Here is a look back at Jack Leggett’s 22-year career as Clemson’s head baseball coach, a career that led Clemson to 955 victories, six college world series, nine Super Regionals, 11 regional titles, three ACC Regular Season Championships, two ACC Tournament titles and one ACC Atlantic Division title.
July 2, 1993 – Bill Wilhelm announced his retirement after 36 seasons with the Tiger program. His retirement press conference was fittingly held in the first-base dugout at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He had a 1,161-536-10 (.683) record and never had a losing season. He was the fifth winning-est coach in NCAA history at the time of his retirement. Jack Leggett, who came on as Wilhelm’s Associated Head Coach in 1992 was named as his successor.
May 18-22, 1994 – The Tigers won the ACC Tournament Championship at Greenville, SC. The Tigers defeated Florida State 4-1 in the championship game. Clemson finished the season 57-18 in Leggett’s first season as head coach. Leggett was named ACC Coach of the Year and the Tigers finished the season ranked No. 4 in the country.
April 14, 1995 – The greatest comeback in Clemson history took place. It was the first game of a three-game series at N.C. State. The Wolfpack had just scored three and six runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to take a 15-4 lead. The Tiger leadoff batter struck out to start the ninth inning. Clemson then got three straight hits and two walks. Seth Brizek hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out, as David Miller scored on the play to cut the deficit to 15-7. The next six Tiger batters all reached safely on hits, highlighted by Shane Monahan’s three-run home run that cut the Wolfpack lead to just two runs. After two more hits and a walk, Matthew LeCroy tied the score with a clutch double. The Tigers went on to win the game, 17-15, in 10 innings. Clemson rallied to win the game despite being down 11 runs on the road with no runners on base in the ninth inning and one out, and without the benefit of a Wolfpack error in the inning.
May 25-28, 1995 – The Tigers won the NCAA East Regional held at Clemson with wins over Navy, Jacksonville, Winthrop, and Alabama, advancing to the program’s seven College World Series and the first of six trips under Leggett.
1995 – Clemson won the ACC regular-season title with a 20-4 record. Jack Leggett received ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors. Paul Galloway became Clemson’s first Academic All-American. Clemson was ranked No. 8 in both the final Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls.
March 8, 1996 – Jack Leggett won his 500th career game as a head coach with an 8-4 win over Virginia Tech at home.
May 23-26, 1996 – The Tigers won the NCAA East Regional at Clemson and advanced to the College World Series. Clemson recorded victories over Charleston Southern, Old Dominion, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
May 31 – June 5, 1996 – When Clemson made its eighth College World Series appearance, it had lost seven straight games in Omaha and had never won more than one game in the double-elimination tournament. Miami (FL) defeated the Tigers to open the tournament, so Clemson had to win to stay alive. The Tigers responded with a 10-inning, 8-5, win over Oklahoma State and next faced Alabama, the No. 1 seed. The morning of the game, Kris Benson and Billy Koch learned they were the No. 1 and No. 4 overall picks, respectively, of the Major League draft. The Tigers, though, sent out Ken Vining, who was 10-3, to face a potent Crimson Tide hitting attack. But it was the Tigers who jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Alabama battled back to take a 12-10 lead after eight innings. Gary Burnham and Jerome Robinson led off the ninth with singles. Then, 5’8″ second-baseman Doug Livingston hit an opposite-field double to give Clemson the lead. But the Tigers, who led 14-12, had to contain the hot Alabama bats in the bottom of the ninth. Brett Taft led off with a double. Rusty Loflin flied out to Livingston and Drew Bounds singled. On came Koch, who was making a rare relief appearance. He struck out David Tidwell and seemed to throw a game-ending groundball off the bat of Joe Caruso, but the ball went through the legs of shortstop Kurt Bultmann, plating Taft and putting runners on first and third. But Koch got Dax Norris to bounce out to first-baseman Jason Embler, who made a spectacular grab ranging to his right and looking into the sun. Embler flipped to Koch to record the final out of the game. The Tigers won 14-13 and advanced further in the College World Series than it ever had before.
1996 – Clemson led the nation with a 3.03 ERA. Clemson was ranked No. 5 in the final Baseball America poll and No. 4 in the final Collegiate Baseball poll.
1996 – Kris Benson was named National Player of the Year by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. One of the most decorated players in Tiger history also received the Dick Howser Trophy and the Smith Award. He won his first 14 decisions and had a 2.02 ERA in 156.0 innings pitched. He allowed 109 hits and 27 walks while striking out 204 (7.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio), easily a Tiger record. He had seven complete games and four shutouts as well. Benson was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1996 draft (Pirates), the first player in Clemson history to go No. 1 overall. He donned the Red, White, and Blue for Team USA in the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, earning a bronze medal. Tiger teammates Billy Koch and Matthew LeCroy joined Benson on the Olympic team.
May 22-24, 1997 – Clemson played in the NCAA Central Regional at Lubbock, TX. Clemson defeated Nevada in its opener, but lost to Rice and Texas State.
1997 – Matthew LeCroy hit 24 home runs and set a Clemson record with 53 career homers. Kurt Bultmann set a Clemson record with 31 doubles, a mark later eclipsed by Khalil Greene.
May 26-28, 2000 – Clemson played host to Middle Tennessee, Illinois, and Old Dominion in regional play, and claimed wins over Middle Tennessee (4-0, 21-3) and a win over Illinois (9-3) to earn the right at hosting the first-ever super regional at Clemson.
June 2-3, 2000 – The Tigers defeated Mississippi State 11-4 and 9-4 in the Clemson Super Regional to earn their ninth trip to the College World Series.
June 9-14, 2000 – Clemson made its first appearance in the College World Series since 1996. The Tigers beat San Jose State 10-6 before losing to top-ranked Stanford, 10-4, to fall into the losers’ bracket. Clemson was then eliminated by Louisiana-Lafayette, 5-4.
2000 – Clemson had a 51-18 record and was ranked No. 7 in the final Baseball America poll, No. 6 in the final Collegiate Baseball poll, and No. 5 in the final Sports Weekly poll.
March 17 – April 5, 2002 – Clemson won 13 more games in a row to start 26-1. The winning streak helped the Tigers rank No. 1 in all three polls for seven straight weeks.
April 16 – June 14, 2002 – Khalil Greene had a 34-game hitting streak, the third-longest streak in Clemson history. He batted .519 with 48 RBIs during the streak. The streak ended against Georgia Tech in the College World Series.
May 12, 2002 – Khalil Greene set the ACC record for career hits with his 367th at Virginia. He went on to total 403 hits, second-most in NCAA history. In the series, he also went eight straight at-bats with a hit and 13 consecutive plate appearances reaching base safely. Leggett also won his 800th career game this day.
June 7-9, 2002 – After sweeping through the Clemson Regional the weekend before, the Tigers fell to Arkansas in the first game of the Clemson Super Regional. But the Tigers fought back to win the final two games and advance to Omaha for the 10th time in school history. Khalil Greene homered in his last at-bat at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
June 14-21, 2002 – Clemson had one its most successful runs in the College World Series when it won the first two games over hometown favorite Nebraska and Georgia Tech. Against the Cornhuskers, Clemson overcame a five-run deficit before rallying to win, 11-10. Khalil Greene’s dramatic three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Tigers the lead late in the game. Jeff Baker broke a 10-10 tie with a double to score the games winning-run. Michael Johnson then went 3-for-3 with a home run in Clemson’s eight-run second inning against Georgia Tech, as the Tigers won their second straight game, 9-7. Clemson then ran into a buzz-saw in South Carolina, falling twice. Clemson had defeated the Gamecocks three out of four times in the regular season. The final game saw Greene start his 269th consecutive game, believed to be an NCAA record. He also played in his 272th straight game, or every game he was a Tiger. He broke the NCAA record for career doubles (95) during the College World Series as well.
2002 – Clemson had a 54-17 record and was ranked No. 3 in all three final polls. The Tigers set school records for home runs (112), fielding percentage (.971), and saves (26). The trio of Jeff Baker, Khalil Greene, and Michael Johnson combined for 77 home runs and 259 RBIs. They were three of eight Tigers selected in the Major League draft, including Greene, who was a first-round pick, and Johnson, who was picked in the second round. Greene went on to earn National Player-of-the-Year honors from all six services that gave the award.
June 3-5, 2005 – The Tigers swept their way through the Clemson Regional with wins over North Carolina A&T, College of Charleston, and Oral Roberts by a combined score of 26-5. Andy D’Alessio had the nation’s highest batting average in a regional, as he earned Clemson Regional MVP honors thanks to going 7-for-9 (.778) with four doubles, a home run, and four RBIs.
June 11-13, 2005 – Clemson traveled to Texas to play No. 6 Baylor in the Waco Super Regional. The Tigers won Game 1, 4-2, but fell in the last two games by scores of 7-1 and 6-1. The Bears advanced to the College World Series.
2005 – Clemson came one win away from a trip to the College World Series. The Tigers finished in the top 20 of all three polls, with a high ranking of No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball. Clemson won 21 ACC regular-season games, finishing second in the standings. The Tigers, who were 19-9 against top-25 ranked teams, started the season 15-13, but went 28-10 the rest of the way. They did all this while playing a difficult schedule, which included 42 of its 66 games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament. Kris Harvey earned first-team All-America honors and tied for second in the nation with 25 home runs. Freshman Taylor Harbin earned second-team All-America accolades by Collegiate Baseball, as he hit an ACC-best 28 doubles, also second-most in the nation.
February 6, 2006 – Clemson had its earliest No. 1 ranking in school history when Baseball America put the Tigers atop its poll.
April 22 – May 25, 2006 – Clemson had a 17-game winning streak, its longest winning streak since 1995. The streak included 15 straight victories over ACC teams.
May 18, 2006 – Clemson defeated No. 22 Wake Forest 26-1 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium thanks to 25 hits, including seven home runs. It set a new mark for largest margin of victory (+25) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
May 24-28, 2006 – Clemson captured the ACC Tournament crown in Jacksonville, FL with a 4-1 record. Sean Clark made a surprise start in the title game against N.C. State and pitched 8.0 masterful innings of one-run and four-hit ball in his first career start in the 8-4 victory. Tyler Colvin earned ACC Tournament MVP honors.
June 2-4, 2006 – Clemson won all three of its games in the Clemson Regional, with wins over North Carolina-Asheville, Elon, and Mississippi State, to advance to the super-regional round. Taylor Harbin was named tourney MVP.
June 9-10, 2006 – The Tigers won two close games in the Clemson Super Regional over No. 14 Oral Roberts to advance to the College World Series. Tyler Colvin’s grand slam, the first in school history, gave the Tigers an 11-8 win in the first game, then Clemson scored three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Golden Eagles, 6-5.
June 16-20, 2006 – Clemson made its 11th trip to the College World Series. It was also the Tigers’ 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Clemson defeated Georgia Tech in its opening game, but fell to North Carolina and Cal State Fullerton.
2006 – The Tigers drew 184,946 fans for their 39 home dates, an average of 4,742 per date. Jack Leggett was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to a 53-16 overall record, including a 26-9 mark against top-25 ranked teams, an ACC regular-season and tournament title, and a trip to the College World Series. Clemson finished No. 5 in all three major polls. Josh Cribb and Andy D’Alessio were named to Collegiate Baseball’s All-America team. Three Tigers were named to the NCBWA All-America team, including D’Alessio and Tyler Colvin as first-team players and Cribb on the second team. Colvin had a 26-game hitting streak, as Clemson had a 25-1 record during that stretch. Ten Tigers were taken in the Major League draft, highlighted by Colvin’s first-round pick by the Chicago Cubs.
February 12, 2007 – Clemson moved to No. 1 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls before it played its first game of the season.
June 1-4, 2007 – Clemson won all three of its games in the Myrtle Beach (SC) Regional, with one win over Saint John’s and two victories over host Coastal Carolina to advance to the super-regional round. In the first game, Brad Chalk hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the ninth inning to give Clemson the win after it trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Four Tigers had at least three hits apiece in each of the two wins over the Chanticleers. Andy D’Alessio was named regional MVP.
June 8-9, 2007 – The Tigers lost two close games at Mississippi State by scores of 8-6 and 8-5 in the Starkville (MS) Super Regional in front of 26,335 combined fans.
2008 – Clemson finished the season with a 31-27-1 record and did not advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986, ending its 21-year streak. Clemson again played one of the nation’s toughest schedules, as it was the second-toughest according to one unofficial RPI. D.J. Mitchell (SP) and Kyle Parker (DH/UT) were First-Team All-ACC selections. Mitchell had 106 strikeouts in 98.2 innings pitched, while Parker was a freshman All-American after hitting .303 with a team-high 14 home runs and 50 RBIs. Doug Hogan also had a 24-game hitting streak that started in 2007 and ended in 2008.
April 5, 2009 – Jack Leggett won his 700th game as Clemson’s head coach in the Tigers’ 10-1 win over Duke at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
May 29 – June 1, 2009 – Clemson won three games facing elimination in a two-day span to capture the Clemson (SC) Regional title and advance to the Tempe (AZ) Super Regional. The Tigers won their opener over Tennessee Tech, 5-4, thanks to Jeff Schaus’ two-run game-winning double in the ninth inning. After falling to Oklahoma State, 3-2, in the next game, Clemson eliminated Tennessee Tech with a 10-0 victory. The Tigers then topped the Cowboys 15-1 and 6-5 to win the regional. The former was Head Coach Jack Leggett’s 1,100th career win. In the championship game, Clemson rallied from a 5-1 deficit to score five combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings, capped by Kyle Parker’s two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning. Chris Epps was named regional MVP.
June 6-7, 2009 – The Tigers lost two games at No. 2 Arizona State by scores of 7-4 and 8-2 in the Tempe (AZ) Super Regional.
2009 – Clemson had a 44-22 overall record and 19-11 ACC mark, third-best in the league. The Tigers finished in the top 16 of all three major polls. Clemson did not lose more than two games in a row all season. Clemson’s 3.68 ERA was fifth-best in the nation, its best finish since 1996. Jeff Schaus (OF) was Clemson’s lone First-Team All-ACC selection. Nine Tigers were selected in the Major League draft, highlighted by Ben Paulsen, who was chosen in the third round. The Tigers also averaged 4,727 for their 36 home dates.
March 7, 2010 – Clemson defeated No. 15 South Carolina 19-6 at Carolina Stadium in Columbia behind two grand slams, one by Chris Epps and one by Phil Pohl. It was the first time the Tigers hit two grand slams in one game since March 3, 1991.
May 20-22, 2010 – Entering the final regular-season weekend, and trailing Florida State by three games in the ACC standings, the Tigers swept the Seminoles in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium to finish in a tie in the ACC Atlantic Division standings. However, Clemson was crowed division champion thanks to the tiebreaker of sweeping the series. Clemson won by scores of 9-8, 8-4, and 8-3.
June 4-7, 2010 – Clemson won three of its four games in the Auburn (AL) Regional to capture the title. The Tigers trounced Southern Mississippi 10-1 in their first game and faced host Auburn in the winners’ bracket. Behind Casey Harman’s first career complete game, Clemson topped Auburn, 5-2. The Tiger lefty allowed just five hits, two runs, and one walk with eight strikeouts against one of the nation’s best offensive teams. After Auburn advanced to face Clemson again, Clemson was one strike away from advancing before Creede Simpson hit a dramatic three-run home run to give Auburn an 11-9 lead. Clemson rallied to cut Auburn’s lead to 11-10, but fell short. In the final game of the regional, Clemson came up with several key defensive plays and outlasted Auburn, 13-7, to advance to the Clemson Super Regional. John Hinson was named Auburn Regional MVP.
June 12-14, 2010 – After falling to Alabama, 5-4, in the first game of the Clemson (SC) Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the Tigers rebounded with a 19-5 win in Game 2 to even the series. Then, the Tigers held on to defeat the Crimson Tide 8-6 in Game 3 to advance to the College World Series.
June 21-26, 2010 – Clemson made its 12th trip to the College World Series and went 2-2 in four games to finish in a tie for third in the nation. The Tigers topped No. 1 Arizona State 6-3 in their opener and then defeated No. 6 Oklahoma 6-4 to improve to 2-0. However, No. 5 South Carolina downed Clemson twice by scores of 5-1 and 4-3 to end the Tigers’ season.
2010 – Clemson had a 45-25 overall record and 18-12 ACC mark in winning the ACC Atlantic Division title. The Tigers finished the season ranked No. 4 in the polls after winning the Auburn (AL) Regional, Clemson (SC) Super Regional, and earning a bid to the College World Series, where it finished tied for third in the country with two wins in Omaha and advanced further than any other ACC team. Kyle Parker was named a first-team All-American and was picked in the first round of the Major League draft. Head Coach Jack Leggett was named ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. The Tigers also averaged 4,694 fans per date for their 35 home dates.
March 2, 2011 – Clemson recorded its 1,000th all-time victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in its 5-1 win over Wofford.
May 7, 2011 – Jack Leggett won his 800th game as Clemson’s head coach in the Tigers’ 12-0 win over Gardner-Webb in the second game of a doubleheader at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
2011 – Clemson had a 43-20 overall record and a 17-13 ACC mark. The Tigers finished the season ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation after hosting the Clemson (SC) Regional. After starting the season 14-12, the Tigers won 29 of their final 37 games. The Tigers were sixth in the nation in batting average (.318) and 15th in runs per game (7.1). Clemson led the ACC in batting average (.318) by 14 points and had an ACC-high 106 steals. The Tigers had eight draft picks, led by second-round picks Brad Miller and Will Lamb. Miller, who was 16th in the nation and first in the ACC with a .395 batting average, was named ACC Player of the Year and was a first-team All-American along with earning the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award. Lamb had a 25-game hitting streak, the longest by an ACC player in 2011. The Tigers averaged 4,393 fans per date for their 36 home dates.
March 21, 2012 – Jack Leggett recorded his 1,200th career victory as a head coach thanks to a 4-2 victory over Elon at Greenville’s Fluor Field. Leggett became the 15th head coach in NCAA Division I history to reach the 1,200-win plateau. Freshman Daniel Gossett started the game on the mound and recorded 10 strikeouts in his first career-victory.
January 3, 2014 – Leggett was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in Dallas, Texas.
May 22, 2014 – Leggett records his 1,300th win with a 3-2 victory over Miami in the ACC Tournament.
May 29, 2015 – Clemson makes its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Leggett’s watch as the Tigers played Arizona State to start the Fullerton Regional in Fullerton, Calif.
June 4, 2015 – Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich decides not retain Leggett as head coach, ending the Hall of Fame Coaches 22-year career at Clemson. In his 22 years as the Tigers’ skipper, Leggett led Clemson to 955 victories, six college world series, nine Super Regionals, 11 regional titles, three ACC Regular Season Championships, two ACC Tournament titles and one ACC Atlantic Division title. He is the ninth winningest coach in college baseball history. He was the fifth winningest active coach in the country.