History of the LaGrange College Baseball Program

In the fall of 1983, former men's basketball coach and athletics director, Phil Williamson fielded LaGrange College's first baseball team. It began what is now a "Winning Tradition" at the Division III school.

The program struggled in the beginning as LaGrange played in the NAIA without  scholarships playing against scholarship competition in the rugged GIAC.  The Panthers finished 7-31 in its inaugural season in 1984.

The program improved as Williamson and the Panthers had three consecutive 20-win seasons (1986-88) and one with 19 wins (1985). The Panthers' 27 wins in 1986 were the most under Williamson and during the NAIA era.

During this time, the Panthers had future LaGrange College Sports Hall of Fame members Tom Darden and Scotty Quinn. The duo earned two team MVP awards, along with All-GIAC and All-District (NAIA) honors.

In 1989, LaGrange produced its first All-American, Danny Little.  In addition, he was the GIAC and NAIA District 25 Player of the Year. He holds various team records, including the highest batting average (.418) for a career all-time. He is also in the LaGrange College Sports Hall of Fame.

Williamson retired from coaching in 1996 and Tommy Knight took over as head coach.  Williamson finished with nearly 200 wins in 13 years. He coached 11 All-GIAC performers, six All-NAIA District 25 selections, a GIAC Player of the Year, a NAIA District 25 Player of the Year and a NAIA All-American.

After a six-win improvement in 1997 with 18 wins, the Panthers won only 12 games in 1998 and 17 in 1999.  Knight left the program after the 1999 season as the Panthers made the transition to NCAA Division III.

In 2000, new head coach Kevin Howard (pictured) brought intensity and excitement as the Panthers won 26 games and made their first-ever appearance at the GAAC Tournament.  In his first season, Howard took a 17-34 club from the year before and turned them around, as the Panthers finished 26-34 overall. It was the final year for LaGrange as an NAIA affiliate; and the first and so far only losing season for the Panthers under Howard.

The 2000 season featured the first All-American since 1989 in Matt Lee.  He was the first player in the NCAA-era to gain NCAA All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American honors.

The Panthers continued the momentum during the 2001 season.  The Panthers went 35-13 including a perfect 16-0 mark in winning the GSAC regular season title. It was also the school's first winning season and the most wins (35) and conference wins (16) in the history of the program.

The Panthers featured hard-hitting J.P. Johnston, the GSAC Player of the Year. Johnston was a second-team NCAA All-American and named to the All-GSAC, and  South All-Region teams.  William Gurley and Josh DuBose joined Johnston on the All-GSAC and All-Region teams. 

In 2003, the Panthers won the USCAA national tournament, the school's first national championship in any sport. They had been USCAA runner-ups in 2002. The Panthers won the GSAC regular season in 2002 and 2003, along with the conference tournament in 2003. The Panthers had five USCAA All-Americans and a third-team NCAA All-American in Bo Bray (pictured). Tyler Johnson was named GSAC Freshman of the Year 2002 and Titus Martin was named GSAC Pitcher of the Year in 2003.

From 2001-03, the school had three straight 30-win seasons and a record of 102-41. The 2003 team holds the school record for wins (36) and this period started a streak of five straight GSAC regular season crowns. During these stretch, the Panthers compiled a GSAC record of 35-4.

The crown jewel of the Panthers' baseball program is Cleaveland Field, a $2 million dollar facility opened in 2000. The field is named in honor of J. Phillip Cleveland, who was a trustee of the Callaway Foundation, which made a one-million dollar challenge grant to help fund the state-of-the-art facility, which is one of the finest collegiate baseball facilities in the country.

Cleveland Field seats around 500 spectators with a clubhouse, coaches' offices, umpire rooms, laundry facility, training room and full concession and restrooms.  It also features an Astroturf batting cage with lights, sunken dugouts, climate-controlled press box, among other features that makes this a great recruiting tool.

The Panthers are 120-61 at Cleveland Field in seven years. The 2003 team set a home record, going 21-4 that year, which was the best record and the most wins in a season.

In 2006, the Panthers won the GSAC Tournament in dramatic fashion as sophomore catcher Stephen Cheney hit a two-out two-run walk-off home run to lift the Panthers to a 12-11 win over top seed and tournament host Piedmont.  The Panthers closed the season on a high note, winning four out of their final five games to end the year with a 26-16 record.