Presbyterian College

Elton Pollock, a 1995 graduate of Presbyterian College, completed his 19th season as head coach of the Blue Hose baseball program in the spring of 2023. Pollock follows Tim Corbin and Doug Kovash as the third head coach to lead the program since its reinstatement in 1988.

The 2023 season saw junior Brody Fahr tally the best offensive season by a PC player since 2015 as Fahr posted a .361 average with a team-high 73 hits and 12 doubles. He recorded 23 multi-hit games and had at least one hit in 42 games.
 
PC had four players honored by the league, Fahr (Second Team), Tanner Smith (Honorable Mention), Kyle Mueller (Freshman Team) and Kyle Decker (Academic Team).
 
PC recorded a pair of wins in non-conference foes out of the Big 10 in Northwestern and Michigan State while also knocking off 14th ranked Campbell at home.
 
Presbyterian earned seven weekly honors from the Big South throughout the 2022 season. Mueller (Freshman), Smith (2x Relief Pitcher), Mason McDaniel (Freshman), Trey Fenderson (Freshman), Dalton Reeves (Player) and Amman Dewberry (Freshman).

The 2022 season saw the team led by senior Eric Toth who earned the program first first-team all-conference since 2018 when Jonathan White earned the honor. On the field, Toth finished in the top 10 of the single-season DI record book, ranked first in runs (54), fourth on-base percentage (.422), tied for fourth in stolen bases (16) and fifth in batting average (.351).

PC had four players honored by the league, Toth (First Team), Duncan Howard (Second Team), Dalton Reeves (Second Team) and Kyle Decker (Academic Team).

The Blue Hose tallied their first win over South Carolina since 2018 with a 9-6 result in Columbia on March 29.

Presbyterian earned six weekly honors from the Big South throughout the 2022 season. Toth (Player of the Week), Howard (Starting Pitcher of the Week), Clark Dearman & Logan Ymker (Two Relief Pitcher of the Week apiece).

The 2021 season set a pair of program firsts as Pollock led the Blue Hose to their first Big South Championship in program history with two wins over Campbell and a victory over Gardner-Webb. PC earned a spot in the Nashville regional that saw them face host Vanderbilt and Indiana State.

PC as a team connected on 47 homers which is tied for second in the Blue Hose DI record book. Zacchaeus Rasberry led the way with 10 homers and Eric Toth added nine while Sean Klein finished with eight.Rasberry also finished his Blue Hose career with 41 steals, most by a PC DI player. 

PC took four of five games in 2021 from Campbell included the tournament as the Blue Hose had won two prior meetings dating back to 2008.

On the mound, PC tied for fourth in saves by a team in DI era with 12 saves led by Eric Toth with eight and Chris Veach with four. Eric Miles also set the DI career record for wins during the 21 season against Eastern Kentucky. 

During the 2020 season, PC was tied for third in the Big South with nine home runs led by senior Tannor Byrd with three and Garrett Jones and Kyle Merkle with two apiece. The Blue Hose also swiped 22 bases in 16 games led by Zacchaeus Rasberry who had seven and David Sweat who recorded five steals.  Rasberry was tied for second in the Big South with six doubles which also led the team. 

On the mound, senior Eric Miles tied the D1 career record for wins with 21 victories over his career when he defeated Brown 6-3 on February 21st. Miles with his 21 strikeouts also moved to fourth in the D1 career record book for strikeouts with 192 over his time with the Blue Hose.  

In 2019, PC won 30 games for just the second time in the Division One era as the Blue Hose won 16 home games which is second most in the D1 era. The Blue Hose won seven series including six Big South series wins against Radford, Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, Longwood and Charleston Southern. Presbyterian earned three power five wins after defeating Alabama 4-1 on February 16, Pittsburgh 9-7 (12 innings) on April 27 and Clemson 8-7 on May 7.

Pollock earned his 300th career victory on April 6th with a 6-2 win over UNC Asheville.

The Blue Hose went 19-3 when scoring at least six runs including going 7-1 when scoring at least 10 runs. PC was 21-8 when scoring first during the 2019 season.

Presbyterian had five earn all-conference honors as Jackson Dean, Nick Guimbarda and Zacchaeus Rasberry earned second team honors. Pitcher Eric Miles and infielder Jimmy Marcelli picked up honorable mention. Guimbarda was also named Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year.

PC scored 327 runs, the most in the Division I era, and had 17 different players scoring runs including Rasberry scoring a team-high 45. PC also swiped a D1 record with 90 stolen base led by Rasberry with his single season record 23. Presbyterian drew a D1 record 218 walks and second-most hit by pitches with 60. The Blue Hose hit 103 doubles, the second most in the Division I era, led by Nick Guimbarda with 17 doubles. The Blue Hose pitching staff struck out 395, second most in the Division I era.

In 2018, PC played in 19 one-run or extra inning games, and picked up 15 victories on the season. The Blue Hose earned Big South series wins over Charleston Southern, Liberty, UNC Asheville and Longwood. Pollock's team also had nine of its one-run or extra inning games against Big South opponents, including three with the regular season and Big South Tournament champions, Campbell. On April 17, PC defeated South Carolina, 7-4, at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C., marking their first win over the Gamecocks since 2015.

The Blue Hose earned three selections to All-Big South teams. Infielder Jonathan White earned first team honors with outfielder AJ Priaulx and pitcher Ryan Hedrick earning a spot on the second team. Priaulx also earned All-Academic Team honors for the third consecutive season. Right-handed pitcher Tanner Chock signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels after graduating in May 2018.

PC totaled 46 home runs in 2018, the third-most in the Division I era, and had 10 different players contribute to the total. White reached base safely for 28 games between March 2 - April 20. Priaulx went 5-for-5 at the plate twice within one week, and White managed the feat a few weeks later. The pitching staff averaged a program-best 7.61 strikeouts per nine innings and 115 strikeouts looking.

In 2017, the Blue Hose turned in their best season since making the move to Division I. PC totaled a Division I era best 32 wins and a program record 15 Big South victories. The Blue Hose finished third in the Big South regular season standings, a program high mark, before making a run to the conference championship game in just its second appearance in the Big South Tournament. PC had four players named to the All-Big South teams, its most since joining the league, before having four players named to the Big South All-Tournament team, a program first.

PC totaled 47 home runs in 2017, its second-most since moving to Division I, while setting Division I era school records for ERA (4.32), opponent batting average (.262), strikeouts (433) and saves (16). Cletis Avery stole 19 bases on the season, Ryan Hedrick amassed 10 saves and Eric Miles recorded seven wins on the year, all Division I era school records.

In 2016, Pollock led the Blue Hose to its second straight 27-win season, tying the program's Division I era single-season record for wins. PC made the biggest gains in conference play in 2016, winning a school record (at the time) 12 Big South games, a six-game improvement from 2015. The team went on to make its first appearance in the Big South Tournament in just its fourth year of being eligible for the event. The team set a number of records in 2016, both at the plate and on the mound, with PC setting single-season records for runs scored (321), RBIs (286), doubles (114) and stolen bases (67), in addition to opponent batting average (.263) and strikeouts per nine innings (7.06).

Under Pollock's guidance, outfielder Weston Jackson racked up a number of different honors in 2016, including a third team All-America honor by Collegiate Baseball. Jackson was also tabbed as a second team All-Region player and second team All-Big South outfielder. He went on to set the program's D1 single-season record for doubles (27) and intentional walks (11), while tying the single-season record for runs (47) and ranking in the top five in a number of other categories.

In 2015, Pollock helped the program to a PC Division I-record 27 wins that included victories over South Carolina, Clemson, UCF (No. 7 at the time) and Indiana (No. 22 at the time). PC ended the season by winning its final seven midweek games and won 21 non-conference games, another program Division I record. Pollock’s guidance helped PC earn a First Team All-Big South honoree and an Honorable Mention selection while setting new Division I records in runs scored, strikeouts and strikeouts per game. The Blue Hose posted winning records at the PC Baseball Complex and against other South Carolina programs.

The 2013 campaign saw numerous high points under Coach Pollock, including developing junior pitcher Bud Jeter into a Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft choice by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jeter became the first Blue Hose in the Division I era to go in the MLB Draft and incoming freshman Brad Keller went in the ninth round of the draft as well.

Under Coach Pollock, junior first baseman Brad Zebedis picked up Second Team All-Big South honors, the league's Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year award and 2013 CoSIDA Academic All-District first team honors.

PC set new Division I program-best in two key statistics in 2013 as well. The team's .972 fielding percentage shattered the previous best of .966 set in 2012 and the pitching staff's 4.40 ERA improved on 2011's previous record of 5.34 by nearly a full run. The Blue Hose also took series from strong programs like UConn, Charlotte, Wofford and Furman.

In 2012, PC saw its second straight Big South Conference First Team selection in Pollock recruit Kenny Bryant, who went on to play professional baseball after his time as a Blue Hose.

The squad posted 24 wins, including a midseason tear where PC won eight of nine games. The club's pitching staff also allowed 551 hits, a then-Division I record for the school.

Pollock led the team to a record-setting 2011 season, going 24-32 overall and 9-19 in the Big South-both Division I era-records (at the time) en route to a best-ever eighth place finish in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose also captured their first First Team All-Big South Conference selection and first Division I All-American in Brad Zebedis, who also won the program's first-ever Big South Freshman of the Year award. PC went on a nine-game win streak in 2011 that saw the squad take down No. 16 Clemson for the first time since 1949. The campaign also saw the Blue Hose knock off Tennessee and set the lowest earned run average (5.36) and tie for the best batting average (.294) since moving to Division I.

The campaign came on the heels of a 2010 season that saw the team set new highs in Division I wins and a two-game win streak to end the year. The Blue Hose won a NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week award to close the season, the first ever in Division I.

In 2009, Pollock guided the program to its first-ever victory over a top-20 team, defeating No. 19 Coastal Carolina 7-5 on April 24. February 28 marked the first time in the program's Division I history that the team swept an opposing squad, downing Conference USA foe UAB. On May 12, Pollock's squad defeated The Citadel, snapping an 18-game losing streak that spanned 81 years. On March 22, the Blue Hose picked up their first-ever Big South win, a 5-4 home victory over Radford. Just over a month later, PC completed its first three-game sweep of a conference foe in Division I, coming against Charleston Southern. Against other in-state rivals, PC knocked off USC Upstate and Wofford.

The team showed its poise against multiple top-25 teams, pushing No. 10 Georgia Tech to extra innings before falling 9-8. The squad also held a late lead on top-20 South Carolina.

PC won three of its final four games of the season behind strong pitching and dominant hitting, resulting in its second series victory over a Big South team.

The 2008 season was the initial NCAA Division I campaign for the Blue Hose. Under Pollock, the team completed the year with 13 wins, which included the programs first DI series win over Marist. The program also experienced monumental wins over UAB and UNC Charlotte, who at the time was undefeated and nationally ranked. The program made additional strides versus major SEC and ACC opponents South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Clemson. The Blue Hose fell in 10 innings of competition to South Carolina (1-2), Tennessee (8-9), and Virginia Tech (4-5). The Clemson game was played at the Greenville Drive Stadium and featured more than 5,000 fans. Off the field, Pollock was named the 2007-08 Presbyterian College Advocate of the Year for demonstrating evidence of successful student advocacy and performance above and beyond the call of duty while serving multiple roles within the campus community.

In 2007 Pollock and the Blue Hose finished their final NCAA Division II season with their highest winning percentage under his guidance. They finished the year with 13 home wins.

In Pollock's 2006 campaign the team finished with 19 wins, including seven league victories. The Blue Hose finished the season on a winning note in the South Atlantic Conference tournament with a win over conference foe Wingate.

In 2005, Pollock's initial season as head coach, the Blue Hose made great strides down the stretch. In the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Tournament they lost their initial game to top seed Catawba, but bounced back and eliminated Mars Hill and Newberry to advance to the semifinals.

Prior to his return to PC as head coach, Pollock served as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2004 season, while doubling as owner/operator of The Diamond League, Inc. (professional indoor baseball training facility) in Laurens, SC. During the 2002-2003 academic year Pollock served as the full-time assistant for the Blue Hose baseball program. That season the Blue Hose won its second South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship in school history and earned a regional appearance.

Pollock, a former two-sport standout at Presbyterian College from 1992-1995, returned to his alma mater in 2002 after spending seven years in the business world. While attending PC, Pollock earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology with a minor in Computer Science. He was a three-year letter winner with the football team and a four-year letter winner with the baseball team. Pollock finished an impressive baseball career at PC and is still in the top five in many career offensive categories, including home runs (34), slugging percentage (.616), triples (11), runs scored (169), and total bases (382).

Following his graduation, Pollock was drafted in the 15th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent three years in their minor league system before retiring in 1997. During his time with Pittsburgh, Pollock was mentored by the late Major League Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. He finished his professional career with a .250 batting average, 25 doubles, seven home runs, and 49 stolen bases. Pollock was named "Player of the Month" for the entire organization for his play in August of 1995. That same year he helped lead the Augusta Greenjackets to the South Atlantic League Championship.

Pollock is married to the former Karen Prioleau of Greenville, SC, and the couple has four children, Madison, Lauren, Jordan and Trey. The family lives in Irmo, S.C.