Ray Tanner Field Dedication to Take Place Feb. 15

COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina will hold the Ray Tanner Field at Founders Park dedication ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 15, the athletic department announced this afternoon (Monday, Jan. 13). The ceremony will take place on the field prior to first pitch of the Gamecocks’ contest against Sacred Heart, which starts at 2 p.m. The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Ray Tanner trading card.

Tanner was the head coach of the Gamecocks for 16 years, leading the baseball program to unprecedented heights. He led USC to back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 as well as a pair of runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2012. Carolina made six College World Series appearances during his time as head coach and won three SEC championships, six SEC Eastern Division crowns and an SEC Tournament title in 2004. He went to 10 NCAA Super Regionals and 14 NCAA Tournament appearances.

In the three-year span from 2010 to 2012, the Gamecocks established NCAA records with 22 consecutive postseason wins and 12 consecutive wins in the College World Series. Tanner won 738 games in his 16 seasons in Columbia and 1,133 overall wins between USC and NC State (1988-96) and was a three-time National Coach of the Year and three-time SEC Coach of the Year.

Tanner guided two players that won National Player of the Year honors (Kip Bouknight, 2000; Michael Roth, 2011), two SEC Player of the Year honorees (Bouknight, 2000; Yaron Peters, 2002), one SEC Pitcher of the Year winner (David Marchbanks, 2003) and two SEC Boyd McWhorter Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Trey Dyson, 2002; Michael Roth, 2012).

Tanner also was the Athletics Director at South Carolina for over 12 years from 2012-24. Carolina won four national championships (2015 equestrian, 2017, 2022 and 2024 women’s basketball), 21 SEC regular season and tournament championships and have posted five of the top nine finishes in the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup All-Sports Standings in school history.

The field dedication is part of Opening Weekend at Founders Park. Opening Day is Friday, Feb. 14 against Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. The series finale takes place Sunday, Feb. 16 at noon.

Former players and members of the program will soon receive an email in regards to special events and gatherings occurring on Feb. 15. If you do not receive an email, please reach out to Stuart Lake directly.