C o a s ta l C a r o l i n a B a s e b a l l 2 01 2 Coac h ing S t af f
17th with 75, while Jose Iglesias was 16th in RBI (80). On the mound, Anthony Meo was second in the nation with 13 wins, while Cody Wheeler, who was 22nd in the NCAA with 113 strikeouts, was fifth in wins nationally with 12. For this, Meo, Wheeler, Iglesias and Noel were named to various All-American teams with Meo being a semifinalist for two National Player of the Year award and Iglesias being one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Award. Also, Austin Fleet was both a first team Academic All-America and the Big South Male Student-Athlete of the Year while Ryan Connolly was a Freshman All-American. On the conference level in 2010, Coastal set several records as well en route to winning both the Big South regular season and tournament crowns or the fourth straight season. In addition to its 55 overall wins, the Chanticleers became the first big South team to go undefeated in the regular-season (25-0) as well as going undefeated in the Big South Tournament (4-0). Coastal also set a league record by having eight players named to the All-Big South first team, with one second team pick. For their success, Gilmore picked up his seventh Big South Conference Coach of the Year honor, while Meo was the unanimous Big South Pitcher of the Year. Also, it was during the final conference series of 2010 that Gilmore won his 600th game as Coastal Carolina head coach, defeating Radford, 7-2, on May 20. At season’s end, seven players were drafted, including Wheeler and Noel in the fifth round, Fleet in the 16th and Chance Gilmore in the 25th, while Woodard (15th round) Keith Hessler (28h round) and Jim Birmingham (33rd round) decided to stay for the 2011 season. The Chanticleers won both the Big South regular-season and tournament titles in 2009, going 47-16 and advancing to the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional. Gilmore was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the sixth time as he mentored eight players that were named to the All-Big South Teams. This included Big South Player of the Year and Big South Tournament MVP David Anderson and conference Pitcher of the Year Cody Wheeler. Both Anderson and Wheeler were named AllAmericans by Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball, while the trio of Anthony Meo, Daniel Bowman and Taylor Motter were named Freshman All-Americans by the same organization. Gilmore reached a personal milestone in 2009, winning his 800th game as head coach in a 9-1 win over Charleston Southern May 14. Coastal Carolina hosted and won the NCAA Conway Regional in 2008, advancing to the NCAA Cary Super Regional, a first in the school’s history. Gilmore was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the fifth time and the Chants won both the regular-season and tournament championships. Dock Doyle was named the Big South Player of the Year and earned second team All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball. Doyle also was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award. Woodward earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors while 11 different Chanticleers earned All-Big South accolades. Coastal Carolina defeated Columbia, Alabama and East Carolina to earn the program’s first berth in a Super Regional. Tommy Baldridge and David Anderson were named Co-Most Valuable Player’s and the Chants had six selected to the All-Conway Regional Tournament Team. Coastal Carolina set the Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field attendance record with 2,320 fans at the championship game against East Carolina. Gilmore earned his 500th win at Coastal Carolina on May 17 in an 18-8 win over Radford and now has 507 wins at his alma mater. The Chants had five players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including fifth-round picks in Doyle and Pete Andrelczyk. Coastal Carolina enjoyed national success in 2007, as the Chanticleers hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time in school history and won 50 games for the second time in three seasons. Coastal Carolina won both the Big South Conference regular-season and tournament titles for the second time in six years, going 4-0 in the BSC Tournament and defeating Liberty 6-5 in the championship game. The Chanticleers had a 16-game winning streak in the middle of the season. Gilmore was named the Midseason Coach of the Year by Baseball America and earned his fourth Big South Coach of the Year honor at season’s end as he earned his 700th career (May 12) against UNC Asheville. Coastal Carolina hosted the 2007 Myrtle Beach Regional and its game against Clemson brought out 6,231 fans, a BB&T Coastal Field record at the time. Bobby Gagg and David Sappelt earned AllAmerican honors by Collegiate Baseball, while Sappelt was the Big South Player of the Year, Gagg was the Pitcher of the Year and Tommy Baldridge was the BSC Tournament Most Valuable Player. The Chants ended the season ranked 20th by Baseball America. Coastal Carolina ended the 2006 season with a 30-27 overall record, finishing third in the Big South Conference. The Chanticleers were one of the hottest teams in the League the latter half of the season, sweeping conference foes Radford and UNC Asheville as well as defeating East Carolina, the College of Charleston and Wake Forest in mid-week games. Gilmore won his 400th game at Coastal Carolina May 12 against Radford and won 30 games for the ninth time in 11 seasons as
head coach of the Chants. Coastal’s continual rise to a national power was never as evident as in 2005, when the Chants earned a number-one seed to the NCAA Tempe Regional, won 50 games (becoming the first Big South team in history to accomplish both feats), had six players go in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and was 23rd in the final rankings by Baseball America. The Chanticleers went to the championship game of the regional, defeating UNLV twice, but falling to host Arizona State in the final. Gilmore received Big South Coach of the Year honors, the third time he has received that honor, and the American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic Region Division I Coach of the Year in 2005. Coastal Carolina won its third Big South regular-season title under Gilmore after compiling a remarkable 21-3 conference record. Gilmore also coached Mike Costanzo, who earned first team All-American honors by three organizations, earned his second consecutive Big South Player of the Year award and was named to the All-Big South first team as both a first baseman and a pitcher, the first Big South player to ever earn multiple first-team honors. Gilmore coached six All-Big South honorees in 2005, including four first team members. He also won his 600th career game March 25 in a win over VMI. Gilmore and the Chanticleers battled through injuries and adversity during the 2004 season. The Chants were underdogs heading into the Big South Tournament, but for the fourth straight season, Coastal Carolina won the Big South Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. Gilmore coached the Big South Player of the Year in Costanzo and had four All-Big South members and two Major League Baseball Draft selections. Gilmore had a milestone 2003 season, starting with his 500th career win Feb. 21, against Delaware. He then saw the Chants win their third straight Big South Tournament Championship and earn its third straight berth to the NCAA Regionals in Lincoln, Neb. Coastal won 46 games in 2003, then the most by a Chanticleer squad under Coach Gilmore. Ryan McGraw earned All-BSC First Team honors, while six Chants were selected to the second team. Gilmore also saw Justin Sturge and Brandon Powell enter the world of professional baseball. In 2002, Coastal Carolina posted 44 wins. The Chants also captured both the Big South regular season and tournament crowns for the second consecutive year and appeared in the NCAA Regional, falling to Georgia in the final game. The 2002 squad featured seven all-conference performers, including five first-team members and the Player of the Year in Justin Owens. Owens was also named as the 2001-02 Bagwell Winner, denoting him as the Big South Male Athlete of the Year while Ryan McGraw broke the NCAA single-season stolen base mark with 63 in 2002. In 2001, the Chants posted a 42-20 record, won their first Big South Championship since 1992, and came within a single out of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals, where they would have played Florida State with a College World Series berth on the line. The team that year posted wins over nationally-ranked foes East Carolina, Clemson and Georgia Tech. He also had six players make All-Big South Conference Teams and catcher Randy McGarvey, Jr., was named the Big South Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Gilmore took the reins in a rather precarious position in 1996. The Chants were coming off a 17-37 season, their first losing season in 18 years, and had little in the way of returning talent, especially on the mound. Coastal finished a respectable 24-29 in his first season, and 23-31 in his second. By 1998 though, his recruits, especially the pitchers, began to step up, and Coastal’s winning ways returned. His 1999 squad posted 43 wins and found themselves nationally ranked towards the end of the season, earning Gilmore Big South Coach of the Year honors. Gilmore began his baseball career as a Chanticleer, playing center field for Coastal Carolina during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. The speedy leadoff hitter hit .353 with 69 steals in 90 games, before going to play in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Following his playing days, he worked as a scout for the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians before becoming a coach at USC-Aiken, where he eventually took over the top spot in 1990. Gilmore spent six seasons at USC-Aiken, where he compiled a 253-102 record. Gilmore posted 40-win seasons in his first four years at USC-A, including a schoolrecord 48 wins in 1991. In 1993, Gilmore was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year by his peers. During his stint at USC-Aiken, Gilmore coached nine allconference performers and one conference player of the year in Adam Riggs. In all, Coach Gilmore has been named the Regional Coach of the Year five times, conference Coach of the Year six times and a National Coach of the Year Finalist twice. Over 75 of his players have gone on to sign professional contracts, with seven making it to the major leagues. Gilmore and his wife Cathy have a son, Chance, who played at Coastal Carolina from 2007-10 and is in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, and a daughter Samantha (22).
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