2-Time NCAA Baseball Champ, South Carolina’s Ray Tanner, To Step Down To Become A.D.

Multiple media outlets across the state are reporting that Ray Tanner will be named the Gameoccks athletic director at a Friday press conference and leave the diamond after winning back to back national championships and reaching the national title game for a third straight year.  Columbia sports radio station 107.5 The Game has confirmed that Tanner will be formally introduced as athletic director on Friday and Chad Holbrook, USC’s top baseball assistant, will be named the Gamecocks head baseball coach on Monday at another press conference. 

  Tanner replaces Eric Hyman, who is leaving South Carolina to become the new athletic director at Texas A&M.  He spent 16 seasons as the Gamecocks baseball coach, making 14 NCAA appaearances, 10 Super Regionals and six trips to Omaha and the College World Series.  USC was the national runner-up in 2002 in the CWS and followed that with final eight appearances in 2003 and 2004.  The Gamecocks won back to back national championships in Omaha in 2010 and 2011 followed by reaching the national championship series in 2012.  He had a 738-316 record, and now turns the reins over to his top assistant.

  Chad Holbrook has been the associate head coach at South Carolina since 2008 after 15 years at the University of North Carolina.  He has the reputation for being one of the top recruiters in the nation. 

Here’s a compilation of some of the state outlets reporting on Tanner’s hiring as Gamecocks AD

AP: Gamecocks to name Tanner AD 

Sports Talk: Hoory for Ray! Tanner named AD 

Charleston Post and Courier: SC to name Tanner Athletic Director