Coastal Carolina Basketball: 2022-23 Season

MEN’S ROSTER

Men’s and Women’s Basketball Schedules 3

Men’s Basketball Roster 4

Men’s Basketball Home Game Schedule 5

Men’s Basketball Head Coach Cliff Ellis 6

Men’s Basketball Coaching and Support Staff 12

Women’s Basketball Roster 16

Women’s Basketball Home Game Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kevin Pederson 18

Women’s Basketball Coaching and Support Staff 21

2021-22 Chanticleer Spirit Teams/We’re the Chanticleers (Fight Song) . . . . . . . . .23 Hall of Fame 26

Belt Conference

University President 32 Board of Trustees/Executive Officers 33 Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation Matt Hogue

THE

BasketBall schedules

MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME

Nov. 7 ST. MARY’S (Md.) Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m. Nov. 11 METHODIST Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

COLLEGIATE HOOPS ROADSHOW

Nov. 18 USC Upstate at Spartanburg, S.C. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 23 Missouri at Columbia, Mo. 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 26 SOUTH DAKOTA Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Nov. 30 UNCW Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m. Dec. 3 Winthrop at Rock Hill, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Dec. 6 Wofford at Spartanburg, S.C. 7:00 p.m. Dec. 10 REGENT Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Dec. 14 South Dakota at Vermillion, S.D. 2:00 p.m.

Dec. 19 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Conway, S.C. 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 LOUISIANA * Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 31 GEORGIA SOUTHERN * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m.

Jan. 5 Appalachian State * at Boone, N.C. 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 7 Marshall * at Huntington, W. VA. 3:30 p.m.

Jan. 12 Old Dominion * at Norfolk, Va. TBA

Jan. 14 Georgia State * at Atlanta, Ga. 2:00 p.m.

Jan. 19 APPALACHIAN STATE * Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 21 SOUTH ALABAMA * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m.

Jan. 23 CHICAGO STATE Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 26 James Madison * at Harrisonburg, Va. 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 28 OLD DOMINION * Conway, S.C. 4:00 p.m.

Feb. 2 ULM * at Monroe, La. 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 4 Arkansas State * at Jonesboro, Ark. 3:00 p.m.

Feb. 9 MARSHALL * Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 11 JAMES MADISON * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m.

Feb. 16 GEORGIA STATE * Conway, S.C. 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 18 TEXAS STATE * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m.

Feb. 22 Georgia Southern * at Statesboro, Ga. 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 24 Troy * at Troy, Ala. 7:00 p.m.

2022-23 SUN BELT MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Feb. 28 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 1 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 3 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 5 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 6 TBA Championship • Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME

Nov. 7 Georgia at Athens, Ga. 6:00 p.m. Nov. 13 Kentucky at Lexington, KY 1:00 p.m. Nov. 16 Wofford at Spartanburg, SC 7:00 p.m. Nov. 23 COKER Conway, S.C. 4:00 p.m. Nov. 27 Wake Forest at Winston-Salem, NC 4:00 p.m. Nov. 30 SOUTH CAROLINA STATE Conway, S.C. 5:00 p.m. Dec. 2 College of Charleston at Charleston, SC 7:00 p.m. Dec. 11 FURMAN Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Dec. 15 ERSKINE Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m. Dec. 18 UNCW Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Dec. 21 South Carolina at Columbia, S.C. noon Dec. 29 James Madison * at Harrisonburg, Va. 1:00 p.m. Dec. 31 Louisiana * at Lafayette, La. 2:00 p.m. Jan. 5 GEORGIA SOUTHERN * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m. Jan. 7 ULM * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Jan. 12 MARSHALL * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m. Jan. 14 SOUTH ALABAMA * Conway, S.C. 2:00 p.m. Jan. 19 Georgia State * at Atlanta, Ga. 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 21 Appalachian State * at Boone, N.C. 2:00 p.m.

Jan. 26 JAMES MADISON * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m.

Jan. 28 Old Dominion * at Norfolk, Va. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 2 Arkansas State * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m. Feb. 4 Appalachian State * Conway, S.C. noon Feb. 9 Marshall * at Huntington, W.Va. 11:00 a.m. Feb. 11 Southern Miss * at Hattiesburg, Miss. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 16 Troy * at Troy, Ala. 6:00 p.m. Feb. 18 Georgia Southern * at Statesboro, Ga. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 22 Georgia State * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m.

Feb. 24 Old Dominion * Conway, S.C. 6:00 p.m.

2022-23 SUN BELT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Feb. 28 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 1 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 3 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 5 TBA Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

March 6 TBA Championship • Pensacola Bay Center (Fla.)

Home Games Listed in CAPS

* Denotes Sun Belt Conference games

All game times are Eastern Standard Time Dates and Times Subject to Change

The 2022-23 campaign marks Cliff Ellis’ 16th season as the head coach of the Coastal Carolina men’s basketball program and his 48th season overall as a collegiate head coach.

He enters the 2022-23 season with 895 career victories, 817 of those as an NCAA D-I coach, which ranks him 9th all-time in NCAA Division I victories and third in wins among active coaches, trailing only Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Bob Huggins (West Virginia). His 895 overall wins has him ranked 10th all-time as a collegiate coach.

He led CCU to a 19-14 overall record during the 2021-22 season, including an 8-8 Sun Belt Conference record. Vince Cole, who led the Chanticleers in scoring, became the Chants fifth player in the team’s short Sun Belt Conference history, to gain all-conference honors.

Following the 2021-22 regular season, Ellis once again led the Chanticleers to a championship game in a post-season tournament. The Basketball Classic was in its’ inaugural season and the Chanticleers won three games on the Chants way to the championship game against Fresno State. A loss to the members of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) did nothing to diminish the excitement of playing for the championship. Following that game Rudi Williams,

CLIFF ELLIS

SIXTEENTH SEASON

Cole, and Ebrima Dibba were named to the all-tournament team.

Along the way during the 2021-22 season, the Chants defense turned in one of the best performances in program history, allowing only 65.3 points per game, which is 10th best in school history. The team’s +7.5 scoring average was the eighth-best in program history.

Helping the Chants hold opponents to 65.3 shooting, was the fact CCU made it hard to score around the basket as evidenced by their 121 blocked shots, thirdmost in a single season. CCU also had rebound margin of +5.8, eighth best in a single season. Led by Cole and Williams, CCU hit 246 three-point field goals which is the third-most threes in a single season.

Offensive efficiency has defined Ellis-coached teams and that has been no different since his arrival at CCU. Seven of the top ten points-scored seasons in program history have occurred under Ellis.

CCU has also been one of the top three-point shooting teams since Ellis’ arrival. Of the 10 top-threepoint shooting seasons CCU has had, seven have come under Ellis.

Under Ellis the Chanticleers have won two Big South tournament championships, advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournament and played in two CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments and three CBI Tournaments. In 2020-21 even with the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellis led the

Chanticleers to their best season since becoming of member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Chants finished the season with an 18-8 record, 9-5 in the conference. The 9-5 conference record was the best record CCU has had in the Sun Belt.

For the first time since joining the Sun Belt, CCU played into the tournament semifinals before dropping a 64-61 overtime decision to eventual Sun Belt Tournament Champion Appalachian State.

The Chanticleers once again moved into post-season tourney play where they finished as the runners-up in the 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

Ellis’ leadership helped develop junior DeVante’ Jones into the Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Year after averaging 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and almost three steals per game.

The 2019-20 season started with promise as the Chants picked up solid wins over Middle Tennessee and Utah in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. CCU had Baylor on the ropes with a double-digit lead in the second half before a season-ending injury to Ebrima Dibba curtailed the excitement of the season’s start.

After dropping consecutive contests, the Chants rebounded to win four consecutive games and five of its next six before more injuries hit the team to derail the season once conference play started.

CCU finished the season 16-17 overall and 8-12 in the Sun Belt. The Chants did manage to win their first round game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament

with a 63-62 road victory at UT Arlington. Sophomore DeVante’ Jones became the Chants third player to reach All-Sun Belt status after being named to the second team following the season. Ellis led the Chants in the 2018-19 season to a 17-17 overall and 9-9 in the conference. The season came to a close in the College Basketball Invitational. CCU defeated Howard at home and then went on the road to pull the 109-91 upset win over West Virginia in a game which saw CCU’s freshman DeVante’ Jones, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, score 32 points.

The season ended just two days later in a late road loss at DePaul 92-87 in the CBI semifinal game. Senior Zac Cuthbertson picked up All-Sun Belt honors following the season to become the Chants second All-Sun Belt pick since entering the conference.

CCU finished the 2017-18 season 15-17 over and 8-10 in the Sun Belt. While the record does not look as good as it could have, it was not indicative of how the season went. 11 of the Chants’ losses were by seven points or less, including three losses at the final horn and three two-point losses and two more losses by one point.

In 2017 he won his 200th game as CCU’s head coach becoming only the second coach in CCU history to win 200 games at CCU. He only trails long-time CCU head coach Russ Bergman, (197694) who finished his career with 306 victories.

On January 14, 2017, Ellis became one of the few 800-game winners in collegiate basketball with the Chants 85-73 win over Appalachian State. He also enters the 2020-21 season as the alltime winningest NCAA Division I coach in South Carolina history. His combined wins while leading both Clemson and Coastal Carolina stands at 413, 130 more than his nearest competitor, former long-time South Carolina coach, Frank McGuire, who had 283 wins with the Gamecocks.

Ellis led the Chanticleers into their new conference, the Sun Belt, during the 2016-17 season. CCU finished the season with a 20-19 record and tied for sixth in the conference with a 10-8 season. Following the season, CCU received an invitation to its first College Basketball Invitation where it won four games before falling in the championship game at Wyoming.

Ellis had his starting guard Jaylen Shaw become the first Chanticleer to receive All-Sun Belt honors following the season.Elijah Wilson capped off his career as one of the best to ever put on the teal, finishing third among all CCU career-scorers with 1,885 points.

The 2015-16 was the final season in Big South play and Ellis led the team to a 21-12 record and a tie for third in the conference with a 12-6 record. CCU played in the CIT following the season registering three consecutive wins before falling in the semifinals to UC Irvine. Elijah Wilson and Shivaughn Wiggns were named Honorable Mention All-Big South while Tristan Curtis received the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

Following the 2014-15 season, Ellis’ 692 victories ranked him 20th on the list of all-time career coaching victories in the history of Division I basketball. While at Coastal Carolina, Ellis has amassed a pair of Big South regular season championships and two conference tournament titles, making him one of only 12 coaches in NCAA Division I history to lead four different institutions to the NCAA Tournament. Furthermore, with a victory over UNC Asheville on Feb. 3, 2015, Eliis became the only coach in NCAA Division I history to tally 150-plus wins at four institutions. He is also one of two coaches to win championships in both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.

Ellis is a member of four halls of fame after entering the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in May of 2021. He was already part of the Clemson University, South Alabama, and Mobile (Ala.) Area Sports and Cumberland College halls of fame. He was also named the recipient of the 2014 Gene Bartow Award, which recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the game, on and off the floor.

Another one of the many honors that has come his way was coach on August 17, 2018 when Cumberland University (Tenn.), the college that gave him his first collegiate head coaching job, named the playing court at the Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena The Cliff Ellis Court.

Ellis has compiled a Division I record of 798-526 (.603) and 876-538 (.620) overall record and ranks fourth in NCAA Division I wins among active coaches. He is also just one of four coaches in NCAA Division I history to make multiple NCAA Tournament appearances with four separate schools and has been named conference Coach of the Year six times in his career and is the only coach to have at least 170 wins at four different NCAA Division I programs.

Over his 40- plus year coaching career, Ellis has guided his squads to 10 NCAA Tournaments and earned 13 National Invitation Tournament bids. Ellis’ teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament three times: once with Clemson in 1990 and twice with Auburn (1999 and 2003).

In 2014-15, Ellis guided the Chanticleers to a 21-9 regular season record, including a 12-6 mark in Big South play to earn the No. 3 seed in the VisitMyrlteBeach.com Big South Basketball Championship. In the league tournament the Chants rallied for wins over UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb before running away from Winthrop in the title game to secure a second straight

THE ELLIS FILE

Hometown: Marianna, Fla. College: Florida State, 1968 (B.S. Physical Education) Middle Tennessee State, 1972 (M.Ed. Physical Education)

Family: Wife, Carolyn Children, Chryssa Rutland, Clay and Anna Catherine Moore Grandchildren, Hannah Grace and Ellis Rutland, Sarah and Abbey Moore

EXPERIENCE

48th Season Overall 45th Season in NCAA Division I 16th season at coastal carolina

COACHING HISTORY

1968-69: ruckel Junior high Assistant Coach 1969-71: niceville high school Assistant Coach

1971-72: Vanguard high school Head Coach 1972-75: cumberland university Head Coach dIVIsIon 1 1975-84: south alabama Head Coach 1984-94: clemson Head Coach 1994-04: auburn Head Coach

2007-Present: coastal carolina head coach

trip to the NCAA Tournament -- a program first. Coastal was seeded 16th in the West Region and faced No. 1-seeded Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament. The Chants took a pair of early leads over the Badgers, but the eventual national runner-up pulled away for an 86-72 victory.

In addition to a signature non-conference victory at Auburn and a 15-2 home record, 2014-15 highlights included Josh Cameron earning a pair of Big South Player of the Week awards, Warren Gillis surpassing the 1,000 career point total and earning second team all-conference honors along with Elijah Wilson being named the Big South Tournament MVP after averaging 20.3 points per game.

Ellis led the Chants to a 19-12 regular season finish during the 2013-14 season, including an 11-5 conference record earning the Chants’ first Big South Conference South Division Championship. Coastal went on to win three-straight games in the VisitiMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championship to earn its third Big South Conference Tournament Championship, first since 1991. Coastal nearly upset top-seed Virginia at the NCAA Tournament. The Chants led by as many as 10 points in the first half but a late surge by the Cavaliers gave UVA the victory.

Warren Gillis was named Second Team All-Big South Conference while Elijah Wilson earned an Honorable Mention. Wilson was also named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. Gillis went on to earn Tournament MVP honors while Josh Cameron was named to the All-Tournament team.

Ellis’ 2012-13 campaign featured a season opening win over perennial mid-major power Akron when the Chants opened their new home, The HTC Center. Coastal also picked up a 69-46 home win over Clemson in late December, giving Ellis back-to-back victories over the Tigers.

Ellis led Coastal to a 14-15 overall record in 201213 but the Chants were 12-4 at home with a near perfect 7-1 conference home ledger. Ellis helped guide senior Anthony Raffa to All-District and All-Conference honors during the season while the Chants finished fourth in the Big South Conference’s South Division.

In 2011-12, Ellis led the Chants to their first appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Coastal finished the season with a 19-12 record, while going 12-6 in Big South Conference play. Raffa earned second team All-District honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Raffa and teammate Chris Gradnigo were named second team All-Conference.

Ellis led the Chants to victories over LSU and Clemson during the season, marking the first time in school history that Coastal Carolina had recorded two wins in the same season over BCS schools. The win over LSU was the second-straight victory for the Chanticleers over the Tigers in as many seasons.

During the 2010-11 season, Ellis led Coastal Carolina to its second straight trip to the NIT after earning an automatic bid by winning the Big South regular season title with a school-record 16-2 conference mark. The Chanticleers opened league play with 15-straight victories and went on to set an all-time Big South record for single-season conference wins. It was the second-straight season that Coastal Carolina captured the Big South regular season title and was the first time since the 1990 and 1991 seasons that the Chanticleers won consecutive league titles.

The Chanticleers were also a perfect 9-0 on the road in conference during the 2010-11 season and became just the second team in league history to accomplish that feat. In addition, the Chants were also the first team in conference history to win five Big

South road games by at least 20 points. Coastal won by 22 at VMI (Jan. 6), 21 at UNC Asheville (Jan. 20), 24 at High Point (Jan. 27), 23 at Radford (Jan. 29) and 20 at Presbyterian (Feb. 10).

Coastal Carolina was also the first team in Big South history to win at least 25 games in back-to-back seasons and owns the conference record for the most wins in consecutive seasons with 56.

Ellis helped orchestrate one of the greatest seasons in Coastal Carolina basketball history in 2009-10, as the Chanticleers won the Big South regular season title with an overall record of 28-7 to set a new school record for the most wins in a season, surpassing the previous record of 24 victories set during the 1990-91 season. Coastal also finished the season with a 15-3 mark inside the Big South to post a new school record for conference victories. Ellis was selected as the Big South Coach of the Year and guided the Chants to a second-place finish in the Big South Tournament.

Three Chanticleers were named All-Big South in 2009-10 under the direction of Ellis. Senior Joseph Harris and junior Chad Gray were both tabbed to the All-Big South first team, while newcomer Kierre Greenwood was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. Harris ranked eighth in the Big South in scoring with 14.2 points per game and second in the league and 30th in the nation with 9.6 rebounds per game. Gray stood seventh in the conference in scoring with 14.3 points per game, while Greenwood ranked eighth in assists with 3.34 helpers per game.

Harris flourished under the direction of Ellis and finished his career as the only player in Big South history with 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. In fact, Harris ranks first alltime in Big South history in rebounds (1,152) and games played (134), while standing tied for second in field goal percentage (.561).

In 2008-09, Ellis guided the Chants to victories over Conference USA foe East Carolina as well as home wins against UNC Asheville and Winthrop and last-second buzzer-beater victories at High Point and against VMI, who finished second in the Big South. Coastal Carolina had an All-Big South First Team selection in Harris, who led the Big South in rebounding and field-goal percentage. He also had 11 straight double-doubles and was in the top-10 in the nation in rebounding despite standing only 6-foot-5.

Despite a myriad of injuries that affected the Chanticleers in Ellis’ first season, Coastal Carolina won 13 games, including six Big South contests, and was competitive in most games night in and night out. The Chanticleers defeated Big South Conference Tournament champion Winthrop 50-49 Jan. 26 and had thrilling buzzer-beating wins over Radford (76-75) Jan. 12 and Charleston Southern (85-78 in OT) Feb. 2. Coastal Carolina also had two big wins over High Point, including a heart-pounding 56-55 win Feb. 18. Ellis coached Jack Leasure, who was an All-Big South Second Team selection, an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America selection and was the Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for all sports. Ellis also guided Anthony Breeze to a Big South All-Freshman selection.

Ellis spent 10 years (1994-2004) as the head coach at Auburn, posting a 186-125 (.598) record. During his time, Ellis led the Tigers to a school record 29-4 mark in 1998-99, including a 14-2 mark in the SEC to win the league title, and took the team to the NCAA Championship as a No. 1 seed, eventually advancing to the Sweet 16. He was named the 1999 Southeastern Conference and National Coach of the Year by six different organizations, including the John and Nellie Wooden and Associated Press awards. Ellis also led Auburn to the 2000 NCAA Tournament after a 24-10 record overall, becoming a finalist for National Coach of the Year. He also garnered 1995 SEC Coach of the Year honors in his first year at Auburn after taking the Tigers to a 16-13 record overall, earning a berth in the NIT.

Ellis took the Tigers to seven postseason appearances in his 10 years. A preseason last-place pick in the SEC, the Tigers went to the 2003 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, losing to eventual National Champion Syracuse 79-78. Auburn had a 22-12 record in 2002-03, 8-8 in the SEC and a runner-up finish in the Western Division. It marked the third-most wins in school history, all three while Ellis was at the helm. Senior Marquis Daniels was a first-team All-SEC selection and the Birmingham News’ SEC Player of the Year and went on to play for the Boston Celtics.

In the story book 1998-99 season, the Tigers climbed as high as No. 2 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls and finished the season No. 4. Auburn won the outright SEC Championship (the school had only won two in the previous 67-year history of the SEC with the other coming in 1960), SEC Western Division Championship and set the state of Alabama record for victories in a season with a 29-4 record.

Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum sold out seven times, and a record 123,881 fans passed through its doors. The Tigers had never had back-to-back home sellouts in the then 31-year history of the Coliseum. In fact, he reached 100 wins at Auburn faster than any other coach in Tiger history, including the legendary Joel Eaves, Auburn’s all-time winningest coach for whom the Coliseum is named.

In 1999-2000, Auburn was named the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the nation by Sports Illustrated and sold out of all 10,500 season tickets for the first time in school history prior to the season. The Tigers spent most of the year in the top 10, had the second-longest home court winning streak in the nation at 30 games and led the SEC’s Western Division for 29 straight weeks dating back to 1998-99. The Tigers’ 24 wins in 1999-2000 marked the second-most wins in school history, and the Tigers’ 50-9 record over thetwo years was the fourthbest mark in the nation behind Duke, Cincinnati and Stanford. The 53 combined wins were the most wins in back-to-back seasons in school history. Auburn played in the SEC Tournament Championship game for only the third time in school history.

Ellis coached at Clemson from 1984-1994, putting together a 177-128 (.580) record in his tenure. While at Clemson, Ellis led the Tigers to the 1990 Atlantic

ELLI S’ C AREER NC AA TOUR N A M E N T HI S TORY

SOUTH ALABAMA

CLEMSON

1979 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional No. 6 Seed Round of 32 (3) Louisville L 66-69

1987 NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional No. 4 Seed Round of 64 (13) Southwest Missouri St. L 60-65

1989 NCAA Tournament West Regional No. 9 Seed Round of 64 (8) St. Mary’s W 83-70 Round of 32 (1) ArizonaL 68-94

1980 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional No. 9 Seed Round of 48 (8) Alcorn State L 62-70

1990 NCAA Tournament East Regional No. 5 Seed Round of 64 (12) BYU W 49-47 Round of 32 (4) LaSalle W 79-75 Round of 16 (1) Connecticut L 70-71

AUBURN

1999 NCAA Tournament South Regional No. 1 Seed Round of 64 (16) Winthrop W 80-41 Round of 32 (9) Okla. State W 81-74 Round of 16 (4) Ohio State L 63-72

2000 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional No. 7 Seed Round of 64 (10) Creighton W 72-69 Round of 32 (2) Iowa State L 60-79

2003 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional No. 10 Seed Round of 64 (7) Saint Joseph’s W 65-63 Round of 32 (2) Wake Forest W 68-62 Round of 16 (3) SyracuseL 78-79

COASTAL CAROLINA

2014 NCAA Tournament East Regional No. 16 Seed Round of 64 (1) Virginia L 59-70

2015 NCAA Tournament West Regional No. 16 Seed Round of 64 (1) Wisconsin L 72-86

Coast Conference title, the only one in the school’s history, with a 24-8 overall record, a 10-4 ACC mark and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. For his efforts, he earned ACC and NABC and US Basketball Writers District III Coach of the Year honors. He had previously garnered the ACC and District Coach of the Year awards in 1987 after pacing the Tigers to a 25-6 mark, the best in the school history, a runner-up finish in the ACC and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers had been to postseason play just five times prior to his arrival. He was the first coach in ACC history to guide a school to postseason play in each of his first six years with a league program.

The 1989-90 Clemson team continued the tradition of excellence that Ellis began when he took over the program. For the first time in the school’s 80-year history, the Tigers won the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title. Also for the first time, two Tigers were All-ACC first-team selections of the Associated Press/Atlantic Coast Sportswriters in the same year. Ellis became the first Tiger basketball coach to be named conference Coach of the Year twice (1987 and 1990).

Later that season, Ellis’ Tigers knocked off ACC foe North Carolina 69-61, and four days later, defeated fifth-ranked Duke 97-93. The Duke victory also gave Clemson its 24th consecutive victory in Littlejohn Coliseum, setting the Clemson record and ranking fourth best in active home winning streaks nationwide. Included in those 24 wins were 13 victories over ACC teams, five ranked in the AP Top 25, three in the Top 10.

In 1986-87, Ellis’ Tigers became the most successful team in Clemson history, finishing with a 25-6 record, a No. 13 national ranking and an NCAA Tournament berth. Ellis, who became the first Clemson coach to be named ACC Coach of the Year, was also named NABC District III Coach of the Year by his peers and the state of South Carolina Coach of the Year. The Tigers defeated five USA Today Top 25 teams and became only the second squad (at that time) in Clemson history to be invited to the NCAA Tournament. Ellis also moved Clemson into the Top 10 in both the AP and UPI polls for the first time in school history.

Ellis started his Division I head coaching career at South Alabama from 19751984, where he developed the program into a nationally recognized team in his nine years. He had a 171-84 (.671) record, the highest winning percentage in South Alabama history and led the Jaguars to three Sun Belt Conference Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances, while earning one Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year award. He led the Jaguars to a top-10 national ranking during his tenure. During his time with the Jaguars, he also served as the Athletic Director and was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 for the work he did with the Jaguars’ basketball program.

He started his collegiate head coaching career at Cumberland University, where he also served as athletic director from 1973-1975. In his three years, he led Cumberland to a 78-12 (.867) record, including two league championships. Ellis started his career in the high school ranks, coaching at Ocala Vanguard and Niceville high schools and Ruckel Junior High School in his first four years.

Ellis has always had a reputation for recruiting top-notch athletes. Four of his players from the 1980-81 South Alabama team were drafted in the NBA, more than any other school in the nation. The Jaguars had three more drafted in 1985, all players Ellis had recruited to the school. He has six first round choices, including 1994 NBA lottery pick Sharone Wright, Terry Catledge, Horace Grant, Elden Campbell, Dale Davis and Mamadou N’diaye, and he has coached a conference player of the year four times. Chris Whitney, a second round pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, is another former Clemson Tiger who played for Ellis. In his first year at Auburn, Ellis signed point guard Moochie Norris, who was a second round NBA Draft pick in 1996 and played for the Houston Rockets. Chris Porter was drafted in the second round by the Golden State Warriors in 2000. Point guard Jamison Brewer was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.

Prior to coaching at Coastal Carolina, Ellis worked as a television broadcast analyst, with numerous national and regional games including Big South Conference and Coastal Carolina games, from 2004-2007. Ellis earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Florida State in 1968 and his master’s degree, also in physical education, from Middle Tennessee State in 1972.

Ellis is also a musician, author and a former ostrich farmer. He started in the recording business before coaching and has released many records. In 1991, he

COACHES TO TAKE FOUR SCHOOLS TO THE NC AA TOURNAMENT

coach Schools steve alford Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA

John Beilein Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia, Michigan

lefty driesell

Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State

cliff ellis south alabama, clemson, auburn, coastal carolina

larry eustachy Utah State, Iowa State, Southern Mississippi, Colorado State

Jim harrick Pepperdine, UCLA, Rhode Island, Georgia

lon kruger Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV, Oklahoma

fran mccaffery Lehigh, UNC Greensboro, Siena, Iowa

tom Penders Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington, Houston rick Pitino Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville

tubby smith Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota eddie sutton Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State

released a record called “Loveland” by Cliff Ellis and the EBS All-Star Blues Band. He cut another record, “Cliff Ellis and Friends,” which includes several rock `n’ roll songs and a rendition of “Amazing Grace” dedicated to the late Jim Valvano, a close friend who taught Ellis much about life through his battle with cancer. “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” another song on the compact disc, climbed all the way to No. 13 on the “Beach Music” charts. His most recent CD is “People Get Ready” in which he collaborated with Grammy winner Marty Rabun (Shenandoah) and former Auburn players. Ellis also has seven publications to his credit. He has published three books - “Zone Press Variations for Winning Basketball,” “The Complete Book of Fast Break Basketball” and “Cliff Ellis: The Winning Edge,” released in the summer of 2000. Ellis is married to the former Carolyn Ratzlaff and they have three children, Chryssa Rutland, Clay and Anna Catherine Moore, and four grandchildren, Hannah Grace and Ellis Rutland and Sarah and Abbey Moore.

MEN’S COACHING STAff

ALMA MATER Charlotte, 1992 (B.A. Business Administration)

HOMETOWN

Winston-Salem, N.C.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Pfeiffer, Assistant Coach, 1993-96

Phillips, Assistant Coach, 1996-98

Henderson State, Assistant Coach, 1998-00

Charlotte, Assistant Coach, 2001-06

UNC Wilmington, Head Coach, 2006-10

Coastal Carolina, Assistant Coach, 2011-13

Coastal Carolina, Associate Head Coach, 2014-present

ALMA MATER Maryland, 2008

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Bowie State, Assistant Coach, 2010-11

NC State, Video Coordinator, 2011-14

University of Maryland, Recruiting Coordinator/On-Campus Recruiting Visits, 2014-18

South Alabama, Assistant Coach, 2018-19

George Washington University, Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, 2020-2021

Fordham University, Director of Operations, 2021-2022

Coastal Carolina, Assistant Coach, 2022-present

ALMA MATER

New Orleans, 2010 (B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies)

HOMETOWN

Piney Woods, Miss.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Charlotte, Graduate Assistant Coach, 2010-11

Mack Prep School, Assistant Coach, 2011-12

Arlington County Day School, Assistant Coach, 2012-13

Abilene Christian, Assistant Coach, 2013-15

Wright State, Assistant Coach, 2015-16

Southern Utah, Assistant Coach, 2016-17

Coastal Carolina, Assistant Coach, 2017-present

BENNY MOSS

Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach

EXPERIENCE 28th season overall

season at Coastal Carolina

NIMA OMIDVAR

Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

season at Coastal Carolina

ELWYN M CROY

Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

EXPERIENCE 24th season overall 4th season at Coastal Carolina

MATT HURT Director of Operations (Alice Lloyd, 2007)

NOAH BREITENSTEIN Video Coordinator

URIAH SNOBERGER Trainer (West Virginia, 2009)

WARREN GILLIS Special Assistant for Quality Control (Coastal Carolina, 2015)

ZACH M C MANUS Speed, Strength and Conditioning Coach (Wisconsin La Crosse, 2021)

head coach

KEVIN PEDERSON

FIRST SEASON

A coaching veteran in the state of South Carolina, Kevin Pederson was named the seventh women's basketball head coach in Coastal Carolina University history on April 12, 2022.

Pederson came to Coastal Carolina with more than 20-plus years of head coaching experience, 400-plus career wins, 15 trips to the NCAA postseason tournament, and administrative experience at the collegiate level.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin and his family to Teal Nation! Throughout this process, his qualifications, success, and references continued to impress, and his seasoned head coaching experience of nearly 450 wins and 21 seasons certainly stood out. We look forward to getting to work and writing the next chapter of Chanticleer women’s basketball,” stated Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation Matt Hogue.

Pederson led Lander University to unprecedented success during his 17 years (2005-22) in

Greenwood, S.C., as he guided the Bearcats to a 356-160 overall record fueled by 13 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament appearances, including the last eight straight seasons.

Most recently, Pederson directed the Bearcats to a 24-5 overall record, a 15-3 Peach Belt Conference record, and advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship Regional final.

Pederson owns an impressive .699 winning percentage (444-191) through 21 seasons as an intercollegiate head women’s basketball coach with all of those 444 career wins coming at South Carolina institutions in Lander (356-160) and Anderson University (88-31).

The all-time wins leader for Lander women’s basketball and conference wins leader in women’s basketball for the Peach Belt Conference, Pederson led the Bearcats to two NCAA DII Region Championships (2011-12 and 2020-21), four Peach Belt regular-season championships (2007-08, 200910, 2019-20, and 2020-21), two Peach Belt Conference division championships (2015-16 and 2016-17), and four Peach Belt Conference Tournament championships (2007-08, 2008-09, 2015-16, and 2019-20).

In his four years as the head coach at Anderson (2002-05), he led the Trojans to a Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) regular-season championship in 2004-05 and back-to-back tournament championships in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Pederson, a three-time Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBC) Region Coach of the Year (2009-10, 2019-20, and 2020-21) and threetime conference coach of the year (2004-05, 2009-10, and 2020-21), has recorded 15 20-win seasons, including eight 25-plus win seasons, and was the first coach in the state of South Carolina to lead a team to three straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances.

He has recorded a 20-14 career record in the NCAA DII Championship Tournament, making 15 appearances in 21 seasons. He has taken his teams to seven Sweet 16 appearances (2004-05, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22), made two Elite 8 appearances (2011-12 and 202021), and reached one Final 4 (2020-21).

His teams have finished in the NCAA DII Top 25 national rankings eight times, including his most recent 2021-22 Lander squad completing the season ranked No. 10 in the NCAA DII Top 25

Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the D2SIDA Final WBB Poll. During his career, he recruited and coached the 2011 WBCA Division II Player of the Year Shannon McKeever, the NCAA Division II All-Time Leading Scorer in Lashonda Chiles, and mentored at least one Division II AllAmerican in 10 different seasons.

Pederson has also coached 44 all-conference players, eight conference players of the year, three conference defensive players of the year, four conference freshman of the year, and one conference female athlete of the year. While at Lander, he also coached two Peach Belt Conference Elite 16 Award winners in Cierra Revell (2021) and Sarah Crews (2022), as well as eight Lander Female Athlete of the Year Award winners.

In the classroom, Pederson’s teams on average have posted a 3.3 team grade-point average or better during the past three seasons. Makaila Cange was named a 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American this past season.

In addition to serving as Lander’s women’s head basketball coach, Pederson has served as the associate athletic director since 2016, where he oversaw the entire athletic department budget and individual sports team accounts.

Pederson started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Anderson College (S.C.) from 1999 to 2005. He also served as the head junior varsity coach for the men’s team from 2000 to 2002 before taking over the reins of the women’s basketball program in January 2002, first on an interim basis and then full-time.

Pederson, a native of Fairfax, Va., worked five seasons for the Clemson University men's basketball program as a student manager from 1994 to 1999 under Rick Barnes and Larry Shyatt before joining Anderson College in 2001.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Clemson (1999) and a master's degree (2010) from the United States Sports Academy.

Pederson is married to the former Adair Clary of Gaffney, S.C., who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Clemson. They have two children, Conner and Clary.

PEDERSON'S CAREER HEAD COACHING RECORD

YEAR SCHOOL RECORD PCT. CONFERENCE NOTES

2001-02 Anderson (S.C.) 13-9 .591

2002-03 Anderson (S.C.) 17-12 .586

THE PEDERSON FILE

Hometown: Fairfax, Va.

College: Clemson University - 1999 (Bachelors - Secondary ED/ History-Geography)

United States Sports Academy - 2010 (Masters - Sport Management)

EXPERIENCE

coastal carolina • 1st season

Lander • 21 Seasons • Record: 356-160

Anderson (S.C.) • 4 Seasons • Record: 88-31

COACHING HISTORY

1999 - 2005 anderson college Men’s Assistant coach

2000 - 02 anderson college Men’s JV Head coach

2002 - 05 anderson college Women’s Head coach

2005 - 22 lander university Women’s Head coach

2022 - present coastal carolina Head coach

POSTSEASON

NCAA DII Round of 32 2004-05 Anderson (S.C.) 33-3 .917 CVAC Regular-Season & Tournament Champions

2003-04 Anderson (S.C.) 25-7 .781 CVAC Tournament Champions

NCAA DII Sweet 16 2005-06 Lander 5-23 .179 2006-07 Lander 15-13 .536 2007-08 Lander 23-12 .657 Peach Belt Regular-Season & Tournament Champions

NCAA DII Round of 32 2008-09 Lander 20-11 .645 Peach Belt Tournament Champions

NCAA DII Round of 64 2009-10 Lander 27-4 .871 Peach Belt Regular-Season Champions

NCAA DII Sweet 16 2010-11 Lander 29-4 .879

NCAA DII Sweet 16 2011-12 Lander 24-8 .750 NCAA DII Elite Eight 2012-13 Lander 9-17 .346 2013-14 Lander 12-17 .414 2014-15 Lander 23-7 .767

NCAA DII Round of 64 2015-16 Lander 25-7 .781 Peach Belt Tournament Champions

NCAA DII Round of 64 2016-17 Lander 25-8 .758

NCAA DII Round of 32 2017-18 Lander 25-8 .758

NCAA DII Round of 32 2018-19 Lander 24-9 .727 NCAA DII Sweet 16 2019-20 Lander 26-5 .839 Peach Belt Regular-Season & Tournament Champions

N/A - No. 1 seed in Southeast 2020-21 Lander 20-2 .909 Peach Belt Regular-Season Champions

NCAA DII Final Four 2021-22 Lander 24-5 .828

TOTALS 21 years 444-191 .699 at Lander 356-160 .690 at Anderson (S.C.) 88-31 .739

NCAA DII Sweet 16

EXPERIENCE

ALMA MATER

Anderson College, 2005 (Bachelor’s – Business Management)

Liberty University, 2013 (Master’s – Sport Management)

HOMETOWN Beaufort, S.C.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Lander University, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, 2010-22

Lander University, Volunteer Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, 2006-08

1st

ALMA MATER

Bentley University, 2020

(Bachelor’s – Media and Culture and Information Design/Corporate Communication)

HOMETOWN Charlton, Mass.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Clemson University, Graduate Assistant, 2020-22

1st

EXPERIENCE

ALMA MATER

Lander University, 2007 (Bachelor’s – Sociology/Minor African-American Studies)

Liberty University, 2014 (Master’s – Sport Management/ Administration)

HOMETOWN Columbia, S.C.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Utah Valley, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, 2018-22

UT Arlingtion, Director of Operations, 2018-19

Texas Tech, Graduate Assistant, 2017-18

Lander University, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, 2015-16

1st

1st

EXPERIENCE

ALMA MATER

University of Georgia, 2021 (Bachelor’s – Math Education)

HOMETOWN Augusta, Ga.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

University of Georgia, Student Manager, 2017-20

University of Georgia, Graduate Assistant, 2020-22

DECOLE SHOEMATE ROBERTSON Associate Head Women’s Basketball Coach

season at Coastal Carolina

JARRED JACKSON Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach

season at Coastal Carolina

JULIA FORD

Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach

EXPERIENCE

season at Coastal Carolina

ELIZABETH METRESS Director of Women’s Basketball Operations

season at Coastal Carolina

the chanticleer regiment is the marching band of Coastal Carolina University and one of the most visible student organizations on CCU’s campus. The ensemble is one of many housed within the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Department of music. The marching band appears at all CCU home football games, selected away games, and invited exhibition performances. Consisting of woodwind, brass, color guard, and twirlers, the Chanticleer Regiment strives for musical excellence coupled with an exciting visual presentation. Membership is open to all students regardless of academic major. The 2022 Chanticleer Regiment is led on the field by conducting drum majors Dorien Steed and Hailey Cornell, and in-line drum major Charlea Malin. The Chanticleer Regiment is under the direction of CCU Director of Bands Garrett Griffin and assistant director Greg Tsalikis, with assistance from Jesse Willis, Emily Griffin, and Sydney Medlin.

WHAT IS A CHANTICLEER?

A Chanticleer (SHON-ti-cleer) gives Coastal Carolina University one of the most unique nicknames in all of sports. Chanticleer comes from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and came to the University when it was a member of the University of South Carolina system. A Chanticleer is a rooster who rules the barnyard with cunning and wit. His competitiveness never wanes as he battles to the end, using his brains to come out on top every time.

n Alyssa Avallone n Bailey Bateman

n Camiyah Binns

n Morgan Britt Tripp n Elisabeth Daniels

n Alyssia DiLorenzo

n Isabella DiOrio

n Bella Eylens

DANCE TEAM MEMBERS

n Olivia Fowlkes

n Addi Gleason

n Caroline Haberman n Bianca Handl n Brooke Knight n Serena Lin n Caitlyn Medved n Kendall Moore

n Savannah Piziak

n Abbe Reynolds n Megan Ryerson n Lauren Slice n Mickie Smith n Charley Trout n Logan Urban n McKaellen Wilkerson

WE'RE THE CHANTICLEERS (CCU Fight Song)

We're the Chanticleers, Tenacious and true. We'll fight until the end For CCU!

We'll compete with honor And always to win. Gather for our battle cry And then...

CHEER SQUAD MEMBERS

WOMEN

n Destini Brown

n Allison Blechl

n Ashlee Boykin n Erin Coyle

n Cassidy Cullen n Hailey Curran n Kaylee Dawson n Ceara Day

n Kyleigh Dixon n Cailin Forsyth n Kylie Forsyth

MEN

n Stephen Caratozzolo n Tyler Cuskey

n Caleb Degn

n Ashlyn Franey n Olivia Giovannetti n Jennifer “Jenny” Gouthro n Erika Greco

n Leah Hargis n Harley Huey n Alyssa Lehrmann n Khyla Mason n Nyla McKinney n Olivia Miller n Mikayla Montgomery

n Victoria O'Malley n Jada Pelzer

n Jadyn Penland n Madison Purcell n Sara Senich n Anna Saks n Melissa Spangler n Sam Tuten n Khamari Tyre n Olivia Versace n Ellie Zielfelder

We'll shout our colors. Go teal! (Go teal!) And then we'll yell out And bronze! (And bronze!)

And every team will learn Coastal is number one!

We're the ChanticleersDefending the shoreBest of Carolina Since '54. Stronger than the oaks And sure as the tide, Our hearts are beating fast With Coastal pride!

n Dutch Hendricks n Zachary Kounbandith n Sean Sullivan n Chris Supple

n Ryan Tomison n Daniel Valentino n Elijah Williams

CAPTAINS

n Meghan Trucksis

n Gracie Vinzant

Head

n Melvin Hall n Jack Schafer

SOCK 'EM, BUST 'EM THAT'S OUR CUSTOM COASTAL CAROLINA

Head Coach: Marla Sage

Coach: Dave Almeida

hall of fame

GEORGE F. “BUDDY” SASSER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

Coastal Carolina University’s Athletic Hall of Fame is named in honor of former athletic director George F. “Buddy” Sasser.

“It is a fitting tribute to Buddy that his name should be permanently linked with the athletic department’s Athletic Hall of Fame,” said former CCU President Ronald Ingle. “Buddy embodies the highest qualities associated with college athletics — integrity, leadership, and scholarship.”

The naming of the Athletic Hall of Fame was part of a series of events leading up to Coastal Carolina University’s 50th-anniversary festivities in 2004.

Sasser was inducted in 2003, along with three other Coastal Carolina athletic administrators and student-athletes, in the inaugural class of the Big South Conference Hall of Fame. Sasser served as the Big South commissioner from 1989-1996 and had two stints as Coastal Carolina director of athletics (1986-1989 and 1996-1999). While Big South commissioner, Sasser was responsible for increasing membership, gaining automatic bids to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and adding basketball

television exposure for the League. The Commissioner’s Cup award, which goes to the institution with the best overall athletic performance for that year, was renamed the Sasser Cup in his honor.

He served on the University’s Football Advisory Committee and on the capital campaign steering committee for Coastal Carolina’s Brooks Stadium.

A native of Conway, Sasser served as athletic director and head football coach at Conway High School from 1963 to 1970, leading the Tigers to a 6617-5 record. He was an assistant football coach and assistant athletic director at Appalachian State University from 1972 until 1977 and was athletic director and head football coach from 1977 until 1982 at Wofford College, where he was named 1982 Kodak Coach of the Year for the college division. He joined East Tennessee State in 1982 as head football coach and was named athletic director in 1985. Sasser was Coastal Carolina University’s director of athletics from 1986 until 1989 when he accepted the position of commissioner of the Big South Conference. He returned to the University as athletic director in 1996 and retired in 1999. For his distinguished career in athletics, Sasser was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.

®

1991

Dr. Edward M. Singleton (Honorary)

Violet Meade (Honorary)

Walter Hamrick (Honorary) Jimmy Johnson (Honorary) Dan Selwa (Honorary) Howard White (Men’s Basketball)

1992

Catherine Nance (Women’s Basketball)

E. Cater Floyd (Honorary)

1993

Sherry Barnhill (Women’s Basketball)

Kirt Manwaring (Baseball) Tony Whittington (Men’s Basketball) 1994

Mickey Brantley (Baseball)

1995 Craig Hawley (Men’s Tennis)

1996 Donald Clement (Men’s Golf)

1997

Sigurdur Sveinbjornsson (Men’s Soccer)

1998

Holly Bottar (Women’s Basketball)

Tom Romano (Baseball) Terry Spires (Baseball) John Vrooman (Honorary/ Baseball Coach)

1999

Tony Dunkin (Men’s Basketball) Michelle Hall (Softball)

Randy Stokes (Baseball)

2000

Mark Clemons (Baseball)

Claude Huggins (Men’s Soccer)

Matt Logue (Baseball) Michelle Minton (Softball)

2001

Robert Dowdell (Men’s Basketball)

Sara Graziano (Softball) Sherry Johnson (Softball) Mark Romer (Baseball)

2002 Luis Lopez (Baseball)

Ross Moore (Men’s Soccer)

Neil Payne (Men’s Soccer)

Valentine Stumpf (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

2003 Catherine Conder (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

Tomas Malik (Men’s Tennis)

Buddy Sasser (Honorary) Wayne White (Honorary)

2004

Jessica Falca (Softball)

Guy Norcott (Men’s Soccer)

Angela Murphy (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

Dr. Edgar Dyer (Honorary)

2005

Brad Hastings (Men’s Golf)

Neal Robinson (Men’s Soccer) Kevin Schnall (Baseball)

2006 Dr. Ronald R. Ingle (Honorary) Sarah Lockett (Softball) Scott Sturkie (Baseball)

Jolene Williams (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

2007 Emma Kidd (Women’s Tennis)

Brooke Weisbrod (Women’s Basketball)

2008

Brandon Powell (Baseball)

Holly Lee (Softball)

2009

Steven Carter (Baseball)

Amber Campbell (Women’s Track and Field)

Joseph Ngwenya (Men’s Soccer)

Dr. Richard Ward (Honorary)

2010 Medina Bajrambasic Walsh (Women’s Tennis)

Adam Keim (Baseball)

Terah Kipchiris (Men’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

Jeanne Lambert (Volleyball) Justin Owens (Baseball) Rafael Vera (Men’s Golf)

2011

Jess Dannelly (Honorary/Softball Coach)

Tyler Hughes (Men’s Soccer)

Mark Johnson (Men’s Track and Field)

Ryan McGraw (Baseball)

Cari Rowe Rosiek (Softball)

2012 Mike Costanzo (Baseball)

Dustin Johnson (Men’s Golf)

Meagan Johnson (Softball)

Anne Marie Moutsinga (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

Maurice Simpkins (Football)

Quinton Teal (Football)

2013

Ashleigh Gunning (Women’s Soccer)

Patrick Hall (Football)

Chasity Johnson (Women’s Track and Field) Jack Leasure (Men’s Basketball)

2014

Alan Connie (Honorary/Head Coach)

Josh Hoke (Football)

Diana Jepchirchir Mendes (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

Thomas Jordan (Men’s Track and Field) Tyler Thigpen (Football)

2015 Zack Byrd (Men’s Golf)

Joseph Harris (Men’s Basketball)

2016 Ron Deubel (Baseball)

Aruca Felgueroso (Women’s Golf)

Tommy La Stella (Baseball)

Tyler McCart (Men’s Track and Field)

Blair Monroe (Women’s Soccer) David Sappelt (Baseball)

2017

David Anderson (Baseball)

Marie Matrka (Women’s Tennis)

Anthony Meo (Baseball) Josh Norman (Football) Frank Taloota (Baseball)

2018

Brittany Henderson (Women’s Golf)

Jose Iglesias (Baseball)

Chelsy Kimes (Volleyball)

Erica Peake (Women’s Track and Field)

Sebastian Soderberg (Men’s Golf)

Mike Tolbert (Football)

Cody Wheeler (Baseball)

Alan LeForce (Honorary)

Williams “Bill” Edmonds (Honorary)

2019

Jessica Alexander (Women’s Golf)

Daniel Bowman (Baseball) Rico Noel (Baseball) Lauren Yates (Softball)

2020 Quinn Backus (Football)

Lorenzo Taliaferro (Football)

Letitia Saayman (Women’s Cross Country/ Track and Field)

2021 2016 NCAA College World Series Championship Baseball Team

Mike Morrison (Baseball) Connor Owings (Baseball) Michael Paez (Baseball) Zach Remillard (Baseball) G.K. Young (Baseball) Alex Ross (Football)

2022

Dr. David A. DeCenzo, Ph. D. (Honorary/President)

David Bennett (Honorary/Head Coach) Joe Moglia (Honorary/Head Coach) Andrew Beckwith (Baseball)

Ikeiylah Brown (Women’s Track & Field) Alex Cunningham (Baseball) Dock Doyle (Baseball) Jason Flanagan (Men’s Track & Field)

De’Angelo Henderson (Football) Taylor Motter (Baseball) Lena Schaeffner (Women’s Golf)

ILLUSTRATED

hall of fame memBers GAMEDAY

sun Belt conference

the sun Belt conference began a new chapter in its history on Friday, July 1, as it officially welcomed James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss to its 14-member conference.

“We are excited to officially welcome James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss as members of the Sun Belt Conference,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “This expansion to 14 members—and the regional rivalries it produces—makes the 2022-23 academic year one of the most anticipated in Sun Belt history and signals the bright future that lies ahead for the conference.”

Since its move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2001, the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) has established itself as a leader among intercollegiate athletic leagues, earning national acclaim. 2020, however, was a breakout year:

• The SBC accumulated an fBs-leading 21 non-conference wins in 2020, including a 3-0 record against Big 12 opponents.

• two teams (coastal carolina and louisiana) finished in the final AP Poll, Coaches Poll, and College Football Playoff Rankings for the first time in conference history.

• The Sun Belt led the fBs in turnover margin, turnovers gained, and fewest penalties per game.

• The league paced the group of five in 14 statistical categories, including yards per play and points per possession.

• And the Sun Belt had 15 student athletes combine for 38 all-america nods, headlined by consensus All-American defensive end Tarron Jackson of Coastal Carolina, a sixth-round NFL Draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles.

At no time has the Sun Belt’s athletic success been more visible. Over the course of the past five football seasons, the conference has posted an FBSleading .692 winning percentage in bowl games. The Sun Belt is 18-8 in bowl appearances over this five-year stretch.

In addition to the conference’s accomplishments on the football field during 2020, the conference boasted a 135 percent increase in TV viewership, with seven of the conference’s games surpassing 1 million viewers.

As racial injustices continued to plague the United States, the conference launched BE THE CHANGE during the summer of 2020 - focusing attention on American civil rights, promoting civic engagement, and creating dialogue with law enforcement. The conference also established and encouraged its teams and fans to visit the Sun Belt Conference Civil Rights Trail, which highlights historic sites and landmarks found in the geographic footprint of its member schools.

The Sun Belt sponsors 18 NCAA sports and annually awards nearly $134 million in financial aid to more than 4,600 student-athletes.

THE SUN BELT’S 14-MEMBER INSTITUTIONS INCLUDE:

coastal carolina university is a comprehensive, public liberal arts institution in Conway, S.C., that offers 95 major fields of study toward the baccalaureate degree, 27 master’s degree programs, two educational specialist degrees, and two Ph.D. programs.

More than 10,400 students from across the country and around the world engage with a world-class faculty, and they all enjoy an inspiring cultural calendar and a tradition of community interaction fueled by more than 180 student organizations.

The 19 Coastal Carolina athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA as members of the Sun Belt Conference. The University’s mascot is the Chanticleer, a proud, fierce, and quick-thinking rooster derived from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” The football, lacrosse, softball, and baseball teams compete in the TD Sports Complex, which houses the award-winning Springs Brooks Baseball Stadium. The Chanticleer baseball team won the College World Series in 2016, the University’s first national championship.

The University comprises 115 main buildings on 621 acres, including the General James Hackler Golf Course, a public 18-hole golf facility adjacent to campus.

Coastal Carolina University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

MISSION

coastal carolina university is a public comprehensive liberal arts institution that seeks to develop students who are both knowledgeable in their chosen fields and prepared to be productive, responsible, healthy citizens with a global perspective. To deliver on this commitment, Coastal Carolina recruits highly qualified and motivated students, faculty, and staff from the region, state, nation, and world to create a diverse and dynamic student-centered learning environment.

Because Coastal Carolina embraces the teacher-scholar model, it places primary emphasis on high-quality teaching and engaged learning, and it supports faculty research, creative activities, and expert collaboration in the community, state, nation, and world. This focus enables faculty and staff to mentor students in collaborative research, creative opportunities, and internships. To nurture this active learning community, Coastal Carolina maintains a broad range of contemporary technologies, programming, support services, and innovative course offerings and delivery methods. The result is alumni who are well prepared for professional careers or graduate programs in their chosen fields and who continue to be connected to Coastal Carolina.

Inspired by its founding in 1954 to serve the educational needs of the region, Coastal Carolina has a tradition of a strong liberal arts core. As such, Coastal Carolina commits its resources to building undergraduate and graduate degree programs of national and/or regional significance in the arts and sciences, business, humanities, education, and health and human services. Coastal Carolina fully embraces its leadership role as a regional center of economic and intellectual resources, lifelong learning, cultural and recreational opportunities, and athletic programs.

As Coastal Carolina executes this mission, it recognizes its responsibility to be a role model to the community by assuring fair and honest treatment of people with whom it interacts and sustainable stewardship of resources entrusted to it; adopting the highest standards of integrity and accountability; and committing itself to excellence through continuous assessment and improvement.

Update adopted by the Coastal Carolina University Board of Trustees on July 19, 2014. Update approved by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education on Feb. 5, 2015.

MICHAEL T. BENSON

THE THIRD PRESIDENT OF COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

michael t. Benson, a veteran of higher education administration, became the third president of Coastal Carolina University on Jan. 1, 2021. He also holds the title of professor of history at the University.

Since his arrival, Benson has secured the largest donation in school history: a $10 million gift from Conway Medical Center. The endowed funds support the University’s newest college – the Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance –that opened on July 1, 2022. In May 2022, he led the groundbreaking ceremony for the Thompson Library, a $29.8 million, two-story, 64,000-square-foot facility. Benson established the President’s Council for Sustainability and Coastal Resilience, which is charged with transforming CCU into a more sustainable campus, centering sustainability in the University’s curriculum and student services, and serving the surrounding communities to build toward a sustainable future. He serves as the FBS presidential representative on the NCAA Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity. In Spring 2022, he taught an upper-level course: History of the American University.

Benson is president emeritus at Eastern Kentucky University, where he served as the 13th president from 2013 to 2020. Prior to EKU, Benson was the 15th president of Southern Utah University. He helped secure SUU’s designation as the state’s public liberal arts and sciences university;

established the Hispanic Center for Academic Excellence; gained admission into the Big Sky Conference for all athletic teams; and directed the development and implementation of SUU’s largest comprehensive fundraising effort, which raised a record $105 million.

Benson also served for five years as the 14th president of Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he helped raise more private money for the institution during his tenure than had been secured in the previous 115 years of the college’s history combined. Appointed at age 36, Benson was the youngest college president in the history of the Utah System of Higher Education.

His scholarly work has focused on the development of the research university and its impact on society. Benson’s upcoming book, Daniel Coit Gilman and the Birth of the American Research University, will be released by Johns Hopkins University Press in Fall 2022.

Benson is regularly sought after for public speeches and appearances. He was a featured contributor to the Huffington Post for five years; has written articles for The Jerusalem Post, Lexington Herald-Leader, Louisville Courier Journal, The Kansas City Star, Deseret News, and The Salt Lake Tribune, among others; and appeared on ESPN’s The Paul Finebaum Show.

Born in Utah and raised in Texas and Indiana,

Benson has worked and studied abroad for seven years in Italy, England, and Israel. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science and double minors in English and history from Brigham Young University in 1990. He completed his doctorate in modern history from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) in 1995, where he was a Rotary Foundation Scholar and recipient of the Oxford Graduate Overseas Fellowship. He also earned a master’s degree cum laude in nonprofit administration in 2011 from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business, where he was the recipient of the prestigious Father Theodore Hesburgh Founder’s Award. Benson graduated with a Master of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University in August 2021.

An accomplished athlete, Benson played basketball at both BYU and Oxford, and his best marathon time – 2 hours and 41 minutes – won his age division in the St. George (Utah) Marathon, one of the largest marathons in the U.S. He also finished among the top 15% of all runners in the 1984 Boston Marathon.

Benson and his wife, Debi, are the parents of three children – Truman, Tatum, and Talmage. He also has two older children from a previous marriage. Emma graduated from Brigham Young University and is a TV anchor in Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Samuel is a senior majoring in sociology and Spanish at BYU.

Board of trustees

Coastal Carolina University Board of Trustees

In 1993, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation establishing Coastal Carolina University as an independ ent public institution, effective July 1, 1993.

The legislation established the governing body of Coastal Carolina University, the Board of Trustees, which by statute is responsible for overseeing the effective governance of the University. The Board of Trustees defines the mission, role, and scope of the University, establishes the general policies of the University, approves the budget, and provides accountability to the public and the General Assembly.

The University’s 17-member Board of Trustees comprises the governor of the state or his or her designee, who is an ex officio member of the Board, one gubernatorial appointee from the state at-large, and 15 members elected by the South Carolina General Assembly to represent each of the state’s Congressional Districts and the state at-large.

The Board of Trustees holds regular meet ings four times each year. The University’s first Board of Trustees met on July 1, 1993.

Board of Trustees

The Honorable Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina

Ex Officio

H. Delan Stevens ’79, Chair

Natasha M. Hannah ’94, Vice Chair

Patrick Sparks ’95, Secretary/Treasurer

John H. Bartell Jr.

Lee A. Belcher ’08

William S. Biggs

Lisa Davis

Dalton B. Floyd Jr. Joe N. Jarrett Jr.

Sherry I. Johnson ’96

Mark S. Kelley George E. Mullen

Bradley J. Poston ’07, ’16

Jason M. Repak ’07

Oran P. Smith

Eugene C. Spivey ’91

William E. Turner III ’97

President’s Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet is a group of senior level administrators representing all areas of Coastal Carolina University. These individuals serve as executive-level support to the University president and generally meet every two weeks. This is a non-voting body.

Michael T. Benson University President

Daniel J. Ennis

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost

David A. Frost

Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration/Chief Financial Officer

Matthew L. Hogue

Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation

Carlos Johnson

Senior Vice President/University Counsel

Christopher A. Johnson

Chief Executive Officer

Coastal Educational Foundation

Travis E. Overton

Vice President for Executive Initiatives/ Chief of Staff

Diane Sanders

Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement

Yvonne Hernandez Friedman

Vice President for Student Affairs

Thomas A. Korczara

Vice President for Human Resources and Equal Opportunity

MATT HOGUE

VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS AND UNIVERSITY RECREATION

matt hogue is the vice president of intercollegiate athletics and university recreation for Coastal Carolina University, a title change he received in April 2021.

Hogue was recently named the 2020-21 Athletics Director of the Year by The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)—one of only four recipients of this award at the FBS level. He was one of 28 winners across seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions, and Junior College/Community Colleges).

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses, and their surrounding communities.

He is also a member of the NCAA Division I baseball selection committee, representing Coastal Carolina and the Sun Belt Conference since August 2020. Hogue was named the director of athletics at Coastal Carolina University on Feb. 27, 2015, after serving as the interim director of athletics since March 2014. Since Hogue took over as the director of athletics at Coastal Carolina University in 2015, the CCU athletic teams have won 14 conference regularseason championships, as well as 17 conference tournament championships. The baseball team also won the department’s first-ever National Championship in 2016.

Individually, the Chanticleers had their first-ever individual NCAA Division I National Champion in Melissa Jefferson, who won the 60-meter dash at the 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Feb. 2022. Jefferson, along with fellow track & field runner Mekenze Kelley, both went on to make history for the Coastal Carolina athletics department, as both were crowned U.S. Track & Field National Champions in the 100-meters and 400meters at the 2022 Toyota USA Track Outdoor Championships and 2022 USA Track & Field U20 Championships, respectively, in the summer of 2022.

Hogue, who has a long-time association with Coastal athletics, previously served as CCU’s associate vice president of marketing.

Hogue joined Coastal in 1997 and has served in several different roles in

the Department of Athletics and in the Office of University Communication, where he led CCU’s marketing and trademark licensing efforts.

Hogue is best known for his 17-year stint as the “Voice of the Chanticleers” on the Chanticleer Sports Network, providing live game broadcasts, features, and weekly programs about CCU athletics.

In 2013, Hogue was named a finalist for the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) Sportscaster of the Year for the state of South Carolina. He has edited a book entitled “Chanticleer Athletics: Fifty Years of Excellence” with other CCU contributors and dedicated the book to Edward M. “Dick” Singleton, former chancellor of the university. Partial proceeds from the book benefited the Edward M. Singleton Scholar-Athlete Award scholarship at CCU.

As the “Voice of the Chanticleers”, Hogue managed, produced, and coordinated the Chanticleer Sports Network. His colorful, exciting calls were synonymous with Chanticleer Athletics.

A 25-year broadcast veteran, Hogue built a diverse play-by-play resume that includes stints with USC’s Gamecock Radio Network, Minor League Baseball, and appearances on regional TV, including Fox Sports Net, SportSouth, and ESPN properties. He also served as the broadcast voice of the Big South Conference’s basketball TV package.

In his role as associate vice president of marketing, Hogue was charged with developing marketing strategies and advertising for University recruitment, academic, and specialty programs, as well as directing and monitoring the University’s trademark licensing program.

Previously, he served as the associate athletic director for enhanced media and assistant athletics director for marketing. He began his career at Coastal Carolina as the assistant sports information director.

Hogue earned his baccalaureate degree from the University of South Carolina and completed his MBA from Winthrop University. He and his wife, Laura, live in Conway with their daughters Rachel and Caroline.