(Gray News) – Legendary baseball coach Jim Toman died at the age of 64.
He died Aug. 4 following a battle with glioblastoma.
Toman dedicated 35 years of his life to coaching NCAA Division I baseball, according to his obituary.
Liberty’s coach Jim Toman looks out from the dugout during an NCAA regional tournament college baseball game against Clemson on Friday, May 31, 2013, in Columbia, SC.(Mary Ann Chastain | AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
Raised in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, Toman captained both his baseball and football teams in high school.
He continued his baseball career at North Carolina State University, where he was a catcher. He served as team captain during his senior and junior years, according to a press release from North Carolina State. The team had winning seasons all four years he played.
Toman started his coaching career working for one of the top high school baseball programs in North Carolina. He served as a baseball coach, head wrestling coach and assistant football coach at Richmond County High School in Rockingham, North Carolina.
In 1990, Toman coached at Florida International for one season before returning to North Carolina State to serve as assistant coach under Ray Tanner. He stayed with the team for seven seasons before following Tanner to the University of South Carolina, where he was promoted to associate head coach.
Toman coached at South Carolina for 11 seasons and recruited a top 25 class each year. His 2003, 2005 and 2006 recruiting classes were ranked first in the nation by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
In 2008, Toman left South Carolina to serve as head coach at Liberty University. He coached Liberty’s baseball team for nine seasons.
He also served as assistant coach at the College of Charleston for one season and as head coach at Middle Tennessee State University from 2018 through 2022.
According to his obituary, Toman recorded more than 400 career wins during his years of coaching.
He was named National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball America in 2002.
“Above all else, Jim will be remembered for his unwavering love for his family, his passion for the game of baseball, and the many lives he impacted as a coach, mentor, and friend,” his obituary said.
The family is asking for donations to be made to National Brain Tumor Society in lieu of flowers.
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