Ray Tanner went out on top as a coach, finishing his quarter century as a collegiate baseball skipper with what's arguably the greatest three-year postseason run in NCAA Div. I baseball history from 2010-12.
Tanner's University of South Carolina Gamecocks established NCAA records with 22 consecutive postseason wins and 12 consecutive wins in the College World Series from 2010-12. The Gamecocks won back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 before finishing second in 2012. South Carolina's 30-4 (.882) NCAA Tournament record marked the fifth best three-year postseason record in NCAA history.
Following the 2012 CWS runner-up finish, Tanner was named South Carolina's Athletic Director and has since led the Gamecocks' Athletic Department in one of its most successful eras.
The 2012 season was Tanner's 25th year as a collegiate head coach. He posted a 738-316 record at South Carolina with a .700 winning percentage that ranked third all-time among SEC coaches. He compiled a career record of 1,133-489-3 (.699) and finished his coaching stint with 13 straight 40-win seasons.
In all, Tanner led South Carolina to six College World Series appearances, three SEC championships, six SEC Eastern Division titles and 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances along with the two CWS titles.
Tanner's uniform No. 1 is retired by USC and the street outside Carolina Stadium was renamed in his honor. He was also inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2013.
Tanner began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, NC State, serving as assistant coach for three seasons (1985-87) before leading the squad from 1988 through 1996.
Tanner became one of the youngest head coaches in the nation upon taking over the head coaching duties at NC State in 1988. He quickly found success with the Wolfpack, being named the 1990 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year before winning 49 games in 1993.
During his nine-year tenure as head coach, Tanner led the Wolfpack to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and finished with a 395-173-3 record. His 395 coaching wins rank second in school history.
Tanner arrived on the Raleigh campus in the fall of 1976, playing four years as a shortstop and third baseman. He earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors his senior season and still ranks among the Wolfpack's all-time leaders in several categories.
Tanner served as a coach with USA Baseball five times, including in 2003 as head coach for the USA National Baseball Team. The club finished with a 27-2 record, the best record for a U.S. National Team (.931 winning percentage) and won a silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. Prior to his head coaching stint, Tanner was involved with the 2000 Olympic team that won a gold medal in Sydney, Australia, and the 1996 bronze medal team in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
