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Skipper
stands down from wheel of ship aimed for Omaha |
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(Bonesville.net) — In an acknowledgment
of the toll Lou Gehrig's disease is taking on his body, the man
who injected the work "Omaha" into the everyday vernacular that
surrounds East Carolina's baseball program has stepped down as
head coach.
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Keith LeClair, whose
driven five-year tenure elevated the program's sights from
conference championships and NCAA regional berths to a bigger
destination — the College World Series — will continue to play a
role in shaping the future of Pirate baseball as a special
assistant to athletic director Mike Hamrick. |
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Read the
official ECU press release below. |
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LeClair steps down as Pirates' head coach,
assumes special duties with ECU athletics
From ECU Media Relations
GREENVILLE — East Carolina University head baseball coach Keith LeClair
announced Wednesday he was relinquishing his coaching duties, effective
immediately.
LeClair, who cited health concerns for his decision, will remain with the
ECU athletics department as a special assistant to Director of Athletics
Mike Hamrick.
"I feel at this time it is in the best interest of the program for me to
make this move," LeClair stated. "I have been blessed for the past five
years to serve as head coach at ECU. I am proud of the young men I have
coached and the strides we have made."
In five seasons at ECU, LeClair, 36, is the second-winningest baseball
coach in school history with a 212-96-1 record. He has led the Pirates to
four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, three Colonial Athletic
Association championships, and one Conference USA Tournament Championship.
The 2001 Pirates advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals and finished with a
No. 11 national ranking. This past season's team went 43-20-1, was ranked in
the top 25 for much of the year, swept through the conference tournament,
and won two games at the Clemson Regional.
LeClair won the American Baseball Coaches Association's East Region
Coach-of-the-Year award in both 1999 and 2001.
In addition to steering the program to success on the field, LeClair has
been integral in the push for the building of a new, state-of-the-art
baseball stadium on the ECU campus. Fundraising efforts for that project
have been ongoing for nearly one year.
"I thank the administration for their support and, most of all, the best
fans in the country," LeClair said. "I hope the quest for Omaha will go on
and the stadium will be built soon. I also want to thank my coaches for the
efforts they have made."
Hamrick stated that the search for a new head baseball coach will begin
immediately.
"Keith LeClair has done a magnificent job with our program and has taken
us to levels we have never seen before," Hamrick said. "We are extremely
appreciative of Keith, and he and his family have our full support during
this difficult time. I am looking forward to working with him in an
administrative role."
LeClair arrived at East Carolina in the summer of 1997 after six seasons
at the helm of his alma mater, Western Carolina University. At Western, he
compiled a 229-135-2 record while winning four Southern Conference
championships and advancing to NCAA Regional play four times.
As a player at Western Carolina under current Clemson head coach Jack
Leggett, LeClair was an All-Southern Conference selection in 1988 and was
named the '88 Southern Conference Tournament MVP. He established WCU records
for hits and total bases in a season. He will be inducted into WCU's
Athletics Hall of Fame this autumn.
As a player, assistant coach, and head coach, LeClair has been a part of
13 NCAA Tournament teams. He has won five conference coach-of-the-year
awards.
His teams' play has significantly boosted home attendance at East
Carolina. The Pirates averaged 283 fans at home games in LeClair's first
season in 1998. This past year, ECU averaged a record 1,766 fans in
attendance.
Visit ECUPirates.com.
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