Baseball Weekly and 15th by Collegiate
Baseball. The 2001 Gamecocks battled through the
loser's bracket to win a second straight regional
championship but lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Stanford
in the third and deciding super regional game
at Palo Alto, Calif. Tanner's 2001 squad produced
two All-America players in pitcher Lee Gronkiewicz,
the nation's leader in saves, and catcher Tim
Whittaker, who was also a semi-finalist for the
Johnny Bench Award. Outfielder Garris Gonce, Gronkiewicz
and outfielder Marcus McBeth were All-SEC.
In 2002, Tanner and his Gamecocks made it to Omaha
and stayed 12 days to finish as National Runner-up.
It was the first trip for Tanner and culminated
in a national championship showdown between South
Carolina and Texas. The Gamecocks won their second
SEC championship in three years and Tanner was
named 2002 America Baseball Coaches Association
South Region Coach of the Year and South Carolina
was ranked as the number two team in the nation
in all of the final polls. The final 2002 record
was 57-18, topping the school record of 56 wins
set two years earlier. The 2002 team won four
games in the SEC Tournament after winning the
official conference title with a 21-8 record in
conference games. The Gamecocks then defeated
Virginia Commonwealth and North Carolina twice
to advance to the super regional for the third
year in a row. The Gamecocks won two of three
from defending national champion Miami (Fla.)
to advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
It took a five run ninth inning rally to defeat
the Hurricanes in the deciding game. After being
shut out 11-0 by Georgia Tech to open the 2002
World Series, Tanner's team fought back. Carolina
defeated home state favorite Nebraska 10-8, Georgia
Tech, 9-5, and Palmetto State arch rival Clemson
twice, 12-5 and 10-2, before losing the title
game to Texas 12-6. It was South Carolina's third
second place finish in Omaha. The Gamecocks were
also runners-up in 1975 under coach Bobby Richardson
and in 1977 under coach June Raines.
Three of Tanner's players; first baseman Yaron
Peters, pitcher Blake Taylor and shortstop Drew
Meyer earned All-American honors. Peters was the
SEC Player of the Year, and Taylor led the nation
in saves with 21. Meyer was a first round pick,
the 10th overall choice in 2002 and the third
consecutive Gamecock shortstop to be drafted in
the first round. South Carolina returned to the
College World Series in 2003 and notched one win,
an 11-10 slugfest over fellow SEC member LSU wrapped
around a pair of losses to CWS runner-up Stanford.
The final record in 2003 was 45-22 and in the
final national polls the Gamecocks were ranked
6th by Collegiate Baseball, seventh by Baseball
Weekly aand 10th by Baseball America. To get to
Omaha a second straight time South Carolina won
its fourth SEC Eastern Division championship,
a fourth consecutive NCAA regional championship
and a second consecutive super regional.
The 2003 Gamecocks swept the Atlanta regional
tournament hosted by Georgia Tech with a win over
East Carolina and two over Stetson and then swept
two super regional games against North Carolina
at Sarge Frye Field. Two of Tanner's 2003 players,
pitcher David Marchbanks and third baseman Brian
Buscher, earned All-America recognition. Marchbanks
was also SEC Pitcher of the Year and he, Buscher
and Landon Powell were named All-SEC. Seven 2003
Gamecocks were drafted and three others signed
as free agents.
Before arriving to Columbia as head coach of the
Gamecocks, Tanner led his alma mater NC State
to seven appearances in the NCAA postseason tournament
and ranked second for most wins in school history.
He was the 1990 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach
of the Year and in 1993 was named Atlantic Region
Coach of the Year when his team won 49 games.
While he was head coach a NC State for nine
seasons, Tanner was affiliated with the Wolfpack
baseball program for more than 20 years. He
came to the Raleigh campus in the fall of 1976
as a player following an outstanding career
at South Johnston High School in Four Oaks,
N.C. A four-year starter at shortstop and third
base, he earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference
honors his senior season and still ranks among
the Wolfpack's all-time leaders in several categories.
Following his playing career, Tanner served
as an assistant on the staff of NC State coach
Sam Esposito, overseeing the recruiting efforts
and coaching third base. When Esposito retired,
Tanner moved up at the age of 28, becoming one
of the youngest head baseball coaches in the
nation. During his tenure as an assistant, the
Wolfpack reached the NCAA Tournament twice.
He had additional duties as assistant to the
athletics director and as assistant athletics
director in charge of game operations. Tanner
received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreational
Administration from NC State in 1980 and the
Master of Public Affairs, Public Administration
in 1983.
Born Donald Ray Tanner, Jr., March 25, 1958
in Smithfield, N.C., Tanner grew up in Benson,
N.C. He is married to the former Karen Donald,
a native of Charleston, S.C. A University of
South Carolina graduate, she was formerly head
women's athletic trainer at NC State. During
the summer of 1997 she served as trainer for
Charlotte in the Women's National Basketball
Association (WNBA). She is the former director
of athletics and director of sports medicine
at Columbia College. They have a daughter, Bridgette
Grace (1).
| THE
RAY TANNER FILE |
| Born:
Donald Ray Tanner, Jr., March 25,
1958 in Smithfield, N.C. |
| HS
Education: South Johnston
HS, Four Oaks, N.C. HS Baseball: South
Johnston 1973-76 |
| College
Education: B. A. Recreation
Resources Administration, N.C. State
1980; Masters of Public Affairs, Public
Administration, N.C. State 1983 |
| College
Baseball: N.C. State
1977-80 |
| Coaching
Career: Assistant N.
C. State 1980-87; Head Coach N.C.
State 1988-96; Head Coach University
of South Carolina 1997-present; Assistant
Team USA 1993-95-96-00; Head Coach
Team USA 2003; Assistant U. S. Olympic
Team 1996, 2000. |
| Family:
Wife, Karen; Daughter Bridgette Grace
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