Gary Gilmore (baseball)

Last updated
Gary Gilmore
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Coastal Carolina
Conference Sun Belt
Record1,082–572–3
Playing career
1979–1980 Coastal Carolina
Position(s) Center fielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1986–1989 USC Aiken (assistant)
1990–1995USC Aiken
1996–present Coastal Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall1,335–674–5
TournamentsNCAA: 35–33
Big South: 63–19
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2016 College World Series
Awards
ABCA Hall of Fame (2022)
ABCA Division II South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year (1993)
ABCA Division II Coach of the Year (1993)
ABCA Division I Atlantic Region Coach of the Year (2005)
8x Big South Coach of the Year (1999, 2002, 2005, 2007–2010, 2012)
2x Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2018, 2023)
Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame
USC Aiken Athletic Hall of Fame

Gary R. Gilmore is an American college baseball coach who is currently the head coach of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. He has held the position since the start of the 1996 season. Coastal Carolina has qualified for 17 NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2022. In 2016, the team made its first appearance in the College World Series and won the 2016 NCAA National Championship. He was elected to the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2022.

Contents

Playing and scouting careers

A native of Franklin County, Virginia, Gilmore played two seasons (1979–1980) of baseball at Coastal Carolina. A center fielder, Gilmore had a .353 career batting average. He also played minor league baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization for a short time. [1] [2]

In the early 1980s, Gilmore served as a scout for both the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians. [1] In 1982, Gilmore became a physical education teacher at Deep Creek Elementary School in Georgetown County, South Carolina. He later joined Pleasant Hill High School as an assistant baseball coach in the spring of 1983. Following the retirement of the head coach, Pleasant Hill promoted Gilmore to head coach for the 1984 season. [3]

Coaching career

USC Aiken

In 1986, Gilmore left scouting to become an assistant coach at USC Aiken. [1] Prior to the start of the 1990 season, he was named the program's head coach. In his first two seasons, USC Aiken had a combined winning percentage of over .800 as an NAIA program. The school's athletic programs moved to NCAA Division II for the start of the 1991–1992 academic year. In 1992, the program's first NCAA season, the Pacers went 45–18–2 and qualified for the NCAA tournament. In 1993, Gilmore was named the Division II ABCA National Coach of the Year after USC Aiken went 46–18 and reached the Division II College World Series. In 1994 and 1995, Gilmore's final two seasons at USC Aiken, his teams had a combined record of 69–46, but both failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. [1] [4] [5]

Two future Major League Baseball players– Adam Riggs and Bryan Ward– played under Gilmore at USC Aiken. [4]

Coastal Carolina

Gilmore became the head coach of Division I Coastal Carolina for the start of the 1996 season. [1] After losing seasons in 1996 and 1997, the Chanticleers qualified for the postseason under Gilmore for the first time in 1998. With an 11–7 conference record, the team finished second in the Big South and qualified for the Big South Tournament. There, Coastal Carolina finished as the runner-up to Liberty. In 1999, the team won the Big South regular season championship with a 10–2 conference record. It hosted the Big South Tournament, but lost to Winthrop in the championship game. [6] Gilmore was named the 1999 Big South Coach of the Year. [7] In 2000, the team finished tied for fourth in the Big South and was eliminated early in the conference tournament. [6]

In 2001, the team finished second and won the Big South Tournament to qualify for its first NCAA tournament during Gilmore's tenure. The team won its first two games in the double-elimination Athens Regional, but host Georgia came out of the loser's bracket to defeat the Chanticleers twice and advance to the Super Regionals. [1] [8]

From 2001 to 2005, Coastal Carolina made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament; in that time span, it won four consecutive Big South Tournaments from 2001 to 2004, and Gilmore was named conference Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2005. [6] [9] In the three NCAA tournaments from 2002 to 2004, the team finished no higher than third in a regional. [10] In 2005 season, the team lost to Winthrop in the Big South Tournament championship game but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, its first such bid in Gilmore's tenure. In the Tempe Regional, the Chanticleers lost in the regional final to Arizona State. [6] [10]

In 2006, Coastal Carolina went 30–27 and finished third in the Big South. At the conference tournament, which it hosted, the team went 1–2, and it did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. [6]

From 2007 to 2012, Coastal Carolina won six consecutive Big South regular season and tournament titles; the program qualified for the NCAA tournament in each season. Gilmore won the Big South Coach of the Year award in five of the six seasons (2007–2010, 2012). The program won at least 40 games in each season and at least 50 in 2007, 2008, and 2010. [1]

The Chanticleers hosted three NCAA regionals in the six-year span and advanced to the Super Regional round twice. In 2007, the program hosted an NCAA regional for the first time but lost to second-seeded Clemson in the regional final. The team finished with a 50–13 record, and Gilmore signed a contract through the 2015 season following the season. [11] [12] [13] In 2008, the Chanticleers hosted and won the Conway Regional, scoring at least 10 runs in wins over fourth-seeded Columbia, third-seeded Alabama, and second-seeded East Carolina. In the Cary Super Regional, Coastal Carolina lost to No. 2 national seed North Carolina, two games to none. [14] In 2010, Coastal Carolina had a 25–0 Big South record and went 4–0 at the Big South Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was selected as the No. 4 national seed and hosted the Myrtle Beach Regional. There, after losing its second game to College of Charleston, the team won three consecutive games to win the regional from the loser's bracket. It then hosted the best-of-three Myrtle Beach Super Regional against eventual national champion South Carolina. In it, Coastal Carolina lost both games, 4–3 and 10–9, respectively, and was eliminated from the tournament. [1] [15] [16]

In 2013, the Big South split into two divisions. Coastal Carolina won the South Division. After being eliminated from the Big South Tournament, the team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and went 0–2 at the Blacksburg Regional. [17] [18]

Under Gilmore, Coastal Carolina's home venue, Charles Watson Stadium, was renovated several times during the early 2000s. During the 2013 season, it was rebuilt as part of a $10.2 million project to rebuild Coastal Carolina's baseball and softball facilities. [19]

Six of Gilmore's players at Coastal Carolina – Mike Costanzo, Dave Sappelt, Tommy La Stella, Keith Hessler, Rico Noel and Taylor Motter – have appeared in Major League Baseball. [20]

On Thursday April 17, 2014, Gilmore earned career victory #1000 as the Chanticleers defeated Presbyterian College 4–3 in 13 innings at TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, SC.

On June 30, 2016, Gilmore led Coastal to the National Championship, with a 4–3 victory over Arizona. It was Coastal's first trip to the CWS in program history. Coastal becomes the 2nd school in the state of South Carolina to win the CWS, after South Carolina did it in 2010 and 2011.

On May 30th, 2023, Gilmore announced that the 2024 season would be his last. He has dealt with cancer in his liver and pancreas since his diagnosis in 2020.

Head coaching records

Below is a table of Gilmore's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach. [1] [5] [6] [10] [21]

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
USC Aiken Pacers (NAIA)(1990)
1990USC Aiken 45–10
USC Aiken Pacers (NCAA Division II independent)(1991)
1991USC Aiken 48–13
USC Aiken Pacers (Peach Belt Conference)(1992–1995)
1992USC Aiken 45–15–210–2–1NCAA regional
1993USC Aiken 46–1813–7College World Series
1994USC Aiken 35–2216–51st
1995USC Aiken 34–2414–10
USC Aiken:253–102–253–24–1
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (Big South Conference)(1996–2016)
1996Coastal Carolina 24–2911–104th
1997Coastal Carolina 23–315–16t-7th
1998Coastal Carolina 31–2911–72nd
1999Coastal Carolina 43–1510–21st
2000Coastal Carolina 34–2411–10t-4th
2001Coastal Carolina 42–2016–42nd NCAA regional
2002 Coastal Carolina 44–1916–51st NCAA regional
2003 Coastal Carolina 45–1812–7t-2nd NCAA regional
2004 Coastal Carolina 40–2316–8t-2nd NCAA regional
2005 Coastal Carolina 50–1621–31st NCAA regional
2006 Coastal Carolina 30–2715–93rd
2007 Coastal Carolina 50–1317–41st NCAA regional
2008 Coastal Carolina 50–1417–31st NCAA Super Regional
2009 Coastal Carolina 47–1621–51st NCAA regional
2010 Coastal Carolina 55–1025–01st NCAA Super Regional
2011 Coastal Carolina 42–2020–71st NCAA regional
2012 Coastal Carolina 42–1918–51st NCAA regional
2013 Coastal Carolina 37–2318–61st (South) NCAA regional
2014 Coastal Carolina 24–3313–132nd (South)
2015 Coastal Carolina 39–2117–72nd NCAA regional
2016 Coastal Carolina 55–1821–31st College World Series Champion
Coastal Carolina:331–134
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (Sun Belt Conference)(2017–present)
2017 Coastal Carolina 37–19–122–7–11st (East)
2018 Coastal Carolina 43–1923–71st(East) NCAA regional
2019 Coastal Carolina 36–26–115–132nd (East) NCAA regional
2020 Coastal Carolina 11–50–0(East)Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Coastal Carolina 27–249–126th (East)
2022 Coastal Carolina 39–20–121–8–13rd NCAA regional
2023 Coastal Carolina 42–2123–71st (East) NCAA regional
Coastal Carolina:1,082–572–3114–54–2
Total:1,335–674–5

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Hall of fame inductions

Gilmore was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the USC Aiken Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. [2] [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Gary Gilmore". GoCCUSports.com. Coastal Carolina Sports Information. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Marsh, Steven (February 12, 2012). "Gilmore Has Steered Coastal Carolina to a Spot on College Baseball's National Stage". TheFranklinNewsPost.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sokoloski, Chris (June 29, 2016). "Gilmore guys". South Strand News. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Timmerman, Jeremy (June 12, 2013). "Seeds of Success Sewn in Aiken". AikenStandard.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "2013 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2013 Big South Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). BigSouthSports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Chants Win Two Big South Awards". The Horry Independent. May 27, 1999. p. A6. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Baseball Tournament to Test Chants". Myrtle Beach Sun News. February 10, 2002. p. B4. Archived from the original on July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Q&A with Gary Gilmore". Coaching Management, 13.7. Momentum Medi. September 2005. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 "2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Chants Chatter: Gary Gilmore Signs New Coastal Contract". The Horry Independent. July 5, 2007. p. C5. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  12. ↑ Rogers, Kendall (July 31, 2007). "Rising Programs: No. 9 Coastal Carolina". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  13. ↑ Foley, Brian (January 4, 2008). "CBB Talks with Gary Gilmore". CollegeBaseballDaily.com. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ Ballew, Bill (2009). "Another "Carolina" Aiming for Omaha" (PDF). BaseballTheMag.com. pp. 68–71. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Sorenson, Eric (April 15, 2010). "Taking a Chants on Coastal Carolina". CollegeBaseballToday.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  16. ↑ Rogers, Kendall (May 19, 2010). "Coastal Carolina Only Wants Omaha". Yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  17. ↑ Young, Ryan (May 27, 2013). "Coastal Carolina Baseball Makes NCAA tournament, Will Head to Virginia Tech Regional". MyrtleBeachOnline.com. Myrtle Beach Sun News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  18. ↑ Berman, Mark (June 1, 2013). "Hokies Rebound, Eliminate Coastal Carolina in NCAA Baseball Regional". Roanoke.com. Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Coastal Carolina Baseball/Softball Stadium Project Approved". GoCCUSports.com. Coastal Carolina Sports Information. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Coastal Carolina University Baseball Players Who Made It to the Major Leagues". Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ "2013 Big South Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy and Cynthia Mills. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
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