One day after the conclusion of the college baseball season, in which a team from South Carolina played for the national championship, the College Baseball Hall of Fame announced its new class of inductees which will include three who had great careers in the Palmetto State.
Former USC head coach Ray Tanner, his star pitcher Kip Bouknight, and former Clemson pitching great Kris Benson are three of the 21 selections for this year’s class by the College Baseball Foundation.
Tanner and Bouknight are the first from the Gamecock program chosen for the Hall of Fame which was created in 2006.
Bouknight is the winningest pitcher in South Carolina history, compiling a career record of 45-12 with a school record 482 innings and starting a Carolina best 66 games. He holds school records for strikeouts (457) and decisions. In 2000, Bouknight went 17-1 to help lead the Gamecocks to a 55-10 record and an SEC championship.
After the 2000 season, Bouknight won the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, presented by USA Baseball as the top amateur baseball player in the United States as well as being named a consensus All-America selection by the ABCA, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. He helped Carolina to back-to-back Super Regional appearances in 2000 and 2001.
Tanner was the head coach of the Gamecocks for 16 years, leading the baseball program to unprecedented heights. He led USC to back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 as well as a pair of runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2012. Carolina made six College World Series appearances during his time as head coach and won three SEC championships, six SEC Eastern Division crowns and an SEC Tournament title in 2004. He went to 10 NCAA Super Regionals and 14 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Benson will be the third from the Clemson program to be inducted joining coach Billy Wilhellm and outfielder Rusty Adkins.
Benson was named ACC Athlete-of-the-Year for all sports in 1996, was named the 1996 national player-of-the-year and was the first selection of the 1996 MLB draft.
In 1996, Benson recorded one of the best seasons in Clemson history, as the first-team All-American led the Tigers to the College World Series and posted a 14-2 record with a 204-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, leading to a 2.02 ERA in 156.0 innings pitched.
In his three-year career from 1994-96, Benson was 29-8 with one save, a 2.90 ERA and 356 strikeouts against 79 walks in 319.2 innings pitched over 50 appearances (47 starts).
Other awards for his college career include the Rotary Smith Award and ABCA Player-of-the-Year, and recognition as a unanimous first-team All-American. He was also the recipient of the Dick Howser Trophy for his “performance, character, leadership and courage.”
The induction ceremony will take place on February 12th.