South Carolina

Coach Ray Tanner is a class act. A terrific man and a very good coach. I met him when he was at NCSU before he left for SC. Just a down to earth kind of guy. Coach Holbrook came from UNC where he played and was the Assoc HC before taking the job at SC. One of the most respected if not the most respected college coaches in the state of NC while he was here. A great recruiter who like Coach Tanner is about as down to earth as you can get.

Great program. Very good school. Top notch facilities. Top notch conference if not the best in the nation. Character guys in my book. Top of the line individuals in every way.

Coach, you have a PM.

FWIW - I thought South Carolina was the best-coached and most disciplined team I saw in the tournament last year. Two of their best players were freshmen (closer, 1b) and they may have the best player in the country in Jackie Bradley Jr.

quote:

Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
I realize they won the College World Series but does anyone have any helpful insight into the program and the coaching staff?

Relatively new stadium/facility...rivals many MiLB stadiums...

http://etvstore.org/products/d...c=D&sstring=baseball

This link is to the SC educational TV store, and there one-hour program on the history of USC baseball from the perspective of head coaches Bobby Richardson, June Raines, and present day coach Ray Tanner. Not sure it will answer many questions for parents and prospective recruits, but its a great program nonetheless.

We stayed up there for a weekend last bb season because my sons varsity team was in a tourney a few miles away at a local HS. The USC campus is spread out surrounding and adjacent to the state capitol. The area is lined with trees and the main section of the campus is beautiful. That said, many of the facilities are spread out over several miles. For instance the baseball, basketball and football facilities are off campus. Then again the basketball arena is right next to several other USc facilities, but again you need some means of transportation. The BB field is great, and they have their own weight room at the field. The coaches are nice and accessible, and the head coach even spoke to all the different teams participating in the tourney. He stressed good grades, character, etc., and think he made an impression on many of the kids. This was all before they won the CWS, yet several kids were saying they would love to go and play for him.

Now I would be remiss if I did not point out that some of the surrounding areas looked a little rough. It seems as if they are trying to revitalize the area, but it is certainly not a place you would want to walk the streets off campus after dark. That is not to say it is anything like USC in California where you would need the SWAT team to escort you off campus. Rather it has a few spots to avoid, but overall the area is decent.

Another thing to keep in mind, this is a top D1 baseball program having just won the CWS. If you are thinking about it for your son baseball wise, he had better be a great player because they obviously have some of the best college talent in the country.

I'd echo about everything here. The coaches are good people, very driven and very competitive. The program's profile -- while always strong with 9 CWS appearances -- has been elevated with the national title and $40 million ballpark. It's a downtown campus and has gotten much more spread out over the years, but most of that has been related to facilities upgrades.

There's real momentum here, and if Ray Tanner and Chad Holbrook are recruiting you, then you can pay. Also have a new/old pitching coach in Jerry Meyers, who returned here after a head stint at Old Dominion.

Yeah, Meyers was the pitching coach in the early 2000's when they produced all of those first round pitchers. The stadium is crazy. My first trainee committed there this summer and I could believe how nice it was. That indoor hitting and pitching area they have is amazing