FGCU baseball coach Dave Tollett picks up 700th career win, all with Eagles
In the seconds, minutes and almost an hour after he won his 700th game as FGCU’s baseball coach, Dave Tollett tipped his cap to the fans who gave him a standing ovation; took an ice-cold water bath from his players; choked up a bit as they gathered around and congratulated him; then posed for pictures with friends who have known him since his kindergarten days.
“One of the best moments I’ve had here,” Tollett said, his eyes slightly bloodshot after a 12-5 victory over Jacksonville State on Sunday at Swanson Stadium. “When I tipped my hat and looked up there, everyone was on their feet.
“It meant a lot to me.”
Tollett's .625 winning percentage (700-419-3) ranks 31st among active Division-I coaches with only nine coaches on that list earning more victories. He is also 35th among active Division-I coaches in victories.
Joe Kinker's record-breaking power helps lead FGCU to best start in baseball program history
When he headed home Sunday night, Tollett said he would look at the banner of booster and donor Duane Swanson Sr., whose name adorns the stadium in which the Eagles play and where Tollett won his milestone game.
“He called me the most expensive hobby he ever had,” Tollett said of Swanson, who passed in 2011. “But this program and athletic department wouldn’t be where it is without the Swanson family. They have done so much for me, Duane Sr., Duane Jr., and Cookie.”
Relationships mean a lot to Tollett.
“He’ll get into you when he needs to, but he also shows you he cares,” said sixth-year outfielder Brian Ellis.
Tollett’s former players – 47 of which have been chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft – not only have donated to the program, but they’ve invited him to weddings and asked him to write reference letters.
With his players averaging a 3.25 grade-point average the last five years, Tollett shares their commitment with future employers.
“They’re not just students, they practice 20 hours a week and sometimes they’re on the road for 20 hours a week,” Tollett said. “And they know how to work as a team.”
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FGCU's Dave Tollett makes history, grabbing win No. 600 against Kent State
Ellis, who’s working toward a master’s degree in health sciences, said there’s no other coach he’d rather play for. He, senior first baseman Joe Kinker and senior infielder Alejandro Figueredo all agree that Tollett’s goal is to make them much more than better hitters or pitchers.
“He’s a special coach, a special human being,” Figueredo said. “He makes us better.
“When I came on a visit, I didn’t know I’d have this close of a relationship. He’ll make me a better man, a better husband, a better father in the future.”
In 2003 – 20 years ago – FGCU won its season opener on Feb. 1 against Savannah School of Art & Design, 12-0, at Hammond Stadium, the spring training home of the Minnesota Twins.
That first season, the Eagles played their games at Terry Park, City of Palms Park – former spring training home of the Boston Red Sox – the Cape Coral Sports Complex, and Fort Myers High besides Hammond Stadium.
In 2004, the Eagles moved to their on-campus home.
“He’s built it from the ground up, there was nothing here before,” Kinker said. “I was here to see his 600th and 700th wins. It’s special.”
On Sunday, the Eagles (29-11 overall, and tied for first in the ASUN at 13-5) had a typical victory. It’s the 21st time this season they’ve scored 10 or more runs and the third time they’ve won by a 12-5 score.
Kinker and third baseman Jacob Lojewski each hit homers as the Eagles already have eclipsed their school record in round-trippers with 95. Second baseman Edrick Felix went 5-for-5. Harrison Povey added three hits.
Ellis, who extended his unofficial NCAA record for reaching base safely to 109 games in a row, had two hits.
This had the makings of being the Eagles’ best team in Tollett’s tenure after winning two of three from Florida State, then sweeping undefeated Troy, with an RPI of 32, in a two-game series.
But season-ending Tommy John surgery to Nos. 1 and 2 starters Jason Woodward and Mason Miller – likely high Major League draft picks – has hit the team hard, literally. The Eagles, who have utilized 11 different starting pitchers, had lost four of five games until taking two of three this past weekend.
“We’ve had to piece this together,” Tollett said. “But we do have the pieces to make this happen. We’re still trying to figure that out, but we’re gonna be fine.”
If work ethic can figure that out, Tollett will find a way.
“I’ve probably taken five vacation days,” Tollett said. “I’ve worked in the office when I wasn’t supposed to be there. But that’s the way the program has been built, through hard work. We grind it out.
“When I first came here, I took the job for $3,500. I left a teaching job making $52 (thousand at Charlotte High). A lot of people thought I was crazy. But I took it with the idea it was a one-day contract. I’d arrive at 6 a.m. and leave at 11 p.m. But I knew I’m coming back the next day. I think if you live life, whether it’s pro baseball or working on a farm or any job and you approach it as a one-day contract, you’re better off."
Especially on days like Sunday.
“He’s my buddy, my childhood friend and I love him dearly,” said Brit Goulding, one of eight Sally Jones Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle School and Charlotte High friends who surrounded Tollett after Sunday’s victory. “He’d be No. 1 if you need something or if you needed to be rescued.
“When Dave returned to Charlotte High after college, he taught special education. He worked with mentally challenged kids.
“And every single one of those kids he has coached will be touched as well.”
Milestone wins by Tollett
Feb. 1, 2003: FGCU wins its first game in program history against Savannah College of Art and Design 9-3.
March 22, 2005: Dave Tollett gets career win No. 100 at home against St. Rose 29-5.
March 5, 2008: Tollett wins No. 200 against Fairfield at home, defeating the Stags 9-2.
April 25, 2010: Tollett gets career win No. 300 on the road against Jacksonville 8-3.
Feb. 27, 2014: Tollett gets win No. 400 in Gainesville against the Gators, upsetting Florida 2-1.
March 5, 2017: Tollett wins No. 500 on the road at UNC-Wilmington, 10-1.
Feb. 21, 2020: Tollett wins No. 600 at home against Kent State 2-0.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FGCU baseball coach Dave Tollett picks up 700th career win with Eagles
