Latest news with #KevinSchnall
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Coastal Carolina all in on keeping baseball program a national power in new era of college sports
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Though many athletic programs outside the power four conferences are expected to drop off competitively when scholarship limits are removed and revenue sharing begins July 1, College World Series finalist Coastal Carolina is committed to continue playing with the big boys in baseball. Rosters will be capped at 34 in Division I baseball going forward, and first-year athletic director Chance Miller told The Associated Press all 34 at Coastal Carolina would receive full scholarships and be in line for direct rev-share payments. Miller said he also believes the Chanticleers' opportunities for name, image and likeness earnings will compare favorably with those for power conference baseball teams within two years. Baseball is Coastal Carolina's flagship sport. The Chanticleers have played in 21 NCAA Tournaments since 1991, won the 2016 CWS for their first national championship in any sport, and they'll take a 26-game win streak into the best-of-three finals against LSU starting Saturday night. Coach Kevin Schnall said the athletic administration's support 'at the highest level' is a big reason the Chanticleers are back in Omaha. 'What I mean by that is they enabled us to hire an elite coaching staff that would rival any coaching staff in the entire country,' Schnall said. 'They give us the resources to put our players in the best position to become the best players that they can be. And it's an absolute team effort.' Miller said the budget has been restructured to allocate more money for scholarships without asking for additional institutional support. He said a significant portion of the revenue sharing for 2025-26 comes from donors, including a 'transformational gift' from one who wished to remain anonymous. A fundraising dinner in Omaha last week brought in $1 million, he said. Coastal Carolina's baseball players are earning about $200,000 combined in third-party NIL deals this year; retired coach Gary Gilmore noted, 'LSU has that much in just one guy.' Miller said NIL numbers for the next year will be inflated at a lot of power four schools. That's because many NIL deals were paid up front rather than having payments spread out. Athletes and their agents wanted to avoid having to get those valued at $600-plus vetted by the NIL clearinghouse, as required after June 6 when the House settlement was approved. 'We talked to one of the collectives from a power four school I know very well, and right now they're spending $2.5 million on the (baseball) team and next year they're going to spend $3 million because they frontloaded a lot of NIL money from their collective,' Miller said. 'The year after that, they're going to drop down to $500,000. So that's a drastic drop.' Miller's charge, like his predecessor's, is to keep Coastal Carolina in the top tier of college baseball. 'The mentality of our program — all the way back to Coach Gilmore's early days in the late 90s — was geared to reach Omaha,' said Matt Hogue, who retired as athletic director last year to become director of Coastal Carolina's Center for Sports Broadcasting. 'The way we financially invested, how we scheduled, infrastructure. We always viewed the CWS as the expectation, not a novelty.' LSU coach Jay Johnson said if there's one non-power conference baseball program able to keep competing for trips to Omaha in the new era of college athletics, it's Coastal Carolina. 'Gonzaga basketball, Boise State football. The ones sustainable for decades, that's who they are,' he said. 'This is no surprise to me we're playing them. As long as coach Schnall's there, they're not going anywhere for a long time.' ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
College World Series: Analyzing LSU, Coastal Carolina finals
And now, the end is near, and so we face the final series. Sorry, Frank, couldn't resist. The college baseball season will soon reach its conclusion at the Men's College World Series, with the last two teams standing set to square off in the best-of-three finale at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Advertisement One program has already claimed seven championship banners, the last coming just two years ago. But the other is no underdog, having also won this championship before despite not representing one of the so-called power conferences. Here's all you need to know about the finalists and how to watch the last showdown on the collegiate sports calendar. No. 6 LSU (51-15) vs. No. 13 Coastal Carolina (56-11) Game 1, June 21, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Game 2, June 22, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC Game 3 (if necessary), June 23, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Both teams negotiated their respective four-team brackets in Omaha unscathed, although LSU did so with a bit more drama. The Tigers' ninth-inning rally, admittedly aided by Arkansas' miscues in the field, nonetheless demonstrated that an opponent can't afford to leave the door open against this batting order. The Chanticleers, however, might just be the team best-constructed to keep LSU at bay, with pitching depth and sound defensive fundamentals. Advertisement Coastal coach Kevin Schnall has options regarding his rotation, but it's fairly certain that Jacob Morrison and Cameron Flukey will start Games 1 and 2 in some order. The Chanticleers can also be confident that Riley Eikhoff can be called upon if a Game 3 is needed, and Ryan Lynch and Dominick Carbone anchor a deep bullpen that is well-rested. The primary threats they'll face from LSU's formidable lineup include Jared Jones (.330, 22 HR, 76 RBI) and Derek Curiel (.348, 53 RBI, 66 runs scored). Of course, there's the other side of the matchup, where the Tigers also have some accomplished arms. LSU generates 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and that's usually the M.O. to get out of jams. Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson are the K leaders, with closer Casan Evans also able to miss bats. Coastal might not have LSU's power, but the Chanticleers' ability to make contact and get timely hits has served them well. Coastal catcher Caden Bodine and first baseman Colby Thorndyke are just a couple of the clutch producers from a lineup whose top six hitters have an average above .275. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU, Coastal Carolina CWS finale: How teams match up
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
College World Series: Analyzing LSU, Coastal Carolina finals
And now, the end is near, and so we face the final series. Sorry, Frank, couldn't resist. The college baseball season will soon reach its conclusion at the Men's College World Series, with the last two teams standing set to square off in the best-of-three finale at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Advertisement One program has already claimed seven championship banners, the last coming just two years ago. But the other is no underdog, having also won this championship before despite not representing one of the so-called power conferences. Here's all you need to know about the finalists and how to watch the last showdown on the collegiate sports calendar. No. 6 LSU (51-15) vs. No. 13 Coastal Carolina (56-11) Game 1, June 21, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Game 2, June 22, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC Game 3 (if necessary), June 23, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Both teams negotiated their respective four-team brackets in Omaha unscathed, although LSU did so with a bit more drama. The Tigers' ninth-inning rally, admittedly aided by Arkansas' miscues in the field, nonetheless demonstrated that an opponent can't afford to leave the door open against this batting order. The Chanticleers, however, might just be the team best-constructed to keep LSU at bay, with pitching depth and sound defensive fundamentals. Advertisement Coastal coach Kevin Schnall has options regarding his rotation, but it's fairly certain that Jacob Morrison and Cameron Flukey will start Games 1 and 2 in some order. The Chanticleers can also be confident that Riley Eikhoff can be called upon if a Game 3 is needed, and Ryan Lynch and Dominick Carbone anchor a deep bullpen that is well-rested. The primary threats they'll face from LSU's formidable lineup include Jared Jones (.330, 22 HR, 76 RBI) and Derek Curiel (.348, 53 RBI, 66 runs scored). Of course, there's the other side of the matchup, where the Tigers also have some accomplished arms. LSU generates 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and that's usually the M.O. to get out of jams. Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson are the K leaders, with closer Casan Evans also able to miss bats. Coastal might not have LSU's power, but the Chanticleers' ability to make contact and get timely hits has served them well. Coastal catcher Caden Bodine and first baseman Colby Thorndyke are just a couple of the clutch producers from a lineup whose top six hitters have an average above .275. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU, Coastal Carolina CWS finale: How teams match up
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Coastal Carolina is in CWS finals, and retired coach Gary Gilmore is happy to watch from afar
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Considering the run Coastal Carolina's baseball team is on — 26 straight wins on the way to the College World Series finals — it would be understandable if Gary Gilmore had second thoughts about retiring after last season. Not a one, he said by phone Thursday as he pulled out of the driveway of his home in North Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, to head to his grandson's travel team tournament. The 67-year-old Gilmore attended no Coastal Carolina games this season until the Chanticleers' first two in the CWS last weekend. He sat in the stands at Charles Schwab Field, uncomfortable as it was for the man who spent 29 years at the helm, led the 2016 Chanticleers to the national championship and is regarded as the godfather of program. Gilmore said he and his family would be back for the best-of-three finals against LSU starting Saturday night. 'Is there a piece of my DNA in this thing? Absolutely. There's no doubt about it,' Gilmore said, 'and I hope it will be for all time.' But the 2025 Chanticleers are first-year coach Kevin Schnall's team, and Gilmore said he wanted to make a clean break and not give the impression he was looking over Schnall's shoulder. Schnall was Gilmore's assistant for more than two decades. The grind of building Coastal Carolina into a perennial NCAA Tournament team and CWS contender caused Gilmore to sacrifice time with his wife and two children to chase championships, as coaches are wont to do. When he was hired as head coach in 1996, his office was in a trailer with no plumbing behind a weed-filled outfield. Twenty years later, the Chanticleers were national champions. Gilmore could have said his work was done at that point, but he wasn't ready quite yet. In January 2020, he got a devastating reality check when he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. It had spread to his liver, but it was a type that tends to be more manageable than the more common variety that invariably carries a grim prognosis. He went through chemotherapy and traveled regularly first to Houston, and now Denver, for treatments. In 2023, he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and had surgery to remove the gland. Gilmore tolerated his treatments for both cancers better than expected. He missed only three games and rarely a practice. All he went through, though, made him realize the pull to dedicate more of himself to his family was getting stronger. He wanted to reconnect with his wife and children and build strong bonds with his four grandchildren. 'I feel awesome,' he said. 'I have what I have. I've got the best doctor in the world. His goal is to manage all this stuff. At some point I'm going to have a life-changing surgery where they can get everything in my liver completely stabilized, and they have confidence that's going to last me a long time. I'll hopefully rid myself of some of this.' Doctors initially told him the worst-case scenario was that he would live two more years; the 'dream' was to make it 10. Now the outlook is better. 'How things have gone, God willing, they can keep me with a good quality of life and hopefully something else will get me before that,' he said. Gilmore acknowledges the game isn't the same now with name, image and likeness opportunities and, soon, direct payments to athletes becoming larger factors in putting together and keeping together a team. 'The NIL, the analytics, the portal,' he said. 'I honestly think this is a younger guy's game, to be honest with you. Guys like me, we coached the game with our eyes. We didn't coach with analytics and this and that. We recruited with our eyes. We didn't recruit over the internet to a large degree. We went out and saw guys play, evaluated people. 'That's not the reason I got out of it, ultimately. I've got two stage-4 cancers is my body. I feel healthy as I can, and I'm lucky and blessed I have the health I do. All that played out in my mind. You're 67 years old, you got four grandkids. What are the choices you want to make here?' Right now, his choice is to be with his family while he enjoys watching the team he helped build chase a second national championship and see all that is possible for the 10,000-student school in the Myrtle Beach area that had no national athletic identity before 2016. 'Just because of the size of school, people want to label you Cinderella,' Gilmore said. 'We were a Cinderella in '16, absolutely, no doubt about it. We left Omaha still explaining what our mascot was, and Kevin's still doing it today.' Indeed, Schnall gave a stern pronunciation lesson to the media after his team beat Oregon State on Sunday, opening his news conference: 'Everybody say it with me: SHON-tuh-cleers! SHON-tuh-cleers! Not SHAN-tuh-cleers! SHON-tuh-cleers!' However you say it, the Chanticleers are well-suited to the cavernous CWS ballpark. They don't hit many home runs, but they get on base, get timely hits, have strong pitching and play outstanding defense. They're also hot. 'I've never seen anything like this,' Gilmore said. 'Crazy.' ___ AP college sports:
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Coastal Carolina jumps on Louisville for an 11-3 win and earns a spot in College World Series finals
OMAHA, Neb. — Coastal Carolina advanced to the College World Series finals with a 11-3 victory over Louisville on Wednesday, scoring five of its six first-inning runs before making an out and extending its win streak to 26 games. The Chanticleers (56-11) will face LSU, a 6-5 winner over Arkansas, in the best-of-three finals starting Saturday. They are going for their second national championship in two all-time appearances in Omaha. They won their first in 2016 . 'To do what we did today versus that team, as well coached as that team is, is really amazing,' coach Kevin Schnall said. 'The Chanticleers are one of two teams in the entire country still playing. It's incredible, but it's not unbelievable. And it's not unbelievable because we've got really good players, really good players.' Louisville (42-24) started left-hander Colton Hartman, primarily a reliever who hadn't appeared in a game since May 17. He didn't last long. Caden Bodine singled leading off and Sebastian Alexander and Blake Barthol were hit by pitches to load the bases. Walker Mitchell punched a ball into right field to bring in two runs, and then Hartman issued a four-pitch walk. Out went Hartman (2-1) and in came Jake Schweitzer. Colby Thorndyke greeted him with his second bases-clearing double in two games to make it 5-0. Thorndyke came home on Ty Dooley's one-out single and finished 3 for 4 with five RBIs. 'We always preach when the bases are loaded, the pressure is on the pitcher,' Thorndyke said. 'It's not on the hitter. He's got to throw three strikes. If he throws four balls then it's a run. So we always preach the pressure is on the pitcher.' The Chanticleers padded their lead with Pete Mihos' two-run triple in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth. Coastal Carolina is 43-0 when leading after six innings. The Chanticleers made an impressive run through their bracket, beating Arizona 7-4 and Oregon State 6-2 before eliminating the Cardinals. They led or were tied all the way through except for a half-inning against Arizona. 'These guys, ooh, they've done it in the last half of the season, in the conference tournament, in the regionals, in supers, in Omaha, against, as we say, the best teams,' Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. 'It's impressive what they've done.' Riley Eikhoff (7-2), making his second start in the CWS, held the Cardinals scoreless until Tague Davis drove an RBI double into the right-center gap in the sixth. Matthew Potok, Hayden Johnson and Dominick Carbone combined for 3 2/3 shutout innings of relief. 'Offense goes out there gives you a big lead, it's big pressure off yourself,' Eikhoff said. 'You go out there, just do your thing, try and make pitches. I made quite a few pitches today, and the defense made great plays behind me. Without them, the score wouldn't be the same today.' Cardinals ace Patrick Forbes, who pitched 5 1/3 innings in a 4-3 loss to Oregon State on Friday, had asked to be the starter against the Chanticleers on four days' rest, according to ESPN. Coach Dan McDonnell planned to hold him back for a possible second bracket final against the Chanticleers on Thursday or use him for one inning if needed Wednesday. Hartman's disastrous start all but ended Louisville's hopes of forcing a winner-take-all game. 'I'm just grateful to be along for this journey and just be one of the people or one of the teams that can go down in the history books for Louisville,' Eddie King Jr. said. 'This is a special team and I'm just sad that it came to an end today.' ___ AP college sports:
