Meet Gamecocks Baseball's New Coaching Staff

In a surprising move, the University of South Carolina officially announced that Ray Tanner would be the school’s new Athletic Director. Tanner, who led the Gamecocks baseball team to two NCAA College World Series titles, is replacing Eric Hyman, who left for Texas A&M.

Where does that leave the baseball team? The Gamecocks have already lost several key players, including Michael Roth and Matt Price. With Tanner leaving the team, they must now adjust to coaches in new positions.

The Gamecocks new coaches are actually old faces. Let's see who will lead the baseball team next season.

Head Coach: Chad Holbrook

On Monday, Tanner announced Chad Holbrook as his replacement. Holbrook has been with the Gamecocks since 2008. He spent the last four seasons as Associate Head Coach as well as recruiting coordinator. As hitting instructor, he oversaw the offense, worked with outfielders and was the third base coach. 

Last year, Holbrook was named the 2011 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year. In January 2011, ESPN The Magazine and ESPNU included him on their list of best recruiters in college sports, ranked tenth.

Associate Head Coach: Jerry Meyers

Holbrook has announced that Jerry Meyers will replace him as Associate Head Coach. Meyers will also continue to oversee the pitchers.  Meyers spent the last two seasons as assistant head coach, and was an assistant from 1997-2004 until he left to become Old Dominion’s head coach.

Under Meyers, the Gamecocks pitching staff had an ERA of 2.97 in the 2012 season. The previous season, the team ERA was 2.45, the team’s best ERA is 36 seasons. In Meyers’ previous stint with the Gamecocks, he led one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. He coached ten All-American pitchers in that time.

Assitant Head Coach: Sammy Esposito

Sammy Esposito has been named South Carolina’s Assistant Head Coach and will oversee the infielders and catchers. He has been with the Gamecocks for five seasons and is the team’s first base coach. He also spent two seasons at Georgia Southern.

He is the son of Sam Esposito, former baseball head coach at North Carolina State University. The elder Esposito coached Ray Tanner during his playing days at the school.