Dec. 16, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina has approved a two-year contract extension for head baseball coach Chad Holbrook. The contract extension puts Holbrook under contract through the end of the 2019 season.
“It is an honor to be the head baseball coach at the University of South Carolina,” said Chad Holbrook. I want to thank the Board of Trustees, Dr. Pastides and Coach Tanner for their unwavering commitment to the entire Gamecock baseball program and me. It is really neat and comforting to be surrounded by such great leadership. South Carolina is a special place with the best fans in the country and I am fortunate to work with an incredible staff and a group of great players that continue to represent this university the right way. We look forward to getting back out on the field soon and are excited for the upcoming season and the years ahead.”
Chad Holbrook is in his third year as head coach of the South Carolina program after directing the Gamecocks in 2014 to a 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Holbrook is the only head coach in South Carolina history to have led a team to the NCAA Regionals in his first two years as head coach. His SEC winning percentage of .593 is the highest of any South Carolina coach in the first two seasons of the league and his overall winning percentage of .696 is the second-highest of any South Carolina coach in his first two seasons at the helm of the program.
Last season, the Gamecocks finished 44-18 and finished ranked as high as No. 22 by the USA Today coaches’ poll. South Carolina went 18-12 in the SEC and is one of only two schools in the conference to finish among the top four teams in the league in both 2013 and 2014 and one of four schools in the SEC to win at least 40 games in both 2013 and 2014. South Carolina is also one of only nine schools in the nation to host a NCAA Regional in 2013 and 2014.
Among the highlights in 2014 included a series sweep of instate rival Clemson, the eighth consecutive year the Gamecocks have won more games than the Tigers on the baseball diamond. Holbrook’s team would claim six SEC series including a pair of wins at eventual national champion Vanderbilt as well as a series victory vs. CWS participant Ole Miss. South Carolina hosted a NCAA Regional for the fifth-straight year marking the Gamecocks as one of only two schools in the nation to claim that distinction. Gamecock Nation flocked to Carolina Stadium as South Carolina set a total attendance record at 305,564 in 2014, the first time South Carolina eclipsed the 300,000-plus mark. South Carolina also set a record with 5,957 season tickets sold.
The 2014 Gamecocks led the SEC with a 2.43 earned run average that ranked ninth in the nation. The pitching staff was among the best in the country with 13 shutouts, fifth-highest in the nation, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.03, sixth-best in the country and a 1.12 WHIP that was eighth overall. South Carolina hit .281 as a team with a .361 team on-base percentage and fielded .975 as well.
South Carolina would have seven players selected in the 2014 MLB Draft including five players in the first 11 rounds. Highlighting that group was junior catcher Grayson Greiner, who was a third round pick and the No. 99 overall selection by the Detroit Tigers. Greiner was a second-team All-America honoree by Baseball America and Perfect Game and was named he 2013-14 USC Co-Male Student-Athlete of the Year alongside Gamecock football/basketball standout Bruce Ellington.
