USC head baseball coach, Ray Tanner, answers questions at the Columbia Rotary Club

Coach Tanner described his 2005 team as “pretty good” with the return of players like Aaron Rawl, Steve Pearce, Steven Tolleson, and the entire starting outfield. He was quick to point out that All– American catcher, Landon Powell, who was drafted in the first round by the Oakland A’s, will be tough to replace, and the SEC is the best conference in the nation. This was made clear last year due to the fact four of the eight teams in the College World Series were from the SEC. Coach Tanner predicted Georgia, LSU, and Tennessee would all be contenders.

Coach Tanner was obviously proud of his team’s accomplishments on the field, but for the first time in his 18 years as a head coach his team really excelled off the field. Last year’s team had a 3.0 GPA, and two players, Craig Thomas and Brad Hocking, had 4.0 GPA’s.

Coach Tanner addressed some of the quirks existing in the NCAA rules and regulations, pointing at that college baseball teams were only allowed 11.7 scholarships while women’s volleyball teams typically were allowed 12. He also described himself as an “old school” coach preferring to eliminate problem players from his program.

As for the new stadium, Coach Tanner was hoping for something by the middle of the 2006, but he was not optimistic. The Gamecocks open their season February 11 at 3 pm with Longwood Univesity at Sarge Frye Field.