Pioneers Hall of Fame Baseball Coach Tim Wallace Retires
For more than three decades, SMC Head Baseball Coach Tim Wallace has been a coach, mentor, leader, and teacher to thousands of baseball players over the years. He’s shaped professional ballplayers on the field and great young men off it. With countless accolades and hundreds of success stories in the program, Wallace has decided it’s time to pass the torch and retire from coaching at the end of this year.
“It’s truly been a privilege to lead this program for so long. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to coach so many great players and young men over the course of my career,” Wallace said.
Wallace achieved nearly every accolade available to a coach at his level, including induction into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and accumulating 1,351 wins, fourth most for a college baseball coach as of the end of the 2024 season, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.
“There is not much you can say about Tim that hasn’t already been said over the years,” said Athletic Director Megan Aiello. “He has built an incredible baseball program here at SMC and laid the foundation for success long into the future. His legacy will forever be stamped on SMC.”
In Wallace’s 34 years at SMC, he led the program to the heights of success amassing 12 NJCAA Region 10 titles and seven trips to the Division 1 JUCO World Series, including three in a row from 2012 – 2014. He was named Region 10 Coach of the Year eight times, Eastern District Coach of the Year six times, and American Baseball Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year numerous times. He was also a part of the inaugural group of recipients for the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Awards. He also provided a number of other coaches with their start in the sport.
“Coach Wallace gave me my start in baseball, and I’ve never forgotten the things he taught me. Over the years, I’ve coached many of his players as they moved from SMC to other colleges and all of them loved their experience playing for him because of the type of man he is,” said Monte Lee, associate head baseball coach at the University of South Carolina. “He’s made a tremendous impact on the young men who have played for him and the coaches who have worked for him, and I consider him a lifelong friend.”
Austin Alexander, owner of Diamond Prospects, a baseball recruiting service in South Carolina, played for Wallace during SMC’s 1995 and 1996 seasons before transferring to the College of Charleston. In 1999, he returned to SMC as an assistant coach under Wallace. He says his three years coaching for Wallace laid a foundation for more than twenty-five years of success.
“Outside of my parents, Coach Wallace is the most influential person in my life. He gave me a shot first as a player and trusted me in big games; later as his assistant coach, he entrusted me with real responsibility – recruiting, developing players, and behind-the-scenes details that assist me to this day,” Alexander said. “Coach allowed me to learn on the job. He taught me the importance of delegation, how to lead without micromanaging, and also that quality people attract quality people – wisdom I didn’t fully grasp as a young man but carry with me now. His impact shaped not only my career, but the careers of so many accomplished coaches and players across the country. His coaching tree will continue to bear fruit because it was rooted by an individual that we respect and revere so much. His records are long, and the accolades are many, but the man, the Coach Wallace that mentored me – he was exactly who and what I needed to be the person I am today.”
For Wallace, it was all about the players. He said his most important achievement has been the quality of young men who have come through the program and his opportunity to help shape them on and off the field. Wallace mentored 18 NJCAA All-Americans, hundreds who have gone on to NCAA Division I programs, and more than 150 who signed professional contracts, most notably four-time Major League Baseball All-Star and three-time gold glove winner Orlando Hudson, who played for Wallace in 1997 and 1998.
“Tim Wallace, what an Impressive mind this man has along with being a great coach. He will make a man out of you quick, and if you couldn’t take it, take your uniform off!! He was what my uncles were to me – hard-nosed, took no nonsense, and straight to the point,” said Hudson, the special assistant to the general manager and farm director for the Arizona Diamondbacks. “The game of baseball needs more guys like him from the MLB level all the way down to T-ball. I miss the days of him driving down to Darlington to hunt with me and my dad. Love this man, a true inspiration to my career!”
Quincy Foster, former outfielder for the Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins), praised Wallace for his mentorship and leadership.
“To me, Tim Wallace is the best coach-motivator-leader-father figure that a young man could ever have played for. Coach Wallace made me the man that I am today, the coach that I am today, and the father I am today. I am so happy and blessed to have had him in my life,” Foster said.
In addition to his accolades as a coach, Wallace was also an accomplished player. He started his college career at Baptist College (now Charleston Southern) before moving on to Wofford for his final three years. He was drafted in the second round of the MLB draft and played seven years of professional baseball. He is also a member of the SMC Hall of Honor and the Wofford College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Wallace will continue to serve as a special assistant to the president at SMC to help guide the college’s transition to NAIA sports.