The Citadel Athletics Hall of Famer, and 25-year head coaching veteran, Tony Skole, enters his fifth season as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
Skole was officially announced as the head coach at The Citadel on June 8, 2017.
He enters the 2021 season with 619 career wins as a head coach, including 524 wins at the Division I level.
In returning to his alma mater, Skole has been tasked with returning the Bulldog program back to one of the top teams in the Southern Conference and restoring the Bulldog’s Championship Tradition. Solidifying his program’s foundation has been his immediate priority, and this began with reestablishing the brand of Citadel Baseball.
Skole stated, “Citadel Baseball was built on a foundation of toughness, physicality, intelligence, fundamentals and playing extremely hard. These areas will be of the utmost importance as we move into the future. Also, first and foremost, we will make sure we are excelling in the classroom, as well as becoming leaders in the Corps of Cadets. Citadel baseball players are special people. They have proven to be successful in all areas of their lives and we want to make sure this tradition continues.”
Skole’s programs have always excelled academically as his teams have had 40 consecutive semesters of a team grade-point average over 3.00. He also has a 100-percent graduation rate among his players.
In his first season back in the Lowcountry, Skole led the Bulldogs to its most conference wins in three years. The young squad improved in nearly every offensive category, including raising the batting average by 28 points and reducing the number of strikeouts by 99.
The 2019 Bulldog team featured a lineup that included mainly freshmen and sophomores. Freshmen Tyler Corbitt led the team with a .333 average on his way to earning All-Southern Conference Freshman Team honors.
Skole has earned a national reputation as an elite recruiter and developer of student-athletes. Skole’s recruiting prowess has begun to show, as he has stacked the Bulldog’s roster with two consecutive outstanding recruiting classes.
Skole’s recruits are beginning to make an immediate impact, as reflected by the 2020 team. This group, although one of the youngest rosters in college baseball, made significant contributions on the way to a 9-1 start to the season that was unfortunately ended early. The 9-1 start was the second best start in program’s history. During the 2020 shortened season every statistical category was showing extensive improvement.
Skole had the distinct honor of spending the summer of 2019 as an assistant coach of Team USA which featured the best collegiate baseball players across the country. Skole was on the staff of his former Citadel teammate and Louisville Baseball Head Coach, Dan McDonnell. The Citadel duo led Team USA to a series win versus Cuba here in the United States, and also competed in five game stints in Taiwan and in Japan.
Skole returned to Charleston after spending 17 years as the head coach at ETSU, accumulating a program record 471 wins. He led the Bucs to a pair of 36-win seasons, including the 2013 season that saw ETSU capture the Atlantic Sun tournament championship and participate in the Vanderbilt Regional. He coached 64 all-conference selections, two conference players of the year and ETSU’s first conference pitcher of the year. Five Bucs were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft, matching the program record set in 2006, adding to his total of more than 30 of athletes who have continued their playing career in the professional ranks.
Skole’s ETSU teams showcased his balanced approach with multiple school records falling on offense and defense during his 18 years at the helm. In 2010, the Bucs broke single-season school records with 503 runs scored, 724 hits, 93 home runs and 142 doubles. His 2017 squad pounded out 654 hits for the second-highest single-season total in school history. The ETSU pitching staff broke the school’s record for strikeouts in a season in each of Skole’s last three seasons. The 2015 staff recorded 431 strikeouts, shattering the previous record by 73 strikeouts, before the 2016 staff registered 436 punchouts and the 2017 staff pushed the record to 461.
In 2004, Skole tutored catcher Caleb Moore to Southern Conference Player of the Year and All-America honors after Moore led Division I with a .455 batting average and an average of .60 doubles per game. In 2010, first baseman Paul Hoilman was the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a First-Team All-American after leading Division I with a slugging percentage of .860. The 2013 season featured ETSU’s first conference Pitcher of the Year courtesy of right-hander Kerry Doane. Doane ranked first in Division I with 12 complete games and 147.0 innings pitched, becoming the school’s third First-Team All-American.
Skole’s first head-coaching position came at Lincoln Memorial University, where he was elevated to the top position in 1997 after four years as an assistant coach for the Railsplitters. During his three seasons in charge at LMU, Skole led the team’s transition from NAIA to a Division II program that rose as high as No. 13 in the national rankings. He earned 95 wins and coached seven MLB Draft picks, including pitcher Scot Shields, during his time at LMU. Shields helped the Anaheim Angels win the 2002 World Series and was considered one of MLB’s top relief pitchers for most of the decade.
Skole is a 1991 graduate of The Citadel, where he lettered in baseball and football. As a third baseman, he helped the baseball team win two Southern Conference championships and a berth in the 1990 College World Series. He hit a home run at Miami to win the Atlantic Regional over the Hurricanes and clinch the trip to Omaha. In Omaha, Skole had a game-winning hit in the 12th inning against Cal State Fullerton. On the gridiron, Skole started 35 consecutive games as a defensive back and helped the Bulldogs to two appearances in the NCAA I-AA playoffs. He was voted a team captain for the 1990 season and also led the Southern Conference in interceptions that season. In 2011, he was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame.
Skole and his wife, Jody, have three sons, Tilo, Jack and Gehrig.
What They’re Saying About Coach Skole
“Tony is the epitome of The Citadel man. Obviously, he had an outstanding career as an athlete and was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame for his success in both football and baseball. But, he has also been a longtime asset and loyal part of the East Tennessee State program showing his commitment with 18 years of service as their head baseball coach. He’s a wonderful husband and father, and he will carry the torch of The Citadel baseball with enthusiasm and energy. I can’t think of a better person to follow in the legacy from Coach Port to Coach Jordan than Coach Skole.”
Dan McDonnell (’92), University of Louisville Head Baseball Coach
“I’m very excited to hear Tony Skole has become the next head coach at The Citadel. He’ll succeed in a long line of great coaches with the program and will continue the strong baseball tradition. His experience as a baseball and football player will help him and his players with the daily cadet life. There are very few alumni that love The Citadel the way Tony does. I am thrilled about the future of the baseball program under his leadership.”
Chris Lemonis (’92), Mississippi State University Head Baseball Coach
“When a coach is offered the chance to return to their alma mater and lead the program where they are a Hall of Famer, it is a unique opportunity. The Citadel is a special place for Tony, and we are happy for him and his family as they make this move. We also thank the Skole family for their commitment and efforts on behalf of ETSU over the past 18 years. Coach Skole leaves as our program’s all-time winningest coach, and he was a big part of building our overall program’s culture of Excellence Every Day.”
Dr. Richard Sander, ETSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
