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Methodist University baseball and the consistent success
it has enjoyed through the years, and one has to look no
further than the man behind that quarter century of success
- Tom Austin.
Completing his 28th year as head baseball coach at
Methodist, Austin sports an 874-356-8 career
record and became only the eighth coach
in the history of NCAA Division III baseball to reach the
800-victory
plateau. In his 28 seasons at Methodist, Austin's teams have
never won fewer than 22 games in a season. Included in that is
17 30-win seasons and two 40-win seasons.
A true mark of consistent excellence is the fact that the
Monarchs have posted 26 straight seasons of 25 victories or
better under Austin. He has moved up to fourth all-time
amongst active Division III head coaches in victories, and
sixth all-time amongst Division III coaches.
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Austin has elevated the Monarch baseball program to one of
the best in Division III. During his tenure at Methodist,
he has guided the Monarchs to six NCAA Division III College
World Series (1986, '88, '91, '92, '95, '96), finishing no
lower than fifth. Their best finish occurred in the 1995 season,
when the Monarchs finished as the
national runners-up.
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Under Austin's guidance, Methodist has tallied 13 Dixie
Intercollegiate/USA South Athletic Conference and six NCAA
Division III South Regional titles, and advanced to the NCAA
Division III National Tournament 20 times. Methodist
has also earned recognition as the country's top ranked NCAA Division III team on three different occasions including the
2002 season. Throughout Austin's tenure, the Monarchs have
averaged an impressive 32 victories a season, a true model of
consistency and success.
The Monarchs had molded that success playing baseball the
Tom Austin way - pure fundamentals and playing smart. Austin
always prides his teams with strong pitching, sharp defense,
consistent hitting and getting the most out of every player.
In addition, Methodist wins by getting the little things
done like running the bases and moving runners into scoring
position. Austin's teams have always been the best in the
USA South in stolen bases, and his 1986 Methodist team set
an NCAA Division III single-season record for stolen bases
with 334. That teams also set the Division III single-season
record for walks with 440.
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Austin's accomplishments have earned him numerous coaching
honors during his career. he has been named Conference
Coach of the Year nine times, the NCAA
Division III South Region Coach of
the Year seven times
in 11 years and the North Carolina College Coach of the
Year twice.
In addition to producing championship teams, Austin has also
molded many a dynamic player at Methodist. A total of 27
players under Austin have garnered NCAA Division III
All-American honors, while 115 have been selected first team
All-USA South.
The influence of Austin can be felt on a national level as
he has created a coaching tree of former assistant coaches
and players who are now head coaches at the collegiate
level. The most notables include former assistant coaches
Jim Peeples (head coach at Piedmont) and Milan Rasic (head
coach at Ohio Northern), and former player Paul Knight (head
coach at Florida Tech) and Tim Epling (West Virginia Tech).
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A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Austin attended
Seminole Community college in Sanford, Fla., where he was an
All-Florida Conference outfielder and set the state junior
college stolen base record. While at Seminole, Austin
played for current Central Florida head coach Jay Bergman. From Seminole, Austin
transferred to Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where
he played outfield for the Tars for two seasons. Austin received his bachelor's degree in history
from Rollins in 1972, and then received his master's degree in education.
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Prior to his position at Methodist, Austin served as
football and baseball coach at Bishop Moore High School
(Orlando, Fla.) from 1973-79. Austin is the father of three sons - Doug,
Christian, and Jacob - and is married to the former Jill Ferree.
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- Kevin Allingham, Assistant Coach
kallingham@methodist.edu
(910) 630-7186
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 Kevin Allingham
recently finished his fifth year as the assistant
coach for the Monarchs. His duties include serving as the
pitching coach, first base coach and head coach of the
Developmental team. In addition, Allingham helps coordinate
recruiting for Methodist Baseball.
Allingham's hard work has paid dividends for the Monarchs,
especially for the pitching staff. Over the last two
seasons, Methodist has ranked amongst the best the USA South
Athletic Conference in both earned-run average and
strikeouts. In addition, Methodist ranked 18th in the nation
in earned-run average.
A native of Marlborough,
Conn.,
Allingham attended Catawba, where he served as a student
assistant for four years and received his bachelor’s
degree in physical education. Allingham then joined the
staff at Virginia Commonwealth, serving as the baseball
administrative assistant. He also earned his master’s degree
from VCU in Sports Leadership. His resume also includes two
stints as an assistant coach in the Coastal Plain League.
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