Former Gamecock earns coach of the year honors
For a second straight year, former South Carolina Gamecock Landon Powell has been named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year.
Powell, who is in his ninth season as head coach of North Greenville, led the Crusaders to a second straight Conference Carolinas regular season title. At (44-6) overall and (26-4) in conference play, North Greenville is ranked No.1 nationally in DII baseball.
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Last season, Powell was named the national Division II Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He led North Greenville to a (54-10) record and won the DII College World Series; a feat that seemed impossible when he took over as head coach. In fact, the year before Powell was named head coach North Greenville went (8-35) and were a cellar dweller DII team.
“They had a horrible facility at a private Christian university in little ole Tigerville, SC,” Powell told Gamecock Central in an interview last June. “We had three-and-a-half scholarships when I first got hired. Our budget for supplies was $12,000.”
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Powell has won over 340 games during his tenure at UNG. A mark that includes a (19-5) season in 2020 that was cut short to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Powell isn’t the only Gamecock on staff. Former USC great Trey Dyson (1999-2002) and former Gamecocks first baseman Matt Williams (2014-18) are assistants at North Greenville. Former USC pitcher Jon Coutlangus had also been an assistant under Powell from 2015-2021.
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North Greenville opens up their run at another conference tournament title on Thursday night at 7. They’ll take on Francis Marion University in Gastonia, NC. The Crusaders have won the last four Conference Carolinas Tournaments.
