204223 lu baseball txt:layout 1...ing 522.1 innings. senior hill became the school's all-time...

Liberty Flames Baseball16

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On June 24, 2007, Jim Toman was

named the sixth head coach in the 34-year

history of the Liberty Baseball program.

“I am elated for our University, and more

specifically our baseball program, to have Jim Toman become our

sixth head coach,” stated Liberty Director of Athletics Jeff Barber.

“After talking to dozens of college coaches, major league scouts and

front office personnel, it is quite apparent Coach Toman carries with

him the reputation as one of the top evaluators of baseball talent in

the country.”

Toman comes to Liberty after 11 seasons as the senior member

of Ray Tanner’s coaching staff at South Carolina. Toman worked a

total of 18 years alongside Tanner, dating back to the 1990 season

at N.C. State.

During his time at South Carolina, Toman served as recruiting

coordinator and worked with the team’s catchers. Known as one of

the top recruiters in college baseball, the 19-year college coaching

veteran was named the 2002 Baseball America/American Baseball

Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year.

Before joining the Gamecock staff in 1996, Toman served under

Tanner for seven years at N.C. State.

Toman has recruited 15 top 25 classes, including all 11 of his

seasons at South Carolina. From 2003-2006, three of the four

Gamecock recruiting classes were ranked first in the nation by

Collegiate Baseball. Toman’s 2003, 2005 and 2006 classes were

named the top recruiting classes by the publication.

The 2004 South Carolina recruiting class

was ranked ninth in the nation by Baseball

America and Collegiate Baseball, while his

2002 class was selected eighth. The 2001

Gamecock class was ranked 10th and the

2000 class eighth best by Collegiate

Baseball. The 1997 South Carolina class was

ranked 17th and the 1998 and 1999 classes

were both ranked 11th.

During his time on the staff in Columbia,

S.C., Toman and the Gamecocks made

nine NCAA Regional appearances, includ-

ing eight-straight since 2000, and three con-

secutive trips to the College World Series

(2002-04). Add in his seven seasons at N.C.

State, Toman has helped lead 15 teams to

NCAA Regional appearances.

In addition, South Carolina posted eight-

straight seasons of 40 or more wins with

Toman on the Gamecock coaching staff,

including 2007. During Toman’s 11 seasons

at South Carolina, he helped the Gamecocks

to a combined 500-220 (.694) record.

Seven catchers coached at South

Carolina by Toman went on to sign profes-

sional baseball contracts. The most recent

were Trent Kline, who inked a contract with the San Francisco

Giants this past summer, and Ian Paxton, who signed with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006. Landon Powell, an All-American in

2004, was a first-round draft pick by the Oakland A’s, and a finalist

for the Johnny Bench Award, an honor given to each year’s top col-

legiate catcher.

Toman also developed Tim Whittaker, a third team All-America

choice in 2001, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and Brandon

Charlie Mac, Ashley, Tucker, Jim and Caroline Toman

THE JIM TOMAN FILE

Born: James Michael Toman, Nov. 28, 1961, in Pittsburgh, Pa.

HS Education: Gateway Senior High School, Monroeville, Pa.

HS Baseball: Gateway 1978-80

College Education: Bachelor of Science degree in vocational

industrial education from N.C. State in 1985; Master of Science in

sport management from N.C. State in 1995

College Baseball: N. C. State 1981- 84; team captain, 1983-1984

Coaching Career: Assistant Coach - Richmond County HS,

Rockingham, N.C., 1985-87; Assistant Coach - Atlantic Community

HS, Del Ray Beach, Fla., 1987-88; Assistant Coach - Florida

International, 1988-89; Assistant Coach - N.C. State, 1989- 93;

Associate Head Coach - N. C. State 1993-96; Assistant Coach -

South Carolina 1996-2004; Associate Head Coach - South Carolina,

2004-07; Head Coach - Liberty, 2007-08

Family: Wife, Ashley; daughter, Caroline Frances; son, Charles

McLaughlin (Charlie Mac); son, Kendall Tucker (Tucker).

JIM TOMAN 37Head Coach

First Year

JIM TOMAN

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Liberty Flames Baseball 17

Pack, who signed with the Texas Rangers in

2000. Other Toman-coached catchers who

have signed professional contracts are Ryan

Bordenick in 1998 by the Milwaukee

Brewers, and Rob Streicher in 1997 with the

Montreal Expos.

Toman earned four baseball letters at

N.C. State, 1981-84, and was captain of the

Wolfpack his junior and senior seasons. The

highlight of his career as a player came in

the 1984 Atlantic Coast Conference tourna-

ment when he set records for home runs (4),

doubles (4) and total bases (25) and was

named to the all tournament team.

Toman earned a Bachelor of Science

degree in vocational industrial education in

1985 and graduated as the top student in the

vocational industrial education curriculum.

He received a Master of Science degree in

sport management from N. C. State in 1995

with a 4.0 grade point average.

Upon graduation, Toman entered the

coaching profession as an assistant at

Richmond County High School in

Rockingham, N. C. While working with one

of the top high school baseball programs in

North Carolina for two years, he also served

as head wrestling coach and as an assistant

football coach. He then moved to Atlantic

Community High School in Del Ray Beach,

Fla., where he spent a year as an assistant

for baseball and football.

Toman moved into the collegiate coach-

ing ranks in 1989 as an assistant at Florida

International for one year. At Florida

International, he was responsible for the

weight program, worked with the squad’s

catchers and coached first base. Toman

joined the N. C. State staff before the 1990

season.

Toman also spent three summers as an

assistant coach with the Brewster Whitecaps

of the Cape Cod League.

A native of Monroeville, Pa., Toman is

married to the former Ashley McLaughlin of

Florence, S. C., a former volleyball player at

Charleston Southern University. They have

three children, Caroline (10), Charlie Mac (7)

and Tucker (4).

Players drafted: 80

Players in the Major Leagues: 13

All-Americans: 29

Top 25 recruiting classes: 15

No. 1 recruiting classes: 3

Trips to the College World Series: 3

Trips to NCAA Super Regionals: 7

Trips to NCAA Regionals: 15

Years Coaching in the ACC: 7

Years Coaching in the SEC: 11

TOMAN BY THE NUMBERS

1989 Florida Atlantic Assistant Coach 30-23-2

1990 N.C. State Assistant Coach 48-20 NCAA Regional




1994 N.C. State Associate Coach 46-18-1 NCAA Regional

1995 N.C. State Associate Coach 36-24 ACC Tournament

1996 N.C. State Associate Coach 42-19 NCAA Regional

1997 South Carolina Assistant Coach 33-24 SEC Tournament

1998 South Carolina Assistant Coach 44-18 NCAA Regional

1999 South Carolina Assistant Coach 35-23 SEC Tournament

2000 South Carolina Assistant Coach 56-10 NCAA Super Regional

2001 South Carolina Assistant Coach 49-20 NCAA Super Regional

2002 South Carolina Assistant Coach 57-18 NCAA College World Series



2005 South Carolina Associate Coach 41-23 NCAA Regional

2006 South CaroIina Associate Coach 41-25 NCAA Super Regional

2007 South Carolina Associate Coach 46-20 NCAA Super Regional

TOTAL 845-379-3 (.690)

TOMAN’S YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RESULTS

JIM TOMAN

Total Years in Coaching: 22


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Scott Jackson begins his first season atLiberty as the program’s pitching coach, aswell as a vital part of its recruiting efforts.

Jackson joins the Flames’ coaching staffafter leading the UNC Wilmington pitching staff to new heights overthe past five years and seeing several of his pupils move on to theprofessional ranks. Six Seahawk pitchers under Jackson’s tutelageduring his time in Wilmington, N.C., were drafted by major leagueteams. None of them had been drafted out of high school. In addi-tion, Jackson has seen three pitchers sign free agent contracts withmajor league organizations.

“Scott Jackson is a top of the line pitching coach, who is highlyregarded by many coaches and scouts throughout the East Coast,”states Liberty Head Coach Jim Toman. “He is a man of high charac-ter and is a great addition to our staff.

“He is an excellent coach and tireless recruiter. We are extremelyfortunate to have someone of his stature join the Liberty staff”

The UNC Wilmington pitching staff set new standards uponJackson's arrival in 2002. His staffs eclipsed the 400-strikeout total inthree of his five seasons, setting a school record with 489 in 2003. Inthe same season, the UNCW relief corps established the currentschool saves record of 17. Seahawk pitchers racked up 191 tri-umphs during his tenure, including a then league record 21 ColonialAthletic Association (CAA) victories in 2005, and a school record 42wins in 2006. Over the span, UNC Wilmington made three NCAARegional appearances in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Jackson's inaugural season with the program witnessed the first-ever NCAA Regional appearance for UNCW and a stellar effort bythe squad’s mound staff. The Seahawks finished the year with a 3.75ERA, ranking 27th nationally. The staff posted a 3.06 ERA in CAAplay and limited hitters to a .242 batting average. Senior BradOverton flourished and won seven games with a 2.99 ERA. Overtonthrew 96.1 innings after only throwing a combined 75 innings in threeseasons prior to Jackson's arrival. Seniors Jake Mullis and ChrisCoughlin won eight and six games, respectively and both went on tosign professional contracts with the Kansas City Royals. Mullis wasdrafted in the 15th round by the Roy-als, while Overton inked a con-tract withthe Philadelphia Phillies after being drafted in the 29thround of the 2003 MLB Draft.

Following the loss of a combined44 starts and 21 wins from the2003 UNCW NCAA Regionalstaff, Jackson helped guide the2004 Seahawks to a 4.15 ERA,ranking them second overall inthe pitching-dominated CAA.However, Jackson’s staff led theCAA with an ERA of 3.55 in con-ference play. Over the final 28games of the season, the staffposted a mark of 21-7 whilerecording an 2.28 ERA and hold-ing opponents to a .247 battingaverage.

During the stretch, Jeff Moore(3-0, 1.08), Ronald Hill (5-0, 1.77)and Zach Kimball (5-1, 1.81) each

posted ERAs under 2.00. Hill set a school record with 12 wins, whileKimball set a new program standard with 17 starts. Senior BlakeCross finished his career with 32 saves, 25 of them under Jackson,and inked a contract with the Atlanta Braves the following summer.

In 2005, Jackson’s Seahawk staff continued to rank among theNCAA elite, finishing with a 4.27 ERA, second-best in the CAA. Thestaff also issued a conference-low 164 walks in a conference-lead-ing 522.1 innings. Senior Hill became the school's all-time winsleader, posting consecutive 10-win seasons and fashioning a 20-10mark in his last three campaigns, all under Jackson’s guidance. Hillcompleted his career with a perfect 17-0 mark in CAA action. Mooresigned with the Baltimore Orioles and Hill inked a contract withPhiladelphia after both were selected in the MLB Draft in June.

Jackson coached three hurlers to postseason honors on the way toa UNCW appearance in a NCAA Regional in 2006. Freshman BradHolt was named CAA All-Tournament and senior Adam Paul wasnamed All-CAA. Meanwhile, Thomas Benton flourshed in his seniorseason under Jackson, winning nine games and setting a schoolrecord with 120.1 innings pitched. Benton was named to the All-EastRegion team by the ABCA. Both Benton, by the Cleveland Indiansand Paul, by the San Francisco Giants, were selected in the MLBdraft. Seahawk hurlers set a school record with 568.2 inningspitched.

2007 saw UNCW continue its success and lead CAA play for thethird time in the last five years with a 3.95 ERA. Daniel Cropper wasnamed to the Ping! Baseball Freshman All-American Team and theCAA All-Rookie squad under Jackson’s guidance. Cropper posted ateam-leading 3.43 ERA and, in conference action, ranked secondamongst starters with a 2.72 ERA. The first-year hurler was selectedCAA Rookie of the Week a league-high three times, and became thefirst UNCW freshman to throw a shutout since 1989.

Prior to his arrival at UNC Wilmington, Jackson managed theWilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League during the summerof 2002. He led the Sharks to a 31-17 mark and his pitching staff ledthe circuit with a 2.00 ERA. The pitching staff included both Coughlinand Cross, as well as five MLB draft picks, including current majorleaguer Tom Mastny of Cleveland.

Jackson graduated from Campbell in 1998 with a bachelor'sdegree in education and earned a master's degree in education from Campbell two years later. During his playing days at Campbell, Jackson played seven different positions, posting a career .268 bat-ting average in 182 games.

Jackson spent the 2000 season as an assistant coach at Woffordand the 2001 season as an assistant at Barton. In 2002, he returnedto his alma mater as an assistant coach.

The Charlotte, N.C., native is married to the former Sara Moore,who was a standout basketball player at Campbell. They have onechild, Ryan (1).

Sara, Ryan and Scott Jackson

THE SCOTT JACKSON FILE

Born: Scott Christian Jackson, Oct. 22, 1975, in Winchester, Va.

HS Education: East Mecklenburg HS, 1991-1993, Charlotte, N.C.

HS Baseball: East Mecklenburg HS, 1991-1993

College Education: Bachelor of Science degree in education fromCampbell in 1998; Master of Education in exercise science fromCampbell in 2000.

College Baseball: Campbell, 1994-98

Coaching Career: Assistant Coach - Wofford, 2000; Assistant Coach -Barton, 2001; Assistant Coach - Campbell, 2002; Head Coach -Wilmington Sharks, 2002; Pitching Coach - UNC Wilmington, 2003-2007;Pitching Coach - Liberty, 2008

Family: Wife, Sara; Son, Ryan Owen

SCOTT JACKSON 8Assistant Coach

First Year

Pitching/Recruiting

COACHING STAFF


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Former Flames standout Jeremiah Bolesreturns to Liberty for his first season as anassistant coach. Boles works with theteam’s outfielders, assists with hitting, coor-

dinates camps and coaches first base. He also maintainsWorthington Stadium.

“We are excited to add Jeremiah Boles to our baseball staff. Hehad a tremendous career here at Liberty and has done a great jobhelping Young Harris College reach the Junior College WorldSeries,” stated Liberty Head Coach Jim Toman. “He is an outstand-ing addition to our staff and is someone Liberty fans are familiarwith.”

In 2005, Boles returned to Young Harris, where he had started hiscollegiate playing career, to begin his coaching career as an assis-tant coach under Head Coach Rick Robinson. Boles oversaw theoutfielder and base-running instruction, led the Mountain Lions’speed and conditioning training and assisted with hitting. In histhree seasons at Young Harris, the Mountain Lions were ranked ashigh as No. 2 in the country in the national Junior College polls.Boles became the Recruiting Coordinator in the summer of 2005.

Last season, he played a large role in leading Young Harris, ateam which he recruited, to the school’s first Junior College WorldSeries appearance in Grand Junction, Colo. The Mountain Lionsposted a 46-22 record in 2007, capturing district and regional titles.

During the summer of 2006, Boles assisted Mike Roberts with theCotuit Kettlers of the Cape Cod League (CCL). Under their guid-ance, the Kettlers won the Western Division Championship and fin-ished the summer with the league’s second-best record. The squadwas recognized by Baseball America, as the best summer team inthe country and had more players participate in the 2006 CCL All-Star game than any other team.

Boles patrolled the Liberty outfield during the 2003 and 2004 sea-sons. In his senior season, he led the Big South Conference with a.398 batting average and 90 hits, while finishing second with 61 runsscored and 31 stolen bases. Boles’ conference-leading marksranked him among the nation’s elite in 2004. The outfielder finished22nd in the country in stolen bases per game, 31st in batting aver-age and 39th in runs scored per game. His 2004 totals also rank himthird all-time on the Liberty single-season list in hits, sixth in runsscored and fourth in stolen bases.

Boles went on to earn an American Baseball Coaches Association(ABCA) All-Atlantic Region first team selection. He also garneredVirginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State and Big Southall-conference first-team honors.

In two seasons with the Flames, Boles batted .355 with 139 hits in103 games. He swiped 47 bases and scored 92 runs, leadingLiberty in both categories in each of his two seasons in Lynchburg.

During the summer of 2004, Boles was named to the CoastalPlains League All-Star team, as a starter in centerfielder.

Prior to his two years at Liberty, Boles played two seasons atYoung Harris College. In his first season of college baseball in 2001,he hit .375 with 35 stolen bases, and the following season, posted a.315 batting average and swiped a then-Young Harris program-record 45 bases, finishing second in the country.

Boles is currently completing work on a bachelors of science inhistory from Liberty. The native of Cumming, Ga., is single.

Ryan Bomberger is in his fourth year as afull-time member of the Office of AthleticMedia Relations after joining the staff as an

Assistant Sports Information Director in August 2004. This past sum-mer, he was promoted to his current position of Associate AthleticMedia Relations Director.

Bomberger assists with the distribution of information for Liberty’s18-sport athletics program. He coordinates all media efforts forbaseball, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s ten-nis, while assisting with football and men’s and women’s basketball.Bomberger has also served as the media contact for women’s bas-ketball and wrestling, as well as contributing to the football and bas-ketball game day programs, the LibertyFlames.com web site, andvarious publications.

This past summer, he was named to the National CollegiateBaseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Board of Directors. TheNCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseballthrough promotion. The organization sponsors the Dick HowserTrophy and several All-America teams and Player of the Yearawards, along with providing a weekly poll ranking the Top 35squads in the country.

Prior to coming to Liberty, Bomberger spent a year with the ECHL.Bomberger started with the hockey league as an intern in the com-munications department, after which he served as the league’sExecutive Administrative Assistant. He also worked in the sportsinformation offices of Miami (Ohio) and Indiana. While at Miami,Bomberger served as an Associate to the Sports InformationDirector for one year and was the contact for Miami’s first-everCentral Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) regular-season titlewinner in 1993. Before that, he worked as a student assistant for twoyears at Indiana, assisting with mainly game day operations for soc-cer and football.

In addition, Bomberger served as a news and sports reporter atWJPZ FM 89.1 Radio in Syracuse, N.Y., covering SyracuseUniversity and high school athletics.

Outside of athletics, Bomberger worked from 1994-2001 forElectronic Data Systems, serving in various posts for the Fortune500 company. Bomberger is a member of the College SportsInformation Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the Virginia SportsInformation Directors (VaSID).

Bomberger received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journal-ism from Syracuse University in 1989. He earned his master’sdegree in sports administration/marketing from Indiana University in1992. He also completed an associate’s degree in digital media fromFull Sail, “the Harvard of Digital Media Schools” in Orlando, Fla., in2002. The Dillsburg, Pa., native is single.

JEREMIAH BOLES 38Assistant Coach

First Year

Outfield and Baserunning

COACHING STAFF

THE JEREMIAH BOLES FILE

Born: Jeremiah James Boles, June 12, 1980, in Atlanta, Ga.

HS Education: Forsyth Central High School, Cumming, Ga.

HS Baseball: Forsyth Central, 1996-1999

College Baseball: Young Harris, 2001-02; Liberty 2003-04

Coaching Career: Assistant Coach - Young Harris, 2005-07; AssistantCoach - Cotuit Kettlers, 2006; Assistant Coach - Liberty, 2008.

RYAN BOMBERGERAssociate Athletic Media

Relations Director/Baseball

Fourth Year

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Liberty Flames Baseball 21

Assistant Athletic Trainer Scott Lawrensonis in his second year with the baseball pro-gram and his third overall with the LibertySports Medicine staff. Besides his daily

duties with baseball, the 1986 Liberty graduate serves as the athlet-ic insurance coordinator.

Lawrenson returned to his alma mater in January 2006, coveringsoftball and coordinating the department’s athletic insurance. Afterspending the spring with the Lady Flames’ softball program,Lawrenson took over the sports medicine duties for the Flames’baseball program.

One of three Liberty graduates to work as athletic trainers in MajorLeague Baseball, Lawrenson spent 20 years as a trainer in profes-sional baseball. He began his career in 1986, spending 11 years inthe New York Mets minor league system. Lawrenson was a Metsminor league trainer with several of the organization’s teams from1986 through 1990, before becoming the Mets Minor LeagueTraining and Conditioning Coordinator in 1991.

He served in the capacity until 1996, when he was promoted tothe major leagues. Lawrenson was an assistant trainer with the NewYork Mets from 1996-2001. In 1999, the Mets advanced to NationalLeague Championship Series as a wild card. The following season,the Mets won the NL Pennant and played the New York Yankees inthe 2000 World Series.

Lawrenson was named Interim Head Trainer for the team inSeptember 2001. A month later, he became the Mets Head Trainer,a position he held for four years. In 2005, Lawrenson became anassistant trainer for the Washington Nationals and was with the teamduring the club’s inaugural season.

Lawrenson has traveled with professional baseball squads as anathletic trainer to Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico and PuertoRico. He is an alumnus member of the Professional Baseball AthleticTrainers Society and the National Athletic Trainers Association.

Lawrenson earned a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinaryStudies in 1986. A Lynchburg native, he and his wife Julie, also aLiberty graduate, have two daughters, Bree, a sophomore at theUniversity of Virginia, and Carly, a high school senior.

SCOTT LAWRENSONAssistant Athletic Trainer

Third Year

SPORTS MEDICINE STAFF

Athletic Training Baseball Student Staff

This season, Liberty Assistant Athletic Trainer Scott Lawrenson will be assisted by a staff of several of the school’s athletic training education

students, who are filling the requirements of the program in preparation for a career in athletic training and/or a related field. Student trainers

assist Lawrenson in daily player treament and rehab, covering practice and games and day-to-day sport medicine operations, as well serving

vistiting teams’ needs on game days.

Evan Allen Jon Moquin Chaffon Mouzone Roslyn Welch

SUPPORT STAFF


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Kristie BeitzAssociate Athletics

Director for AcademicAffairs

Mike HagenAssistant Athletics

Director forCompliance

Matt HagenAssistant Strengh &

Conditioning Coach -Baseball

Kris SennettAthletics Business

Manager

Christina TuckerStudent Office

Assistant

Ariana FowlerStudent Office

Assistant

Mike OttEquipment Manager

Josh GoodmanAthletics Director of

Facilities

Les SchoferAthletics StaffPhotographer

204223 lu baseball txt:layout 1...ing 522.1 innings. senior hill became the school's all-time...

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