June 24, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – Former South Carolina associate head coach Jim Toman has been named the head baseball coach at Liberty University, as announced on Sunday afternoon. Toman recently completed his 11th year on head coach Ray Tanner’s staff at South Carolina, where he helped the Gamecocks to a 46-20 record and the squad’s eighth-straight 40-plus winning season.
“I am elated for our University, and more specifically our baseball program, to have Jim Toman become our sixth head coach,” stated Liberty athletics director Jeff Barber. “He has spent the last 18 years under one of the top head coaches in the country, and is fully prepared to run his own program.
“Furthermore, after talking to dozens of college coaches, major league scouts and front office personnel, it became quite apparent Coach Toman carries with him the reputation as one of the top evaluators of baseball talent in the country. This is a great day for Liberty baseball.”
For the second-straight year and seventh time in the last eight years, South Carolina advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2007, falling to national seed North Carolina.
During his time on staff in Columbia, S.C., Toman has helped the Gamecocks to a combined 500-220 record (69.4 winning percentage), nine NCAA Regional appearances, seven NCAA Super Regionals and three-straight trips to the College World Series (2002-04).
“I am very honored and excited to accept the head coaching position at Liberty University,” remarked Toman. “My wife and family are also very excited to join the Liberty family and work in a Christian environment. I have enjoyed my 11 years at the University of South Carolina and take away many fond memories. I appreciate the opportunity Ray Tanner gave me to be a member of his staff. I am ready to get started on putting a quality staff together and continuing to move the program forward, having success in both in conference and nationally.”
Widely considered one of the top collegiate recruiters in the nation, Toman has recruited 15 Top 25 recruiting classes, including all 11 of his recruiting classes with the Gamecocks. Over the last four years, Toman has recruited three of the nation’s top recruiting classes as ranked by Collegiate Baseball, including 2003 (tied), 2005 and 2006.
Toman’s efforts at South Carolina have not gone unnoticed as the Pittsburgh, Pa., native was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Baseball America in 2002.
“Liberty has hired one of the great men in all of college baseball,” said South Carolina head baseball coach Ray Tanner. “He is a fantastic coach and a great recruiter. He will take the Flames baseball program to great heights.”
“We are extremely appreciative of all the great years of service that Coach Toman has dedicated to Carolina Baseball,” added Tanner. “We will miss Coach Toman and his family being a fixture with our Carolina family.”
Besides spearheading South Carolina’s recruiting efforts, Toman has overseen the Gamecocks’ catchers, with six catchers signing professional baseball contracts under his tutelage. This group includes All-Americans Landon Powell and Tim Whittaker. Powell was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award in 2004, which annually honors the top collegiate catchers.
Toman got his start in the coaching ranks in 1989 as an assistant coach at Florida International. After one year with the Golden Panthers, Toman took an assistant coaching position under Tanner at N.C. State in 1990 and was promoted to associate head coach in 1993. Toman followed Tanner to South Carolina in 1996 as an assistant and was promoted to associate head coach in 2004.
Toman was a four-year letterwinner at N.C. State (1981-84), graduating from the institution in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in vocational industrial education. He also received his master’s degree from N.C. State in sport management in 1995.
He was a two-time team captain with the Wolfpack during his junior and senior years. Toman highlighted his career at the 1984 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, setting records in home runs, doubles and total bases to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Toman is married to the former Ashley McLaughlin of Florence, S.C., a former volleyball player at Charleston Southern. The couple has three children – Caroline, Charlie Mac and Tucker.
