USC baseball championship titles helped ‘entire culture of athletics’

South Carolina had never won a men’s national title before the baseball program accomplished the feat twice in back-to-back years.

The Gamecocks swept UCLA in the 2010 College World Series Championship Series and followed that up by going 10-0 in the postseason the following year, including two wins over Florida to clinch the national title.

“We’d had some good teams and some good programs and some very competitive ones at different times, but that was the point that we kicked the door in,” former USC baseball coach and current Athletic Director Ray Tanner said. “You make the postseason in a lot of sports and you have good years, but this time we finished first. It helps the entire culture of athletics. It tells everyone that it is possible to finish first at the University of South Carolina.”

Carolina won the last College World Series ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium and the first one played at TD Ameritrade Park. A parade was held in downtown Columbia both years with an estimated crowd of 40,000-45,000 people on hand for each.

South Carolina already was considered a good program prior to winning back-to-back national titles, but the Gamecocks currently are considered one of the top programs in the country.

“When you’re on a national stage like we were at the College World Series and you win it, and the brand of the program is front and center, you can showcase your student athletes having fun and winning at a high level,” Tanner said. “You can’t put a price on that from a recruiting standpoint.”