| The Holbrook File |
| Eighth season at College of Charleston |
| Overall Record: 425-229 (.650) |
| Record at CofC: 225-123 (.647) |
| Two-time National Champion (2010 & 2011 at South Carolina) |
| 100+ MLB Draft selections |
| 2011 Baseball America/ABCA National Assistant Coach of the Year |
| 2022 & 2024 CAA Coach of the Year |
Chad Holbrook is in his eighth season as the head coach of the College of Charleston baseball program after leading the Cougars to their second CAA regular season title in the past three years and earning his second CAA Coach of the Year award.
With more than 20 years of coaching experience recruiting and producing top-level talent, being a part of two national championship teams and making six trips to the College World Series and 17 NCAA Regional appearances, Coach Holbrook is one of the most recognized names in the NCAA coaching ranks. He is the only active coach to have been to eight NCAA Super Regionals, six College World Series, five national championship appearances and won two national titles.
2024
Cougars won the CAA regular season title for the second time in the past three years and reached the conference tournament championship game ... Named the CAA Coach of the Year for the second time and had 10 players selected to the all-conference team, including five on the first team ... Earned his 400th career win and 200th with the Cougars with a 17-8 win over Stony Brook on March 30 ... Seven players earned a CAA weekly award, and Cole Singsank was named the DI baseball, Perfect Game and NCBWA National Player of the Week on May 13 ... Cole Mathis was chosen the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week on April 29 ... Mathis was the highest Cougar ever taken in the MLB Draft when he was selected with the 54th pick (second round) by the Chicago Cubs ... Mathis is the seventh Charleston player taken in the draft under Holbrook ... Finished the regular season winning 25 of their final 28 games to earn the seventh 40-win season in program history ... Team won at least six in a row four times including a season-best nine in a row from April 9-23 ... Led the nation with 1.11 double plays turned per game and ranked third with 61 total twin killings ... Pitching staff ranked ninth in the country with a 4.05 ERA and was fifth with six shutouts ... At the plate the Cougars placed fifth nationally with 2.45 doubles per game and 12th with 135 total two-baggers ... Avery Neaves was seventh in the country with 25 doubles and also became just the second Cougar to hit for the cycle when he did so vs. Elon in the regular season finale ... Neaves was also on of seven Charleston players to have a two-home run game, joining Mathis, Singsank, Tyler Sorrentino, Trotter Harlan, Kevin Madden and Luke Wood ... Closer Davis Aiken ranked sixth in the country with 11 saves
2023
Team ranked 28th nationally in walks per nine innings, 47th in stolen bases, 50th in WHIP, 59th in shutouts and 65th in doubles ... Top-three in the CAA in walks, doubles, shutouts, steals and triples ... Senior Ty Good was named CAA Pitcher of the Year, the second-consecutive Charleston pitcher to earn the honor ... Good led the CAA in strikeouts (93) for a second-straight season, as well as hits per nine innings ... Good finished his College of Charleston career third in strikeouts (274) and second in wins (25) ... Cole Mathis (3.45) and Trey Pooser (3.66) finished top-6 in the CAA in ERA ... Mathis was named an NCBWA Second Team All-American playing both ways ... Mathis led the Cougars at the plate in average, doubles, RBI, total bases, walks and OPS and led the Cougars on the mound in ERA ... Senior Conner Campbell finished second in the CAA with two complete games ... Ty Good, William Privette, Cole Mathis, Luke Wood and Trotter Harlan all earned All-CAA honors ... Good and Privette were named to the First Team ... Mathis, Wood and Harlan were named to the Second Team ... William Privette ranked 25th nationally with 10 saves ... Joseph Mershon finished 26th nationally with 5 triples and 38th nationally with just under one walk per game ... Junior William Privette was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 13th Round of the 2023 MLB Draft
2022
Captured the program’s second CAA regular season championship with a 19-3 mark in league play ... Named the 2022 CAA Coach of the Year ... Team ranked 20
th nationally in ERA (4.12) and 26
th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.33) ... Led the CAA in runs (383), hits (523), RBI (340), walks (260) and strikeouts per nine innings (8.7) ... Sophomore William Privette was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year and was named the second consensus All-American in program history ... Privette also led the nation in ERA (0.91), hits allowed per nine innings (4.70) and WHIP (0.78) ... His 0.91 ERA was the lowest single-season mark in both league and program history ... Privette was named as a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year – the first finalist in both program and CAA history ... The Cougars equaled a program-record with 14 All-CAA selections including first-team selections Privette, JT Marr and Ty Good ... Freshman Tyler Sorrentino was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Year and was also honored as a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American ... Marr was named a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award ... Cam Dean, Joseph Mershon, Sam Cochrane, Trotter Harlan and Sorrentino were each named to the All-CAA Second Team ... Graduate student Reed Parris was named All-CAA Honorable Mention ... Sorrentino and Daniel Brooks were selected to the CAA All-Rookie Team ... Ty Good ranked 10
th nationally with 10 wins ... Defeated No. 2 Texas, 8-4, on March 15 for the program’s third-ever win over a top-two team ... Posted a series win over perennial regional participant East Carolina (Mar. 18-20) ... Equaled the program-record for home winning percentage (.833), finishing 25-5 at Patriots Point ... Finished the regular season undefeated at home in league play for the first time in program history ... Junior Caswell Smith signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an undrafted free agent
2021
Team ranked seventh nationally in both double plays (50) and double plays per game (0.96) ... Team also ranked 22
nd nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (3.15) ... Senior outfielder Harrison Hawkins was named to the All-CAA First Team after leading the CAA with 54 RBI ... Jared Kirven, Joseph Mershon, Tanner Steffy and Trey Pooser were each honored on the All-CAA Second Team ... Mershon and Pooser both collected CAA All-Rookie Team recognition as well ... Team established two single-season records for both team (8) and individual (3, Harrison Hawkins) grand slams ... Team finished third at the CAA Championship with wins over Towson, William & Mary and Elon ... Defeated Clemson in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history with a 13-6 win in Clemson on April 13 ... Team set 10 program CAA Tournament records including new team marks for games played, runs, hits, home runs, RBI and total bases ... Steffy established three program CAA Tournament records for hits, RBI and total bases ... Jordan Carr signed a professional contract with the Minnesota Twins organization
2020
Team ranked seventh nationally in earned run average (2.13), 11
th in winning percentage (0.857) and 21
st in WHIP (1.11) ... Did not lose a series including sweeps of Iona, Youngstown State and Evansville ... Defeated No. 21 Clemson, 11-2, in Clemson on Mar. 4 ... Batted .291 as a team with eight home runs and 84 RBI ... Senior first baseman Ari Sechopoulos batted .360 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 14 games ... Junior outfielder led the team with five home runs while batting .289 with 14 RBI ... Freshman right-hander Caswell Smith posted a 3-0 record with a 1.35 ERA and 20 strikeouts in four starts
2019
Team ranked 10
th in the nation in stolen bases (118) ... Griffin McLarty selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles ... Dupree Hart and Nathan Ocker selected in the 26th and 29
th rounds of the MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians, respectively ... McLarty selected to NCBWA and ABCA All-America Third Team ... Luke Manzo named CofC’s second consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year ... Four All-CAA First Team selections including McLarty, Manzo, Hart and Danny Wondrack ... Ocker and Chaz Davey named to All-CAA Second and Third Team respectively ... McLarty ranked fifth nationally in WHIP (0.84) and 11
th in ERA (1.87) ... Team led the CAA in nearly every offensive category including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs ... McLarty also finished the season ranked second on the program’s single-season strikeouts list (116) ... Hart ranked eighth nationally in stolen bases (40) ... Wondrack led the CAA in home runs (15) and slugging percentage (.593) ... 20 comeback victories ... Four wins over ranked opponents ... Season sweep of rival Coastal Carolina
2018
Led the nation in strikeout to walk ratio (3.68) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.32) ... Ranked second nationally in WHIP (1.11), fourth in ERA (3.06) and ninth in shutouts (9) ... Tied a single-season program record with seven shutouts ... Evan Sisk drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16
th round of the MLB Draft ... Luke Morgan selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 20
th round of the MLB Draft ... Dupree Hart named CAA Defensive Player of the Year ... Hart and Morgan selected to All-CAA First Team ... Four Cougars named to All-CAA Second Team including Danny Wondrack, Bradley Dixon, Carter Love and Sisk ... Logan McRae selected to All-CAA Third Team ... Sisk finished the season ranked 10
th nationally in wins (10) ... Love ranked third in the nation in ERA (1.38) ... Went 6-1 against Power-Five schools including a series sweep of Georgia ... Posted back-to-back shutouts to open a series at Kansas State ... Blanked South Carolina, 9-0, in Coach Holbrook’s return to Columbia
Head Coach, University of South Carolina (2013-2017)
Compiled a 200-106 record in five seasons as the head coach at South Carolina ... Led the Gamecocks to three appearances in the NCAA Regionals and two berths in the NCAA Super Regionals (2013 and 2016) ... Mentored 13 All-Americans, 10 Freshman All-Americans, seven All-SEC First Team selections, numerous Academic All-Americans and more than 100 MLB Draft picks ... Six players drafted in 2017 including All-American pitcher Clarke Schmidt at No. 16 to the New York Yankees ... Three 40-win seasons including a 46-win campaign in 2016
Associate Head Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, University of South Carolina (2009-2012)
Spent four as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under Ray Tanner ... 2011 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year ... Named No. 10 best recruiter in all of college sports by ESPNU and ESPN The Magazine in January 2011 ... Also served as hitting instructor while overseeing the Gamecocks’ offense, baserunning, short game and outfielders ... Played a key role in the Gamecocks’ back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011
Associate/Assistant Coach, University of North Carolina (1994-2008)
Spent 15 seasons on the coaching staff at his alma mater, North Carolina ... Helped the Tar Heels make 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, four NCAA Super Regionals and three trips to the College World Series ... Mentored several top players including 2008 Second Team All-American outfielder Tim Fedroff, Third Team All-American first baseman Dustin Ackley and Third Team All-American second baseman Kyle Seager ... Ackley was named Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman of the Year in 2007 before being selected by the Seattle Mariners with the No. 2 in the 2009 MLB Draft ... Put together consecutive top-10 recruiting classes ... Instrumental in recruiting current and former MLB players Matt Harvey, Chris Iannetta, Andrew Miller, Seager and Ackley ... Helped the Tar Heels eclipse 50 wins in three straight seasons (2006-08) ... PG Cross Checker ranked his last UNC recruiting class No. 3 in the nation ... Responsible for three top-10 recruiting classes between 2003 and 2007
Playing career, University of North Carolina (1990-93)
Named to the All-ACC Second Team as a senior after hitting .353 ... Earned all-tournament team honors at the 1993 NCAA Central I Regional in College Station, Texas ... Ranks second all-time at North Carolina in triples (14) and stolen bases (40)
Personal
Earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of North Carolina in 1994 ... Married to the former Jennifer née Hilliard ... Has two sons, Reece and Cooper ... Son of Eddie Holbrook, former men’s basketball head coach at Gardner-Webb and Furman
Coach Holbrook's Year-by-Year Record
| Year |
School |
Win |
Loss |
Tie |
Pct. |
| 2013 |
South Carolina |
43 |
20 |
0 |
0.683 |
| 2014 |
South Carolina |
44 |
18 |
0 |
0.710 |
| 2015 |
South Carolina |
32 |
25 |
0 |
0.561 |
| 2016 |
South Carolina |
46 |
18 |
0 |
0.719 |
| 2017 |
South Carolina |
35 |
25 |
0 |
0.583 |
| 2018 |
Charleston |
36 |
19 |
0 |
0.655 |
| 2019 |
Charleston |
36 |
21 |
0 |
0.632 |
| 2020 |
Charleston |
12 |
2 |
0 |
0.857 |
| 2021 |
Charleston |
27 |
25 |
0 |
0.519 |
| 2022 |
Charleston |
37 |
20 |
0 |
0.649 |
| 2023 |
Charleston |
36 |
22 |
0 |
0.621 |
| 2024 |
Charleston |
41 |
14 |
0 |
0.745 |
