Gary Gilmore

Gary R. Gilmore is an American college baseball coach who was the head coach of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. He coached the team from 1996 through 2024. Under Gilmore, Coastal Carolina qualified for 19 NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2024. In 2016, the team made its first appearance in the College World Series and won the NCAA title. He was elected to the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2022.

Playing and scouting careers A native of Franklin County, Virginia, Gilmore played two seasons (1979–1980) of baseball at Coastal Carolina. A center fielder, Gilmore had a .353 career batting average. He also played minor league baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization for a short time.

In the early 1980s, Gilmore served as a scout for both the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians.

Coaching career

USC Aiken In 1986, Gilmore left scouting to become an assistant coach at USC Aiken.

Two future Major League Baseball (MLB) players, Adam Riggs and Bryan Ward, played under Gilmore at USC Aiken. In 2000, the team finished tied for fourth in the Big South and was eliminated early in the conference tournament.

From 2001 to 2005, Coastal Carolina made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament. In that time span, the team won four consecutive Big South Tournaments from 2001 to 2004, and Gilmore was named conference Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2005. In the three NCAA tournaments from 2002 to 2004, the team finished no higher than third in a regional. In 2008, the Chanticleers hosted and won the Conway Regional, scoring at least 10 runs in wins over fourth-seeded Columbia, third-seeded Alabama, and second-seeded East Carolina. In the Cary Super Regional, Coastal Carolina lost to No. 2 national seed North Carolina, two games to none. In 2010, Coastal Carolina had a 25–0 Big South record and went 4–0 at the Big South Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was selected as the No. 4 national seed and hosted the Myrtle Beach Regional. There, after losing its second game to College of Charleston, the team won three consecutive games to win the regional from the loser's bracket. It then hosted the best-of-three Myrtle Beach Super Regional against eventual national champion South Carolina. In it, Coastal Carolina lost both games, 4–3 and 10–9, respectively, and was eliminated from the tournament.

In 2013, the Big South split into two divisions. Coastal Carolina won the South Division. After being eliminated from the Big South Tournament, the team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament but went 0–2 at the Blacksburg Regional.

Under Gilmore, Coastal Carolina's home field, Charles Watson Stadium, was renovated several times during the early 2000s. During the 2013 season, it was rebuilt as part of a $10.2 million project to rebuild Coastal Carolina's baseball and softball facilities.

On April 17, 2014, Gilmore earned his 1,000th career victory as the Chanticleers defeated Presbyterian College 4–3 in 13 innings at TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, SC.

On June 30, 2016, Gilmore led Coastal to the National Championship, with a 4–3 victory over Arizona. It was Coastal's first trip to the CWS in program history. Coastal was the second school in South Carolina to win the CWS, following South Carolina in 2010 and 2011.

On May 30, 2023, Gilmore announced that the 2024 season would be his last. He was diagnosed with cancer in his liver and pancreas in 2020.

Ten of Gilmore's players at Coastal Carolina have played in Major League Baseball: Mike Costanzo, Dave Sappelt, Tommy La Stella, Keith Hessler, Rico Noel, Taylor Motter, Jacob May, Zach Remillard, Anthony Veneziano, and Austin Kitchen. His players have been selected in the MLB draft 89 times, with several players drafted multiple times.

Head coaching records Below is a table of Gilmore's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.

Hall of fame inductions Gilmore was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the USC Aiken Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.