Baseball Hires VMI Head Coach Tommy Slater
Sunday, June 29, 2003 | Baseball
University of Florida head baseball coach Pat McMahon has announced the hiring of Tommy Slater as an assistant coach with the program. Slater replaces John Cohen who left to take the head coaching post at the University of Kentucky. Slater was previously the head coach at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for the past three seasons.
"We are excited to have one of the outstanding young coaches in the country today join the University of Florida and the Gator family," McMahon said. "He will be a tremendous asset in all facets of our program."
Slater spent the past three seasons as the head coach of VMI where he helped the program make great strides. This past season the Keydets went 16-14 in the Southern. It was the first league winning season since 1989 for the Keydets while the 24 wins overall and 16 league wins are the most in the institution's history. For his efforts Slater was named the 2003 SoCon Coach of the Year. In his three seasons at the helm of VMI, Slater was 49-101 (.327).
"He has restructured and rebuilt the VMI program into one of the most successful seasons in school history and leaves the program in outstanding shape. His teams have played with an aggressive offensive approach, are well-schooled and disciplined.," said McMahon. "His approach will help us continue our aggressive offensive style."
The VMI baseball team also posted the highest grade point average on any VMI athletic team this past season, which was higher than the corps average. The Keydet baseball squad also had 29 student-athletes named to the Dean's List.
"The last three years at VMI have been wonderful for both my family and I. To have the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and coach was a special privilege," said Slater. "VMI Athletic Director Donny White has treated us well and given us the chance to succeed in baseball at VMI, and I feel we've been able to put the VMI baseball program in the direction it needs to go."
Slater spent the previous six years as an assistant coach at fellow SEC school Auburn before his head coaching duties. While at Auburn the Tigers made five NCAA Regional appearances and reached the College World Series in 1997. Auburn went a combined 265-109 (.708) in his six seasons at the school. Slater became known as one of the best recruiters in the nation as he was responsible for recruiting 1997 SEC and National Player of the Year Tim Hudson along with 2000 first-round draft pick Chris Bootcheck and 2001 first-round draft pick Gabe Gross.
"Tommy has tremendous work ethic and has assembled some of the best recruiting classes in the country," said McMahon.
Slater is a 1990 graduate of VMI and had an assistant coaching stint at his alma mater in 1993-94. In his first season at the school the Keydets reached the Southern Conference Tournament finals while they finished third in the tournament the following season.
The 35-year old Virginia native was a four-year starter at third base for VMI and at the end of his career he ranked in the top-five in four different offensive categories. He also led the team with 41 RBI in his sophomore year in 1988.
Following graduation, Slater started his coaching career in 1991 as an assistant coach at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Va, and he also spent one year as an assistant coach at Marshall in 1992.
"The opportunity to work at the University of Florida and coach Pat McMahon is a reason I am leaving VMI. I've known and worked with coach McMahon going back to summer camps at Old Dominion when I was 23 years old and just starting my coaching career," said Slater. "It's also a great opportunity to work at the University of Florida within the Southeastern Conference which in my opinion is the best baseball conference in the nation."
Slater is married to the former Beth Tani of Fairfax, Va., and the couple has two children, a daughter Julia (4 years) and a son Jack (11 months).
"We would like to welcome Tommy, his wife Beth, daughter Julia and son Jack to the University of Florida and the Gator family," said McMahon.
THE TOMMY SLATER FILE
Birthdate: April 6, 1968
Hometown: Richmond, Va.
Education: Bachelor of Arts with major in History from Virginia Military Institute in 1990
Overall Head Coaching Mark: 49-101 (three seasons)
Assistant Coaching Mark: 332-196 (10 seasons)
Playing Career:
Virginia Military Institute (1987-1990) – four year letterwinner (third base) … Ended career ranked in top-five in RBI, total bases, run scored and doubles … 1987 Southern Conference Tournament championship game appearance … 1988 Southern Conference Northern Division champions … Led team in 1988 with 41 RBI.
Coaching Career:
Assistant Coach, St. Christopher's School, 1991
Assistant Coach, Marshall, 1992
Assistant Coach, VMI, 1993-1994
Assistant Coach, Auburn, 1995-2000
Head Coach, VMI, 2001-2003
Coaching Highlights:
- 2003 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
- Led VMI to a school record 24 overall and 16 league wins in 2003
- Has coached 40 players who have been drafted
- Five NCAA Regional Appearances at Auburn
- 1997 College World Series appearance with Auburn
- Southern Conference Tournament runner-up finish at VMI in 1993
Record as a Head Coach
| Year | School | Overall Record | Southern Conference |
| 2001 | VMI | 15-32 | 8-19 |
| 2002 | VMI | 10-41 | 1-27 |
| 2003 | VMI | 24-28 | 16-14 |
| TOTAL | 49-101 (.327) | 25-60 (.294) |
--UF-
