Jim Toman
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 28, 1961 Monroeville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | North Carolina State University '85 |
| Playing career | |
| 1981–1984 | NC State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1989 | FIU (asst.) |
| 1990–1996 | NC State (asst.) |
| 1997–2007 | South Carolina (asst.) |
| 2008–2016 | Liberty |
| 2017–2018 | College of Charleston (AHC) |
| 2019–2022 | Middle Tennessee |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 406–308–2 (.568) |
| Tournaments | NCAA DI: 2–4 Big South: 20–13 C-USA: 1–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big South, North Division: 2014 Big South Tournament: 2013 | |
| Awards | |
| Big South Coach of the Year: 2014 | |
James Michael Andrew Toman (born November 28, 1961) is an American college baseball coach and former player. He had been head coach of Liberty from the 2008 season until 2016. Under Toman, Liberty has qualified for two NCAA tournaments.[1] He also served as the head coach of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (2019–2022).
Playing career
[edit]Toman, a 1985 graduate of NC State, played baseball for the Wolfpack from 1981–1984. He served as a team captain in 1983 and 1984 and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 1984 ACC tournament.[1] His teammates included Doug Davis, Dan Plesac, Doug Strange, and Tracy Woodson. When Woodson became the head coach at Richmond ahead of the 2014 season, the two coached against each other.[2]
Coaching career
[edit]Assistant positions
[edit]After graduating, Toman worked as a high school coach for several years before starting his college coaching career in 1989 with a one-year stint at FIU. From 1989 to 1991 he was the pitching coach of the Brewster Whitecaps, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3][4] Toman returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant to Ray Tanner at NC State; he held the position from 1990–1996. When Tanner left for South Carolina for the 1997 season, Toman went with him and worked as an assistant for the Gamecocks from 1997–2007.[1] In 2002, he was named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year.[5]
Liberty
[edit]Toman left South Carolina to become the head coach at Liberty for the 2008 season. At his introductory press conference, Toman said, "I am very honored and excited to accept the head coaching position at Liberty University. My wife and family are also very excited to join the Liberty family and work in a Christian environment. I have enjoyed my 11 years at the University of South Carolina and take away many fond memories. I appreciate the opportunity Ray Tanner gave me to be a member of his staff. I am ready to get started on putting a quality staff together and continuing to move the program forward, having success both in conference and nationally."[6]
From 2008–2014, Toman's first seven seasons, Liberty won at least 30 games each year and at least 40 games three times. After losing in the Big South championship game in 2008, 2010, and 2012, the Flames reached their first NCAA tournament under Toman in 2013. In the Big South tournament, which Liberty hosted at the newly built Liberty Baseball Stadium, the Flames went 4–0 to win the championship; in the championship game, Liberty defeated top-seeded Campbell, 2–1, after an Ashton Perritt RBI single broke a 1–1 tie in the top of the ninth. At the Columbia Regional, the Flames went 2–2, beating second-seeded Clemson twice and losing to host South Carolina twice.[7][8][9][10][11]
In 2014, Liberty qualified for the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. The Flames won the Big South's North Division and swept the conference's major awards, with Toman winning Coach of the Year. At the Charlottesville Regional, the team went 0–2, losing games to Arkansas and Bucknell.[12][13][14]
In 2011, Liberty set a Big South record with seven draftees. In 2012, the Flames had two players drafted in the top ten rounds.[9][15]
On June 24, 2016 Toman resigned from Liberty as their baseball coach.
After Liberty
[edit]On August 4, 2017, it was announced that Toman would become the assistant head coach for the College of Charleston Cougars baseball team.[16]
Middle Tennessee
[edit]On June 20, 2018, Toman was named the head coach of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders baseball program.[17]
In August 2022, a few weeks after being arrested on suspicion driving while intoxicated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Toman resigned as MTSU's head coach.[18]
Head coaching record
[edit]Below is a table of Toman's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[7][19][20][21]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Flames (Big South Conference) (2008–2016) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Liberty | 35–26–1 | 14–7 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2009 | Liberty | 33–21 | 17–9 | 3rd | |||||
| 2010 | Liberty | 43–18 | 19–8 | 2nd | |||||
| 2011 | Liberty | 35–24 | 18–9 | 2nd | |||||
| 2012 | Liberty | 41–19 | 14–10 | 3rd | |||||
| 2013 | Liberty | 36–29 | 13–11 | 4th (North) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2014 | Liberty | 41–18 | 23–3 | 1st (North) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2015 | Liberty | 33–23 | 16–8 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2016 | Liberty | 31–28 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
| Liberty: | 328–206–1 (.614) | 146–77 (.655) | |||||||
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (Conference USA) (2019–2022) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Middle Tennessee | 18–37 | 11–19 | 12th | |||||
| 2020 | Middle Tennessee | 7–10 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | Middle Tennessee | 24–29–1 | 12–19–1 | 4th (West) | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2022 | Middle Tennessee | 29–26 | 17–13 | T–6th | |||||
| Middle Tennessee: | 78–102–1 (.434) | 40–51–1 (.440) | |||||||
| Total: | 406–308–2 (.568) | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Jim Toman". Liberty.edu. Liberty Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Lang, Chris. "Flames Survive Slugfest with Richmond". NewsAdvance.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ "Cape Baseball Notes". The Cape Codder. Orleans, MA. March 17, 1989. p. 31.
- ^ "Cape Cod League". The Cape Codder. Orleans, MA. July 9, 1991. p. 17.
- ^ "ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year". www.abca.org. AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ "USC Assistant Named Liberty Head Baseball Coach". GoUpstate.com. June 24, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ a b "2014 Liberty Flames Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Liberty.edu. Liberty Athletic Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Sorenson, Eric (April 17, 2010). "Liberty's About Face". CollegeBaseballToday.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ a b Ryan, Sean (February 2, 2014). "Uncommon Success in the Commonwealth of Virginia". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Rogers, Kendall (December 16, 2012). "Rising Head Coaches Make Moves". PerfectGame.org. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Slater, Darryl (May 31, 2013). "After Liberty Gets Historic Win Over Clemson, Jim Toman Spews Gold About Expectations and His Mohawk". Post & Courier. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ "Big South Announces 2014 Baseball Annual Award Winners". BigSouthSports.com. May 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Lang, Chris (June 2, 2014). "Liberty Baseball Plagued by Mechanism of Big South". NewsAdvance.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Lang, Chris (May 31, 2014). "Bucknell Eliminates Liberty from NCAA Baseball Regional". Roanoke.com. The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from "Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Andrew Miller (August 4, 2017). "College of Charleston baseball coach Chad Holbrook settles into job, adds Toman to staff". www.postandcourier.com. Post and Courier. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Cecil Joyce (June 20, 2018). "Jim Toman, former College of Charleston assistant and recruiter, named MTSU baseball coach". www.dnj.com. Daily News Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Wright, Lucas (29 August 2022). "MTSU baseball coach resigns weeks after DUI arrest". WKRN. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "2013 Big South Baseball Record Book". Big South Conference. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- ^ "2013 Big South Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ "2014 Big South Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.