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ATLANTA | University of North Georgia head baseball coach Tom Cantrell was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club’s Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday morning in conjunction with the club’s annual Coaches Clinic at the Windy Hill Marriott in Atlanta.
In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, Cantrell was also named the Georgia Dugout Club’s NCAA Division II 2015 Coach of the Year.
“Coach Cantrell has brought tremendous honor and distinction to the Nighthawk baseball program and he serves as a model representative of North Georgia,” stated UNG athletic director Lindsay Reeves. “His induction into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame and Coach of the Year honor could not be more well-deserved.”
Last season, Cantrell led the Nighthawks to their first-ever Peach Belt Conference regular season crown after being picked to finish 10th in the PBC preseason coaches’ poll. UNG went on to advance to the NCAA DII Southeast Region Final falling to the ultimate national runner-up, Catawba. The banner year for North Georgia baseball led Cantrell to be named the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year and the NCBWA Southeast Region Coach of the Year. The season included several individual accolades for the team including Connor Hoover being named PBC Freshman of the Year and the inclusion of four players on the league’s All-Conference team.
Among the 70 members that have been inducted into the GDC Hall of Fame, ten are college coaches including Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall and Georgia Southern’s Jack Stallings.
With the ever-changing level of competition and expanded emphasis on baseball, the Atlanta Dugout Club became the Metro Atlanta Dugout Club, and today is the Georgia Dugout Club. This organization proudly represents some of the finest college and high school programs in the United States. Because of the intense participation of its membership, the state of Georgia is a hot bed for both collegiate and professional talent.
Cantrell, who is entering his 17th year as head coach at North Georgia, was introduced by long-time friend and baseball public address announcer Tim Whitmire.
