Tom Riginos Named Baseball Assistant Head Coach

July 17, 2002

Clemson, SC – Clemson Head Baseball Coach Jack Leggett announced the addition of Tom Riginos to the coaching staff Wednesday. Riginos (pronounced ruh-JEEN-uhs) replaces Tim Corbin, who became head coach at Vanderbilt in June, as Clemson’s hitting and outfieders’ coach. Pitching Coach Kevin O’Sullivan will assume the role of recruiting coordinator, a job that Corbin held. Leggett also announced that O’Sullivan has been promoted to Associate Head Coach, while Riginos will carry the title of Assistant Head Coach.

“We are very excited about the addition of Tom to our staff,” states Leggett. “He will give us an added boost as an experienced recruiter and accomplished hitting coach. He is a very hard worker and his success in helping Stetson reach national prominence is what drew us to him. He is very well-respected in the coaching profession and is a class person who is a great addition to our staff.”

Riginos, 34, coached nine seasons at Stetson as the Hatters’ recruiting coordinator from 1994-02, where he also coached the hitters and outfielders, and was responsible for all aspects of the Stetson Junior Varsity team. While at Stetson, he recruited eight classes that gained national recognition. His 2002 class included three all-state performers and three prospects from the Central Florida area. He will look to continue the Tigers’ recent success of recruiting top talent from the state of Florida, including the unanimous 2002 National Player-of-the-Year Khalil Greene (Key West). Matt Henrie (Jupiter), a 2002 All-ACC pitcher, and 1999 All-America outfielder Patrick Boyd (Palm Harbor) were also celebrated recruits from Florida. Riginos also recruited six All-Americans and six freshman All-Americans while at Stetson.

As hitting coach at Stetson, Riginos led the 2001 team to a .324 batting average and a school-record 78 homers. That team also was 24th nationally in batting average, 12th in slugging percentage, and 19th in homers per game.

Riginos coached four All-Americans and four of the top hitters in Stetson history, including shortstop Kevin Nicholson, catcher Sammy Serrano, outfielder Frank Corr, and catcher Chris Westervelt. Under his guidance, all four won conference Player-of-the-Year honors along with multiple All-America accolades.

Nicholson was drafted by San Diego in the first round of the 1997 draft and made his Major League debut with the Padres in June, 2001. Serrano batted a school-record .457 in 1998 and was chosen in the second round that same year by the Giants’ organization. Corr set school and conference records for most career doubles (79), home runs (53), RBIs (258), and total bases (562). He also broke six single-season school records in 2000 when he batted .431 with 34 doubles, 18 homers, and 98 RBIs. Westervelt batted .403 with 18 homers and was a First-Team Academic All-American.

Prior to his nine seasons at Stetson, he spent two years as the top assistant and as a graduate coach at Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, KY. He helped the Colonels to an Ohio Valley Conference second-place finish in 1992 while serving as the team’s hitting and outfield coach. Prior to Eastern Kentucky, Riginos spent a season on the coaching staff at his high school alma mater, Countryside High in Clearwater, FL.

Riginos was a four-year letterman for the Hatters from 1987-90, and helped Stetson to three NCAA Regional appearances and three TAAC championships. He played in 225 games during his collegiate career and hit .279, while finishing as one of the top stolen-base leaders in Hatter history with 61. Riginos was also a team captain in 1990.

The native of Clearwater, FL earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Administration from Stetson in 1990. He later earned a Master of Science degree in Physical Education/Sports Administration from Eastern Kentucky in 1993, where he had a 3.36 GPA. He is married to the former Shaileen Kelley. The couple has twin girls, Alexandra and Grace, born November 22, 2000. Riginos was born April 5, 1968.

O’Sullivan, who has served as the Tiger pitching coach for four seasons, will now handle the recruiting coordinator role. In his four seasons at Clemson, the Tigers have won 188 games, averaging 47 victories per season, and made two appearances in the College World Series. He has coached 14 pitchers who have either been drafted or signed professional contracts in his four seasons with the program.