UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame
Rick Jones, meanwhile, played two seasons for the Seahawks in 1974 and 1975 and led the Seahawks to the NAIA finals in 1975. Jones was a middle reliever for the Seahawks, appearing in 17 games and making three starts, but found his life’s calling in the dugout.
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The 1975 UNCW graduate broke into the coaching profession at Ferrum (Va.) and amassed a 1,090-532-3 head coaching record at Ferrum (1982-84), Elon (1985-89) and Tulane (1994-2014), including a sparkling 814-439-2 mark in 20 seasons with the Green Wave.
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Jones directed a pair of Tulane teams to the College World Series in 2001 and 2005 and coached the Green Wave to 12 NCAA Regional appearances and three trips to the NCAA Super Regionals.
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Jones, who piloted the Green Wave to four regular season championships in Conference USA and four C-USA Tournament crowns, was honored 20 times as a Coach-of-the-Year and was named Baseball America’s National Coach-of-the-Year in 2005 after leading Tulane to a 56-12 record and a berth in the CWS.
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Jones also led the Tulane baseball program during a challenging period following the devastation leveled by Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. He will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in late June of 2016.
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