Citadel Hires Alum Tony Skole As Coach
Tony Skole was named head coach at The Citadel. The move returns Skole to his alma mater, where he will take over the program from longtime coach Fred Jordan, who retired following this season.
Skole has been head coach at East Tennessee State for the past 18 seasons, and is the winningest coach in program history. He led in 2013 the Buccaneers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1981, and amassed a 466-538 record at the school.
In a statement, Skole said he was honored to return to The Citadel.
“To once again be part of this wonderful institution is an amazing feeling,” he said. “The legacy of The Citadel baseball built by coach (Chal) Port and coach Jordan is unrivaled, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to follow them and the tradition they established.”
Skole played baseball and football and Citadel, graduating in 1991. He was a part of the Bulldogs’ 1990 team that reached the College World Series, and had a game-winning hit in the 12th inning against Cal State Fullerton in Omaha. He was inducted in 2011 into The Citadel’s athletic hall of fame.
“It is rare that an athletic director has the opportunity to hire an alumnus with hall-of-fame status,” athletic director Jim Senter said in a statement. “In this case, we found a candidate with an amazing understanding of the Citadel and what it takes to be a successful cadet-athlete.”
The Citadel went 16-35 and finished tied for last place in the Southern Conference this spring. Junior lefthander J.P. Sears was named a third-team All-American after going 7-3, 2.64 with 142 strikeouts and 27 walks in 95.1 innings.
| 2017 COACHING CHANGES | ||
| School | Departures | Arrivals |
| Alabama | Greg Goff | Brad Bohannon |
| Cincinnati | Ty Neal | Scott Googins |
| Citadel | Fred Jordan | Tony Skole |
| Dayton | Tony Vittorio | |
| East Tennessee State | Tony Skole | |
| Incarnate Word | Danny Heep | |
| La Salle | Mike Lake | |
| Louisiana-Monroe | Bruce Peddie | |
| Maryland | John Szefc | |
| Massachusetts | Mike Stone | Matt Reynolds |
| North Florida | Smoke Laval | Tim Parenton |
| Santa Clara | Dan O’Brien | |
| South Carolina | Chad Holbrook | |
| Southern | Roger Cador | |
| Stanford | Mark Marquess (retiring after season) | |
| Tennessee | Dave Serrano | Tony Vitello |
| Texas-Rio Grande Valley | Manny Mantrana | |
| Towson | Mike Gottlieb | |
| Virginia Tech | Patrick Mason | John Szefc |
| Xavier | Scott Googins | |
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