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Jack Leggett is no stranger to success. In 14 seasons, he has led Clemson to 649 victories (46 per season), 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, and five College World Series berths. Clemson is the fourth-winningest program during his time as head coach.
The enthusiastic mentor, who turns 54 on March 5 when Clemson plays host to Wofford, has not built up that win total against easy competition. Of his 649 wins, 184 (28 percent) have come against teams ranked in the top 25 of at least one of the three major polls heading into the game. He also has 95 victories over top-10 teams and 52 wins in NCAA Tournament competition.
The South Burlington, VT native has been with the Clemson program since the 1992 season. He served as recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach under Bill Wilhelm in 1992 and 1993. He was a major contributor to a pair of Clemson teams that were ranked in the final top 20 of every poll and advanced to two NCAA Regionals. The Tigers also won the ACC Tournament title in 1993.
The word "championship" is also in the lexicon of terms when summarizing Leggett's first 14 years as the head coach in Tigertown. In 1994, Clemson won the ACC regular-season championship and went on to win the tournament title as well. In 1995, the Tigers repeated as regular-season conference champions and won the NCAA East Regional title. The 1996 season brought Clemson another NCAA Regional title and a second consecutive berth to the College World Series. In 1999, Clemson won four games in two days to capture the Fayetteville (AR) Regional.
In 2006, the Tigers captured the Atlantic Division title with a 24-6 record and then won the ACC Tournament Championship. The Tigers also won regional championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Leggett guided Clemson to the College World Series in 2000, 2002, and 2006 as well.
Clemson has won at least 39 games for 22 straight years and has participated in an NCAA Regional for 21 years in a row. Also, six of the 14 years have seen the Tigers finish in the top 10 of all three major polls, and there has been at least one top-25 final ranking in 12 of the 14 seasons under Leggett.
For his accomplishments, he was named ACC Coach-of-the-Year in his first two seasons (1994,95). He is just one of a few coaches in the history of the ACC, regardless of sport, to be named ACC Coach-of-the-Year in each of his first two seasons in the league. He also earned the same honor in 2006.
His demeanor is one of aggressiveness and passion for the game. One can see Leggett sprinting to the third-base coaching box between innings and charging into the pregame huddle to get his players fired up. He expects the same intensity and has gotten that out of his players.
Leggett's Tigers have shown excellence in all areas of the game over his 14 seasons. His first year as Clemson's head coach was truly remarkable. The 1994 campaign was filled with unprecedented accomplishments. With just three starters returning in the field, Clemson was unranked in the preseason top 20, but the Tigers quickly reached the top 20 of every poll with a two-game sweep of #9 Tennessee. Those were the first two of 19 wins over top-25 teams in 1994.
The 1994 Tigers won a record 13 straight ACC games to open the season and concluded the year with a 20-4 league ledger. That was quite an accomplishment considering the ACC had the #1 RPI rating that year. Clemson also had a 57-18 record thanks to an outstanding pitching staff that was in the top 25 in the nation in ERA.
After two wins over Miami (FL) in April of 1994, Clemson ascended to the #1 ranking in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball. The ranking was just the second #1 ranking in Tiger baseball history.
Leggett's Tigers won the 1994 ACC regular-season title, then they captured the ACC Tourney title by winning four games against top-20 teams. It was just the fifth time in school history that the Tigers won the regular-season and ACC Tourney titles in one year. As a result, Clemson was rewarded as a regional host for the first time in 13 years.
Clemson was eliminated in the NCAA Regional, but it still concluded the 1994 season as the nation's winningest team. The Tigers' 57 victories were second-most in ACC history. The summer following the 1994 season, Leggett was chosen to the University of Maine Hall of Fame.
In 1995, his Tigers had a 54-14 record, due in part to an offense that was in the top 10 in the nation in scoring (8.4 runs per game). The team also had six players who would go on to play in the Major Leagues. In 1996, the season ended with the Tiger pitching staff owning the best ERA (3.03) in the nation. With a record of 51-17, Clemson was fourth in the nation in wins.
The 1996 team also produced eight Major League Draft picks, including seven in the first 17 rounds. Included in those selections were pitchers Kris Benson, the #1 overall pick, and Billy Koch, the #4 overall pick. It was only the second time in the history of the draft, which dates back to 1965, that one school produced two of the first five picks.
In 1998, Clemson reached #3 in the nation and finished as high as #19. In 1999, Clemson was 6-6 against top-10 teams, even though just one of the 12 games was played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
In 2000, Clemson climbed to the #1 ranking by Collegiate Baseball after opening the season 23-3. The Tigers traveled back to Omaha for the first time in four seasons. Clemson went 1-2 at the College World Series after sweeping its way through the regional and super regional rounds. Clemson ended the year with a 51-18 record and finished second in the ACC. Clemson claimed 14 wins over top-25 teams, including 11 wins against top-10 teams.
The 2001 season saw Leggett and his team triumph over adversity. The Tigers suffered a five-game losing streak along with the unexpected loss of seniors Patrick Boyd and Mike Proto to injury. But Clemson finished second in the ACC and was a step away from Omaha before being eliminated by eventual National Champion Miami (FL).
The 2002 season saw Leggett receive region coach-of-the-year honors by ABCA, as the Tigers were 54-17 and finished tied for third in the nation in Omaha. That team also featured eight draft picks, including unanimous National Player-of-the-Year Khalil Greene. Greene set the national career record for doubles (95) and finished second in hits (403).
In 2003, Clemson continued to win close games, as the Tigers were 15-5 in games decided by two runs or less. Michael Johnson went from undrafted out of high school to a second-round pick, as he finished his career with 58 homers, third-most in Tiger history. All four starting infielders also earned First or Second-Team All-ACC honors.
The 2004 campaign was one of adversity overcome, as Clemson started 9-10 but went 18-4 in its next 22 games. The team played in the Athens (GA) Regional and overcame a seven-run deficit to host Georgia to stay alive. But the Bulldogs rallied in the title game to claim the crown. He earned his 500th win at Clemson during the season and coached nine Tigers who were selected in the 2004 draft.
The 2005 Tigers played one of their toughest schedules in history, which included 42 of their 66 games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament. Clemson still managed to come within one win of a trip to the College World Series, falling in three games at Baylor in the Waco Super Regional. Clemson was 19-9 against top-25 ranked teams and won 21 ACC regular-season games, finishing in second place in the league standings.
In 2006, Clemson had the best ACC record (24-6) and won the ACC Tournament title. The Tigers later advanced to the College World Series and finished ranked #5 in all three polls with a 53-16 overall record, including a 26-9 mark against top-25 ranked teams. Clemson had a 3.26 ERA, the sixth-best figure in the nation, one of many reasons Leggett was named ACC Coach-of-the-Year. Tyler Colvin and Andy D'Alessio were both first-team All-Americans, while Josh Cribb earned third-team honors. Colvin (#13 overall pick) was one of 10 Tigers selected in the 2006 draft as well.
Clemson continued its postseason success in 2007 when it advanced to the Starkville Super Regional after winning the Myrtle Beach Regional with a 3-0 record. The squad had a 41-23 overall record and finished in the top 15 of all three major polls. D'Alessio tied the school record with 59 career homers. He was one of a school-record 11 draft picks from the 2007 team, five of which were taken in the first three rounds. Lefthander Daniel Moskos was the #4 overall pick of the draft as well.
Heading into 2008, Leggett has 1,026 career wins. He reached the 1,000-win mark in Clemson's 5-0 win at Maryland on March 25, 2007 to become just the 29th head coach in Division I history to reach 1,000 career wins. At the age of 53, he also became the second-youngest coach to reach that mark.
Leggett has a stellar 74-49 record against SEC teams as the Tiger head coach, including a 45-15 record at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He has lost just six of 59 home ACC series while at Clemson as well. Leggett has been proving his expertise in recruiting for many years. But he also has experience in terms of teaching the finer points and game management.
Prior to his move to Clemson, Leggett served as a head coach for 14 years, including five at Vermont and nine at Western Carolina. He already had 377 career wins, including 302 at Western Carolina and 75 at Vermont, before he came to Clemson. Leggett enters the 2008 season with a career record of 1026-572, seven conference titles, and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances on his resumé. So far, 82 of the players Leggett has brought to Tigertown have signed professional baseball contracts.
Leggett led Western Carolina to five NCAA Tournaments (1985-89), five Southern Conference titles, and a national top-30 ranking during his tenure as head coach. His 1988 team set the school record for wins, posting a 38-24 record, while the 1989 squad set a conference record by winning its fifth-consecutive Southern Conference title. Under his guidance, the Catamounts averaged 33 wins a season during his time in Cullowhee, NC, and his teams played in the conference title game in eight of the nine seasons.
The 1991 Catamounts posted a 36-26 record. One of the 36 wins came in a 9-7 victory over Clemson on March 31, one of just 10 losses the #4 Tigers had that season. Leggett was named 1987 ABCA Atlantic Region Coach-of-the-Year and Southern Conference Coach-of-the-Year that same season. In 1989, he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee and served on the committee through the 1995 season.
In his tenure at Western Carolina, Leggett produced 35 First-Team All-Southern Conference players, six conference players-of-the-year, and had 16 players sign pro contracts. Of the players who played under him for four seasons, 100 percent graduated and more than 50 percent compiled a 3.0-or-better GPA. He was also inducted into the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
Before going to Western Carolina for the 1983 season, Leggett spent five seasons at Vermont, where he turned that team into a consistent winner. He coached the Vermont club team in 1977, and then he organized and coached the school's first intercollegiate team in 1978. At age 23, he was the youngest NCAA baseball coach in the nation. He had a winning season in his first year and had a 75-61 overall record at Vermont.
Leggett graduated with honors from Maine in 1976, where he was an all-star performer in both football and baseball. He captained the 1976 Maine team that advanced to the College World Series, and he was a two-time All-Yankee Conference honoree in football as a defensive back and placekicker. He still holds the Maine record for the longest field goal, a 52-yarder.
Leggett has two children, son Tanner (24) and daughter Colby (22). Tanner lettered twice (2005,06) on the Clemson baseball team and graduated with a degree in marketing in 2006. Colby is a senior student at Ohio State. Jack and Karen were married on August 6, 2005. Karen has four children, including three daughters, Kyla (26), Kristen (25), and Kacie (23), and a son, Kenny (19).
Full Name: Jackson Scott Leggett
Born: March 5, 1954 in Bangor, ME
Education: Bachelor's degree in physical education and minor in history at Maine (1976); master's degree in teacher education at Vermont (1980)
Playing Experience: Four-year letterman (baseball) at Maine (1973-76); three-year letterman (football) at Maine (1974-76)
Coaching Experience: Head coach at Vermont (1978-82); head coach at Western Carolina (1983-91); assistant head coach at Clemson (1992,93); head coach at Clemson (1994-07)
Family: Son, Tanner (24), and daughter, Colby (22); Wife, Karen; Karen has three daughters, Kyla (26), Kristen (25), and Kacie (23), and a son, Kenny (19)
Pre-Clemson Head Coaching Record |
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Year |
School | W-L |
Pct. |
1978 |
Vermont | 11-9 |
.550 |
1979 |
Vermont | 12-11 |
.552 |
1980 |
Vermont | 12-16 |
.429 |
1981 |
Vermont | 22-15 |
.595 |
1982 |
Vermont | 18-10 |
.643 |
1983 |
Western Carolina | 25-20 |
.556 |
1984 |
Western Carolina | 37-20 |
.649 |
1985* |
Western Carolina | 37-35 |
.514 |
1986* |
Western Carolina | 33-28 |
.541 |
1987* |
Western Carolina | 36-20 |
.643 |
1988* |
Western Carolina | 38-24 |
.613 |
1989* |
Western Carolina | 23-31 |
.426 |
1990 |
Western Carolina | 37-25 |
.597 |
1991 |
Western Carolina | 36-26 |
.581 |
Clemson Head Coaching Record |
||||
Year |
Overall |
ACC |
Finish |
NCAA |
1994^ |
57-18 |
20-4 |
1st |
Regional |
1995 |
54-14 |
20-4 |
1st |
CWS |
1996 |
51-17 |
17-7 |
2nd |
CWS |
1997 |
41-23 |
13-10 |
4th |
Regional |
1998 |
43-16 |
14-9 |
T-2nd |
Regional |
1999 |
42-27 |
13-10 |
3rd |
Super Regional |
2000 |
51-18 |
17-7 |
2nd |
CWS |
2001 |
41-22 |
17-7 |
2nd |
Super Regional |
2002 |
54-17 |
16-8 |
4th |
CWS |
2003 |
39-22 |
15-9 |
T-3rd |
Regional |
2004 |
39-26 |
14-10 |
T-4th |
Regional |
2005 |
43-23 |
21-9 |
2nd |
Super Regional |
2006^ |
53-16 |
24-6 |
*1st |
CWS |
2007 |
41-23 |
18-12 |
*2nd |
Super Regional |
Head Coaching Record by School |
||||
School |
Seasons |
Years |
W-L |
Pct. |
Vermont |
5 |
1978-82 |
75-61 |
.551 |
Western Carolina |
9 |
1983-91 |
302-229 |
.569 |
Clemson |
14 |
1994-2007 |
649-282 |
.697 |
Totals |
28 |
1978-91, 1994-07 |
1026-572 |
.642 |
Leggett vs. ACC as Clemson Head Coach |
||||
School |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
Neutral |
Boston College |
4-2 |
2-1 |
2-1 |
0-0 |
Duke |
34-10 |
18-3 |
15-6 |
1-1 |
Florida State |
25-31 |
14-7 |
6-15 |
5-9 |
Georgia Tech |
30-24 |
15-5 |
7-14 |
8-5 |
| Maryland | 38-6 |
21-0 |
14-6 |
3-0 |
| Miami (FL) | 9-2 |
4-2 |
3-0 |
2-0 |
| North Carolina | 28-15 |
13-5 |
12-6 |
3-4 |
| N.C. State | 33-16 |
16-4 |
9-12 |
8-0 |
| Virginia | 30-18 |
16-5 |
12-9 |
2-4 |
| Virginia Tech | 8-1 |
3-0 |
5-1 |
0-0 |
| Wake Forest | 35-13 |
17-4 |
15-6 |
3-3 |
| Totals | 274-138 |
139-36 |
100-76 |
35-26 |
| Note: Includes records vs. teams as ACC members. | ||||
"I had some great coaches at Maine. Jack Butterfield and John Winkin were tremendous coaches there. Walter Abbot was my football coach at Maine, and he taught me a lot about mental toughness. Jack Bicknell was also a football coach who influenced me.
"Paul Jordan was my football coach in high school. He taught me what it takes to be a winner, and he taught me about the benefits of self-sacrifice, how to be organized, and how to prepare for a game. Vermont's former athletic director (Rick Farnham) is also a coach who I've drawn a lot from."
"We have some unique features in our ballpark, with the terrace and the close proximity of the fans to the field. But the greatest feature is the fan support. We have finished in the top 20 in the nation in average attendance each of the last 14 years. Our fans make it an exciting atmosphere. We have a season-ticket base approaching 3,000 fans, so there is strong support for the program in the community."
"Our daily goals are to play at a national championship level. We strive to exhibit the discipline necessary in everything we do, both on and off the field, to win the national championship. We talk about it...we don't hide that."
"My biggest heroes are my parents. My father was a coach for almost 40 years. I learned a lot just being around his teams. My mother was always so supportive and was at all the games. She has also been like a coach in my life. Any positive things I do I owe to them."
"Consistency on defense is very important. It all begins on the mound. You can tell in our recruiting that this is an area we stress, because that is what carries teams to the NCAA Tournament."
"Having been there as a player and seeing what a great experience it was, it motivates me to make that happen for our players.
"The college game has changed considerably in terms of exposure and the emphasis it receives at the local and national level. Players are better, and as a result the professional ranks look to the college players much more than they used to. The pros are drafting more college players than they did when I was in college and becoming more comfortable signing a player from college compared to high school, because of the overall maturity factor."
"Second, every day I work with a great coaching staff. It is rewarding to have such a strong staff that is dedicated to excelling in this profession. We have common goals and we mesh very well. We trust each other, and that is important.
"Third, it is rewarding to have a university administration and fans that support this program. When we run a regional and we see university administrators, secretaries, and other employees from all over campus contribute their time and energy, it is very rewarding. I never take that for granted.
"Fourth is the challenge that you have in your job...the challenge to make your players better in all phases of their lives. That includes maturing as a player, mentally and physically. It is rewarding to see players grow and improve to the point where they have a chance to play pro ball. Obviously, seeing Kris Benson become the #1 pick in the 1996 Major League draft was a rewarding experience.
"We have had a lot of players come here out of high school who were not drafted and leave as a drafted player with a chance to play in the Major Leagues. Watching Khalil Greene improve to the point where he was the unanimous national player-of-the-year was very rewarding.
"You make a commitment as a coach during the recruiting process to a student-athlete that you will help him improve in all phases of his experience while at Clemson. It is very rewarding to see our players grow academically, socially, and on the field."
"In every good program, there is a strong tradition. We are fortunate that Bill Wilhelm set that tradition for us. He coached here 36 years and never had a losing season. I don't see many coaches duplicating that feat in college baseball.
"I was a history minor in college at Maine, so I know how important that aspect is to a program. He brought it great stability. I appreciate what he did for me and what he did for this program.
"We saw the impact of that tradition in the fall of 2006 when we had a reunion of former Clemson baseball players. It was one of the most rewarding weekends of my professional career. We had former players from many different decades return to Clemson for an alumni game. We had former Major League players and walk-ons who all had a common bond for this program. It is one of the strengths of this program and this University.
"Second, we have the facilities and the administrative backing to compete for the national championship. That is something I would be looking for as a player. Doug Kingsmore Stadium is one of the top facilities in the country. We finished a multi-million-dollar renovation to the stadium in 2003 that I believe makes it the best college baseball stadium in the nation. It has been accomplished in a first-class manner in every aspect.
"Third, we have a tradition of playing host to regionals at Clemson, and that means we have fan support. You don't host regionals without drawing sellout crowds. The people in this community really embrace this program.
"Fourth, Vickery Hall, our student-athlete enrichment center, is among the best in the country. The programs at Vickery Hall show that Clemson cares about its student-athletes in all phases of his or her life. Any student-athlete at Clemson knows he or she has the chance to be successful in the classroom and graduate from Clemson. Vickery Hall is one of our top selling points.
"We have tremendous structure in our study-hall program. There is tradition in academics here as well, and we average 15 players a semester on the ACC Academic Honor Roll."
