Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore, entered his 14th season with the Chanticleers, has seen the program continually rise in the world of college baseball to a national power. Eight NCAA berths, eight 40+ win seasons in the last 10 years, 11-straight winning seasons, numerous draft picks with more to come and a first trip to the NCAA Super Regionals are just part of the exciting things going on in Coastal Carolina baseball.

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.

In his 19 seasons as a college head coach, Gilmore’s teams have averaged more than 39 wins a year, including 12 40-plus win seasons. In his 13 years at Coastal Carolina, Gilmore’s ball clubs have finished in the top four of the Big South Conference standings 12 times, including regular season titles in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008. Coastal Carolina also was one of only seven schools in Division I to win 40-plus games from 2001 to 2005. He has coached 62 All-Big South Conference players and six Big South Players of the Year, including Dock Doyle in 2008. Ryan McGraw also broke the NCAA single-season stolen base mark with 63 in 2002.

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. In 1993, Gilmore was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year by his peers.

In all, Coach Gilmore has been named the Regional Coach of the Year five times, conference Coach of the Year four times and a National Coach of the Year Finalist twice. More than 60 of his players have gone on to sign professional contracts, with seven making it to the major leagues.