Head Baseball Coach Ted Tom returns for his sixth season at the helm of his alma mater in 2013. In his first five seasons as the Bears' skipper, Tom has compiled a record of 140-139 with a conference record of 71-60. His 100th career victory came against Campbellsville on Sunday, April 18, 2011. In addition to his duties as Head Baseball Coach, he added the title of Assistant Athletic Director in charge of Academics and Compliance in the fall of 2009 and teaches in the Sport Studies department.
Playing in just their second year as a member of the Mid-South Conference during the 2012 season, Tom guided the team to a fifth-place finish during the regular season. At the Mid-South Championship Tournament, Tom had his players playing their best baseball of the season as they advanced all the way to the championship game. The Bears had four players honored on the All-MSC squad.
In 2011, the Bears entered the Mid-South Conference and ended their first season in the new conference with a bang. After finishing the regular season as the second-place team in the Eastern Division, the Bears went undefeated in the conference tournament to advance to the NAIA Opening Round. This marked the Bears return to the National Tournament for the first time in 11 years. The 2011 season was highlighted by the play of senior catcher Phillip Butler. Butler earned MSC Player of the Year honors while also earning first-team All-MSC honors as he led the conference in almost every offensive category including home runs and RBI. He was also named a first-team NAIA All-American and became the first player in school history to not only make first-team but also become a two-time All-American. In total, four players earned All-MSC honors.
During the 2010 season, Shawnee State's final year as a member of the American Mideast Conference, the Bears became the first team in school history to win the regular season championship which allowed them to host the conference tournament in the friendly confines of Branch Rickey Park. Coach Tom earned AMC Coach of the Year honors for his team's performance. For only the second time in school history, the AMC Conference Player of the Year Award went to an SSU Bear. Sophomore outfielder Danny Gesick earned Player of the Year Honors as he led the conference in homeruns and runs batted in. Gesick and junior catcher Phillip Butler each earned Honorable Mention All-American honors. Ten of Tom's players earned AMC All-Conference selections.
In 2009, he led the Bears to their first winning record in conference (18-16 AMC) since the 2003 season. Shawnee State finished that season with a 25-30 record overall. Four players earned All-AMC honors and two more earned NAIA Scholar Athlete Awards. In Tom's first season, the Bears finished 16-29 with a 10-16 conference mark. In his inaugural season, three of his players earned All-AMC honors. Included in that group was Jon Venters. Venters then went on to sign a professional contract to play in the Can Am Independent League marking Coach Tom's first Bear professional player.
Prior to Shawnee State, Tom spent 2007 as the outfield instructor at the IMG Baseball Academies in Bradenton, Fla. where he also was a head coach in the Florida Collegiate Instructional League.
Tom also has coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level as he served as volunteer assistant coach for Indiana University for both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. While there, his responsibilities included outfield play, coaching first base, and assisting with the hitters while also working on Sembower Field. While at Indiana, he earned his Master's Degree in Athletic Administration.
In total, Coach Tom has had the opportunity to work with 22 players who have gone on to play professional baseball including second, fifth, sixth, and eighth round draft picks in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
An alumnus of Shawnee State '04, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management with minors in Business and Sport coaching. As a player, he was a redshirt member of the 2000 team that finished fifth in the NAIA World Series. Tom earned All-AMC honors as well as the Joe Smith Memorial Award which is given to the outstanding senior student that best exemplifies the attitude and sportsmanship of Smith. In the summer of 2003, he played for the Clarinda A's in the MINK Collegiate Wood Bat Summer League.
Coach Tom also has extensive experience in summer baseball. In 2008, he was the mentor of the Southern Ohio Copperheads in the Great Lakes League. During 2006, he was the head coach of the Outer Banks Daredevils of the Coastal Plain League. He was the head coach of the Miami Valley Express U-17 team during 2002 that went to the CABA World Series.
He is married to the former Lisa Dingus of South Webster, Ohio. The couple resides in Portsmouth with their son Henry (October 2010).
Chris Moore is entering his sixth season as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Shawnee State. His responsibilities also include instructing infielders and coaching third base. In 2011, he helped lead the team to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2000 and was part of the team that won back-to-back conference championships in different leagues (American Mideast and Mid-South). The Bears came up just short of the three-peat, finishing second in the MSC Tournament during the 2012 season. During the 2011 season, Moore's pitching staff ended the season ranked in the NAIA top 40 in ERA (3.96). In his time at Shawnee State, Moore has seen his pitchers break single season records in strikeouts three times (Jon Venters, Andy Carter-twice), appearances (Jordan Williams), and complete games (Carter.) He has also been fortunate to work with two pitchers at SSU that have moved on to professional baseball (Venters, Kenta Sato.). Moore has also been responsible for continuing to bring talent to SSU. In the last five years, 25 players have been recognized as all-conference performers and two players (Danny Gesick in 2010 and Phillip Butler in 2011) have been named conference Player of the Year. Additionally, there have been three All-Americans (Butler-twice and Gesick) since his arrival.
Moore came to Shawnee State from the IMG Baseball Academy in Bradenton, FL., where he served two seasons as head coach, leading the team to a 38-15 overall record. During his time at IMG, he sent 19 players to college baseball programs around the country and coached three top 10 round picks; Paolo Espino (10th round, Cleveland Indians), Tyler Pastornicky (fifth round, Toronto Blue Jays), and John Ryan Murphy (second round, New York Yankees). Prior to his time at IMG, Moore was an assistant coach at Indiana University for three years, starting as the volunteer assistant in charge of outfielders and finishing his tenure in Bloomington as the hitting coach as well as being responsible for catchers. Before his time at IU, he served as an infield and hitting coach at Tacoma Community College in Washington State where he helped lead the team to record breaking seasons for wins in back-to-back years. Throughout his coaching career, Moore has had the opportunity to coach a total of 31 players that have gone on to the professional ranks, 14 of which are still playing currently. One player has played on the major league level.
A successful summer ball coach throughout his career, he led the Southern Ohio Copperheads to a Great Lakes League Southern Division title in 2011, tying the best finish in organization history. The Copperheads recorded 31 wins that summer, shattering the record for wins in a season by eight. The team had the best statistical pitching staff (2.74 ERA and .210 avg. against.). Moore won Manager of the Year in the Great Lakes League in 2011 also. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as the pitching coach for the Copperheads. During his second summer in Athens, the Copperheads finished in second place. He also spent four summers coaching in the Florida Collegiate Instructional League, reaching the league championship game three times and winning the overall championship twice.
He began his playing career at Tacoma Community College (WA.) as a first baseman and pitcher and continued playing at Central Washington University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration.
Moore resides in Portsmouth, Ohio.
