The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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50 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. PACK PERSPECTIVE BY TIM PEELER T he NC State baseball pro- gram has produced dozens of All-Americans, more than 50 major league players and d o u b l e - f i g u re f i rs t - ro u n d picks in the draft of amateur players, but Ray Tanner — a stumpy infielder from 1977- 8 0, a s s i s ta n t c o a c h f ro m 1980-87 and head baseball coach from 1988-96 — is the first of the thousands of play- ers in school history to make his way into the College Base- ball Hall of Fame. The hall was founded in 2006 and physically opened in 2024 in Overland Park, Kan. Tanner, who had his biggest success as head coach and athletics direc- tor at South Carolina, is one of 21 former players and coaches who make up the class of 2025. He will be enshrined in February. It's an honor that not only recognizes Tanner's success in winning two College World Se- ries titles, multiple champion- ships in both the ACC and SEC and his contributions to USA Baseball, but also his life's work in supporting the game he grew up playing in the dusty tobacco fields of Benson, N.C. It also affirms the core values he brought with him to play for mentor and role model Sam Esposito, who coached the Wolfpack from 1967-87. A career .283 hitter, Tanner compiled a .315 bat- ting average as a senior and was named first-team All-ACC. "I came from the school of discipline, accountability, responsibility, commit- ment and dedication," Tanner said re- cently. After compiling a 395-173-3 record at NC State, Tanner left following the 1996 campaign and spent 16 seasons as South Carolina's head coach, win- ning back-to-back College World Series titles in 2010 and '11 and finishing as runner-up in 2012. He retired as coach in order to become the school's athlet- ics director from 2012-24, overseeing a program that won four national titles and 21 SEC championships in all sports. He now serves as the senior advisor to the university president working in do- nor relations. South Carolina's Founders Stadium may have its field named in Tanner's honor, but his first coaching finger- prints are at his alma mater, where he earned an undergraduate degree in rec- reation resources administration and a master's degree in public administra- tion and began his career in coaching and athletics administration. Always a scrappy player and re- cruiter, Tanner had a work ethic that rubbed off on generations of Wolfpack players. "Tired was never an option for Ray," said Dan Plesac, a former Wolfpack pitcher during Tanner's time as an as- sistant who pitched in the major leagues for 18 seasons. "As a coach, he was fiercely loyal and ultra-competitive." Tanner served for eight years as Esposito's top assistant and one year in the dual role as assistant athletics director for game-day operations. In 1987, when Esposito retired, he was named head coach. He was part of two regular-sea- son ACC titles as an assistant coach and NC State's most re- cent ACC Tournament cham- pionship (1992) as head coach. "I was lucky enough to play for and coach with Coach Tan- ner at both NC State and South Carolina," said former catcher and assistant Jim Toman. "He's been like a big brother to me. We're only four years apart, but he taught me so much. "He was a 24-hours-a-day baseball guy. He was relentless. He always treated his players with respect, even though he was tough as hell on them. That's a hard combination, but that's what makes him a hall of fame coach." While he ended his career elsewhere, he will always be part of NC State's foundation of suc- cess, said Tanner's successor, Elliott Avent, who just completed his 29th season with the Wolfpack. "I was showing a recruit through the lobby of the baseball offices at Doak Field, and I showed him a graphic that is on the wall," Avent said. "It lists the five coaches who have led NC State for more than 100 years. That's incredible. It speaks to what NC State baseball is. It's about loyalty and commitment and excellence, all of which has happened despite the lack of facilities, despite all the conference realignment, despite all the things going on these days in college baseball. "We have maintained a level of excel- lence that we are all proud of. Ray Tan- ner, in his two decades as a player, as- sistant coach and head coach, has been a huge part of that." ■ Tanner was a Wolfpack player and assistant coach before taking charge of the program in 1988. He served as NC State's head coach for nine seasons and was recently named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS New Hall Of Famer Ray Tanner Was A Pivotal Figure In NC State Baseball History