Eight decades of Scots come together to celebrate a baseball program built on character and competition
Feb. 13, 2026
They shared hugs, memories, life updates and a meal, and by the time the First Pitch Banquet was complete, they shared a greater pride in all that Maryville College baseball has accomplished in 150 years.
On Feb. 7, more than 100 people — former players and coaches, current players and coaches, parents and College leadership — came together in the Alumni Gymnasium to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the College’s oldest sport. The First Pitch Banquet was held six days before the Scots’ season opener on Feb. 13 at the Joe Ferebee Classic in Misenheimer, North Carolina.
“I’m really excited to look around this room and see that we have eight decades of Maryville College baseball represented, which is pretty special,” said Dr. Andrew Wu, director of athletics, during the welcome. “We have a great evening in store, celebrating 150 years of baseball at Maryville College. This is a milestone that has been reached by less than 20 of the nation’s colleges and universities. On this day — Feb. 7, 1876 — a group of students met and organized to form the Reckless Baseball Club, which 150 years later, is the group you see here today.”
The evening kicked off with an inspiring video submitted by Milwaukee Brewers Manager Pat Murphy, who began his coaching career at Maryville College in 1982, and concluded with a congratulatory video from Joe Girardi, former MLB player and manager, who came to know Maryville College’s program through cousin Tony Ierulli ’80, a former Scots baseball and football player and head football coach.
Murphy said he still remembers fondly his days as a skipper of the Scots.
“Maryville College did more for me than I could ever do for it,” he said in the video. “… Not too many days go by that I don’t talk about my first days at Maryville College.”
Wu announced that, thanks to generous contributions from Murphy and former baseball players Fred Morrison ’61 and Landon Coleman ’99, president of Anderson Lumber, a new outfield scoreboard will be installed at Scotland Yard in March. The athletic director added that stadium seating and field drainage are other improvements considered in this milestone year.
Scotland Yard believed to be one of world’s oldest fields
Other videos shown at the banquet included interviews with MC Archivist Amy Lundell ’06 and alumni and former players Glenn Doig ’74, Eric Etchison ’88 and Nick Dean ’14.
Lundell told the story of the founding of baseball in 1876 and its earliest years, including the modernization of the sport by legendary coach Lombe Honaker and notable alumni like John Stone, who graduated in 1928 and played for the Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators before a tuberculosis diagnosis ended his career.
Lundell shared that historical evidence points to baseball being a continuous activity in the lot (now known as “Scotland Yard”) on the east end of campus bordering Court Street since 1876.
“Based on written descriptions of the location of the baseball field and this 1895 photograph that we have that predates the building of Bartlett Hall, we believe that the baseball field has not moved location since its creation. And with the baseball field being in continuous use by the College and the local community since 1876, we believe that it may be one of the oldest baseball fields in continuous use in the world.”
Video interviews with Doig, Etchison and Dean highlighted coaches, trips to the first NCAA regional tournament, conference championships, and personal growth ignited by the baseball program. Dean, a 2016 draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers, spoke of the importance of teammates in helping him realize a longtime dream.
Etchison, who served as head coach from 1993 to 2005, told current coaches and players that he was rooting for them and looking forward to the future of Scots baseball.
“When I was the national chair of the DIII baseball committee, I saw the best DIII baseball had to offer at the World Series,” he said. “I always left feeling that our program was talented enough to compete against these programs, and I still feel this way.”
Cline credits MC for success
In addition to Wu, banquet attendees heard from Scott Cline ’92, former player and current supervisor of umpires for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC); Head Baseball Coach Clint Helton ’11; and current player Colin Dunworth ’26.
Cline shared memories of playing for the Scots from 1988 until 1992, including a game at Scotland Yard against Ferrum College that had future Hall of Fame pitcher Billy Wagner on the roster. He spoke of bonds with teammates, wins against athletic scholarship schools, scrimmages with the University of Tennessee and memorable road trips.
“[Maryville College] made baseball fun for me,” he said. “Sports is supposed to be fun.”
Cline also shared his appreciation for the opportunity to be a student-athlete at Maryville College and the preparation it gave him for a career on the business side of baseball. Being taught how to think critically and analytically has allowed him to be “entrusted with the very intricate details of baseball, from coast to coast.”
“Here is where I learned to think and process things,” he said, adding that the values of Division III athletics are still important and relevant even if they’re often overshadowed by the spotlight on major programs and high-profile NIL deals. While acknowledging that million-dollar agreements can change a family’s trajectory, Cline cautioned that not every opportunity comes with a storybook ending.
“You don’t hear about the unsuccessful stories that I hear about,” he said. “Life is a marathon, not a sprint. And my table and several tables in here are full of success stories — of people who have won the marathon and are still winning the marathon.”
Cline said college athletics appears divided not only between the haves and the have-nots, but the wills and will-nots.
“You have some schools that are selling their souls and sacrificing everything to win a sporting event,” he explained. “I’m proud and happy to say that I went to a school that stands on its principles and has never wavered and taught me to go out and ‘do good on the largest possible scale.’”
Scots prepare for another successful season
Helton, who took the helm of MC’s baseball program in 2019 and has steered it to two consecutive 30-plus win seasons (2024 and 2025) and the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 1977, described coaching for his alma mater as “a dream.”
“Sixteen years out of 150 feels like such a gift,” he said of his time as a player and coach.
Helton acknowledged a tough schedule for Spring 2026 and for Spring 2027, when the Scots face some new competitors in the Southern Athletic Association.
“We just keep asking our guys … how do we continue to move on and to grow and to keep elevating our standards? We talk about standards all the time — how we carry ourselves, how we play, how we compete, our work ethic,” he told the crowd. “The foundation of our program is built on character and work ethic. When I look across this room, I couldn’t be more proud of you guys and what you’re doing. We’re going to continue to push forward and see where we can go, but we have to win each and every day.”
Dunworth, a senior outfielder, thanked parents, College leaders and donors for their support and urged his teammates to take full advantage of the opportunity they’ve been given to play collegiate baseball.
“Let’s keep working toward what our goal is for the season,” he said to current players. “Keep working 110 percent toward leading the [Collegiate Conference of the South] as champions.”
Event is special for attendees
Even though he is an alumnus of the program, Thad Rhodes ’93 said he was unaware of much of the history of baseball at the College.
“Watching the video [about the program’s history] tonight took my breath away, to be honest with you,” Rhodes said. “You know, as a student and player, you knew a little bit about the history of the school, but you didn’t know all that.”
Rhodes and Ronnie Ramsey ’86, who played in the 1980s and coached the Scots from 1988 to 1990, agreed that it was fun to catch up with teammates and see players who put on the MC jerseys before and after they did. Ramsey said he regularly hears from teammates and players he coached.
Troy Ozias, father of Logan Ozias ’27, said he and wife, Tara, also were impressed by the history of the program and the connection that former players still have to each other and the College.
“I hope my son remembers from this evening the history of the program, what it has meant to the past players, and what those players are hoping for the future players to represent with what they built,” he said.
Chucky Yates ’98 said the evening made him proud — again — that he chose to attend Maryville College.
“Obviously, I made a lot of great friends, met great people, and the expectations were set for me going forward,” he said. “Coach Etch and my teachers set high expectations for life, not just for baseball, so I hold that dear to my heart.”
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