Greg Van Zant

Greg Van Zant

• School Georgia Southern University, West Virginia University
• High School Williamson High School

Biographical Information

Greg Van Zant is a college coach.

Van Zant was the third baseman for West Virginia University from 1980-1983. In 1982, WVU finished 16th in the country as per Collegiate Baseball. Greg got a degree in industrial engineering in 1984 then worked for Ford Motor Company for 3 years.

Van Zant began his coaching career as an assistant at Georgia Southern University; while there from 1988-1990, he earned a master's degree in sport management and a MBA. His final team there made the 1990 College World Series and included Joey Hamilton and Todd Greene. In the summer of 1990, the Williamson native coached the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League.

From 1991-1994, Van Zant was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator under his former coach, Dale Ramsburg, at WVU. When Ramsburg died in November 1994, Van Zant was asked to fill his shoes.

In 1996, WVU beat ranked opponents for the first time in 14 years, doing so twice that year. Van Zant was named Big East Conference Coach of the Year in '97. Six years later, WVU went 36-19 and Van Zant was again named Big East Coach of the Year.

In 2006, West Virginia was 36-22 and was ranked nationally for the first time since Van Zant's junior year as a player, 1982. The club hit .339, second in NCAA Division I. During 2009, the Mountaineers won 37 games, tying the team record for the Big East era.

Van Zant was fired after 18 seasons in 2012 [1]. He won 528 games at West Virginia. He has helped coach Steve Kline, Scott Seabol, Dustin Nippert and Jeremy Cummings.

Source: WVU bio

Related Sites

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