In 10 seasons as head coach of the USC Aiken baseball program, Kenny Thomas has re-established the Pacers as a force in the Peach Belt Conference and a perennial top 25 team in Division II.
USC Aiken's 2009 baseball team ended the 2009 season tied for 10th in the final Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Top 30 poll.
The final ranking of 10th was the highest for the Pacers under Thomas, who was chosen as PBC Conference Coach of the Year for his mentoring of the 2009 Pacers. USC Aiken ended the 2008 season ranked 11th, while they concluded the 2005 season 12th.
The Pacers reached as high as No. 2 nationally in 2009 en route to their second ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship.
The Pacers' prowess during the regular season helped USC Aiken to top honors in the Southeast Region, enabling the program to host its second ever NCAA Division II Tournament regional.
The Pacers advanced to the regional final for the second consecutive season before bowing out to NCAA Division II Baseball Championship semifinalist and Conference Carolinas Tournament champion Belmont Abbey in the first game of the championship round.
USC Aiken (42-19) concluded its season having been a part of its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Baseball regional.
In 2008, Thomas and his staff guided the Pacers to a school-record 47 wins and a second-place finish in the NCAA South Atlantic Regional. USCA went 47-17 overall and 18-9 in the Peach Belt Conference, finishing just one win behind PBC champion Columbus State.
With 369 career wins at USC Aiken, Thomas trails only current Director of Athletics Randy Warrick (392) on the school's all-time wins list. Thomas, who is third on the school's all-time list by winning percentage (.628), has led the Pacers to five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) for the first time in school history.
It was April 23, 2006 when USC Aiken knocked off sixth-ranked Francis Marion 5-2 in Aiken to notch Thomas' 200th victory at the helm of the Pacers. The Pacers went 45-19 that season, at the time the most wins in Thomas' USCA tenure.
In 2005, Thomas' Pacers went 40-19 including a 16-14 mark in PBC play to advance to the program's first NCAA South Atlantic Regional in a dozen years.
Three short seasons ago, Thomas notched his 150th win in an 11-2 victory over in-state non-conference foe Claflin University.
On February 12, 2002, USC Aiken knocked off Limestone College 14-8 to hand Thomas his 100th victory at USC Aiken while his 50th win came on April 4, 2001 in a dramatic 8-6 victory over Newberry in 10 innings.
In 2004, the Pacers opened the 1,000-seat Roberto Hernandez Stadium of which Thomas and Athletic Director Randy Warrick were instrumental in securing a one million dollar donation from the 16-year Major League Baseball veteran.
Since the stadium's opening, USCA is 120-48 at the state-of-the-art ballpark for a .714 winning percentage. In addition, USC Aiken hosted the 2006 and 2008 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament.
Thomas has seen his fair share of student-athletes go on to play professionally. Most recently, 2008 Daktronics Player of the Year and 2008 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Chad Jacobsen was drafted in the 18th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Colorado Rockies.
In addition to being chosen as the PBC Coach of the Year in 2009, Thomas was named Coach of the Year in 1989, 1993-96, and 1998 by his fellow coaches and was selected in 1995 and 1999 as the National Junior College Athletic Association Eastern District Coach of the Year.
Thomas' success has not gone unnoticed by the community. Over the past seven seasons, the Pacers have finished in the top 15 in Division II in home attendance. As part of Thomas' annual Pack-the-Park day promotion a school record 1,316 fans were inside the gates of Roberto Hernandez Stadium for USC Aiken's 11-6 win over PBC rival Lander on Sunday, April 19, 2009.
Thomas has also instilled in his team the confidence needed to win the big games as the Pacers have won 85 games played against ranked opponents in the past 10 seasons, including 36 games in the last three years. The Pacers posted 17 wins over ranked foes in 2009.
As a player, Thomas earned NAIA All-American honors his senior year as a catcher while at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn.
Following his graduation in 1978, Thomas began coaching a Stan Musial summer league team. In nine summers, he led his team to a national championship (1985), a runner-up finish (1986) and a third place finish (1984).
Thomas also became a local scout for the New York Yankees (1980-81), Cincinnati Reds (1981-82), and St. Louis Cardinals (1982-88).
After becoming head coach at Volunteer State, Thomas remained with the Cardinals organization in a part time capacity until 1995.
He has served as a hitting instructor at the famous Stan Saleski Baseball Camp in Dayton, Ohio as well as conducting his own Kenny Thomas Winter Baseball Academy. Started in 1990 with 12 kids, Thomas' camps, winter and summer, quickly grew to over 400 students by 1999.
Thomas has coached 48 players who have gone on to be drafted in professional baseball drafts, 83 All-Conference players, six conference Players of the Year, 16 All-Americans, one Southeast Region Player of the Year and one National Player of the Year.
Thomas is also involved in the local community. His work with the Aiken AMBUCS club has garnered him honors by that organization that serves to award college scholarships to physically handicapped high school students.
Michael Holder completed his fifth season as assistant coach for the USC Aiken baseball program in 2009.
He came to USCA from his volunteer assistant coaching position at Vanderbilt University.
As a hitting instructor, Holder helped the Pacers to a school-record 47 wins in 2008 and the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship in 2009. The Pacers broke numerous school hitting records in 2009 with Southeast Region Player of the Year and consensus All-American Travis Howard leading the nation in RBIs.
A native of Evans, Ga., Holder spent three seasons with the Commodores mentoring the catchers and overseeing field preparation at Hawkins Field.
In the summer of 2003, Holder served as an assistant coach for the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League.
Prior to his arrival at Vanderbilt, Holder spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Greenbrier High School followed by a one-year stint as an assistant at Middle Georgia College.
Holder graduated from Augusta State University in May 2001 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Education. As a player, he was a four-year letterwinner as a catcher for Georgia Southern University (1995-99).
USC Aiken head baseball coach Kenny Thomas announced the hiring of former Pacer All-American Nick Wandless as an assistant coach in late January.
Wandless will work with the Pacer pitchers.
Wandless has been a volunteer with the program for the past two seasons. Thomas offered him the part-time assistant position to replace Mark Conner after Conner took a position with the San Diego Padres as an Area Scout. Conner is in charge of scouting operations for the Padres in the Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Eastern Indiana areas.
Wandless was a four-year letterwinner with the Pacers (2003-06). He graduated from USC Aiken with a degree in History.
His best season for the Pacers came as a senior in 2006 when he was chosen a first team All-American by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
A three-time Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week, Wandless was selected to the PBC All-Conference team in 2006. Wandless concluded his senior season with 17 saves.
For his efforts during his collegiate career, Wandless was
drafted in the 36th Round by the Cincinnati Reds. He
played for two years in the Reds minor league system.
Josh Eachues returns to the USC Aiken baseball program this season as an assistant coach under the direction of head coach Kenny Thomas.
Eachues signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He joins the Pacers after playing two seasons of professional baseball with the Washington Wildthings in the Independent Frontier League.
Prior to his professional career in the Frontier League, Eachues played winter ball in Australia while also coaching an Under-16 team.
Eachues may be familiar to CSRA baseball fans not only from his playing days at USC Aiken, but also as a founding member of the Aiken Foxhounds in the former South Coast League. He was eventually traded to the Georgia Peanuts who went on to win the SCL Championship.
During his playing days at USC Aiken Eachues was named to the Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament team in 2007. Prior to joining the Pacer program, Eachues was a member of the Coastal Carolina baseball program under the direction of former Pacer head mentor Gary Gilmore.
A Kingsland, Ga. native, Brian English enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Pacers.
English joins USC Aiken after working with the baseball program at Augusta State.
Prior to his work with the Jaguars, English coached the Cook County High School (Adell, Ga.) baseball team to a Final Four appearance.
As a player, English suited up for South Georgia College for his first two seasons. He then transferred to become a member of the highly successful program at Valdosta State.
While playing at Valdosta State, English earned a B.A. in History and he is currently working on his Master's in Secondary Education.
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