In 12 seasons as head coach of the USC Aiken baseball program, Kenny Thomas has re-established the Pacers as a force in the Peach Belt Conference and a perennial top 25 team in NCAA Division II.

During the 2010 season, Thomas became the winningest coach in USC Aiken baseball history. Thomas enters the 2012 campaign with 430 wins in his time as the head Pacer skipper.

Thomas also surpassed the 900-win plateau as a college head coach in USC Aiken’s win over then national No. 2 Francis Marion on Sunday, Mar. 7, 2010. Thomas concluded the 2010 season with 921 career wins. He begins 2012 with 950 career wins.

Thomas has led the Pacers to five NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) in the last seven seasons.

The 2011 USC Aiken baseball team was ranked as high as 16^th nationally. USC Aiken concluded its year with a record of 29-21. The 2010 Pacer baseball team was ranked as high as sixth nationally at one point during the regular season. The Pacers finished the year with a record of 32-19. USC Aiken has won 30 or more games in 10 of the last 11 seasons.

USC Aiken's 2009 baseball team ended the 2009 season tied for 10th in the final Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Top 30 poll.
The final ranking of 10th was the highest for the Pacers under Thomas, who was chosen as PBC Conference Coach of the Year for his mentoring of the 2009 Pacers. USC Aiken ended the 2008 season ranked 11th, while they concluded the 2005 season 12th.

The Pacers reached as high as No. 2 nationally in 2009 en route to their second ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship.
The Pacers' prowess during the regular season helped USC Aiken earn top honors in the Southeast Region, enabling the program to host its second ever NCAA Division II Tournament regional.

The Pacers advanced to the regional final for the second consecutive season before bowing out to NCAA Division II Baseball Championship semifinalist and Conference Carolinas Tournament champion Belmont Abbey in the first game of the championship round.

USC Aiken (42-19) concluded its season having been a part of its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Baseball regional.

In 2008, Thomas and his staff guided the Pacers to a school-record 47 wins and a second-place finish in the NCAA South Atlantic Regional. USCA went 47-17 overall and 18-9 in the Peach Belt Conference, finishing just one win behind PBC champion Columbus State.

It was April 23, 2006 when USC Aiken knocked off sixth-ranked Francis Marion 5-2 in Aiken to notch Thomas' 200th victory at the helm of the Pacers. The Pacers went 45-19 that season, at the time the most wins in Thomas' USCA tenure.

In 2005, Thomas' Pacers went 40-19 including a 16-14 mark in PBC play to advance to the program's first NCAA South Atlantic Regional in a dozen years.

On February 12, 2002, USC Aiken knocked off Limestone College 14-8 to hand Thomas his 100th victory at USC Aiken while his 50th win came on April 4, 2001 in a dramatic 8-6 victory over Newberry in 10 innings.

In 2004, the Pacers opened the 1,000-seat Roberto Hernandez Stadium of which Thomas and Athletic Director Randy Warrick were instrumental in securing a one million dollar donation from the 16-year Major League Baseball veteran.

Since the stadium's opening, USCA is 142-58 at the state-of-the-art ballpark for a .710 winning percentage. In addition, USC Aiken hosted the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournaments.

Thomas has seen his fair share of student-athletes go on to play professionally. Most recently, 2008 Daktronics Player of the Year and 2008 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Chad Jacobsen was drafted in the 18th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Colorado Rockies.

In addition to being chosen as the PBC Coach of the Year in 2009, Thomas was named Coach of the Year in 1989, 1993-96, and 1998 by his fellow coaches and was selected in 1995 and 1999 as the National Junior College Athletic Association Eastern District Coach of the Year.

Thomas' success has not gone unnoticed by the community. Over the past seven seasons, the Pacers have finished in the top 15 in Division II in home attendance. As part of Thomas' annual Pack-the-Park day promotion a school record 1,316 fans were inside the gates of Roberto Hernandez Stadium for USC Aiken's 11-6 win over PBC rival Lander on Sunday, April 19, 2009.

Thomas has also instilled in his team the confidence needed to win the big games as the Pacers have won 93 games played against ranked opponents in the past 11 seasons, including 44 games in the last four years. The Pacers posted 17 wins over ranked opponents in 2009.

As a player, Thomas earned NAIA All-American honors his senior year as a catcher while at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn. 

Following his graduation in 1978, Thomas began coaching a Stan Musial summer league team.  In nine summers, he led his team to a national championship (1985), a runner-up finish (1986) and a third place finish (1984).

Thomas also became a local scout for the New York Yankees (1980-81), Cincinnati Reds (1981-82), and St. Louis Cardinals (1982-88). 

After becoming head coach at Volunteer State, Thomas remained with the Cardinals organization in a part time capacity until 1995.

He has served as a hitting instructor at the famous Stan Saleski Baseball Camp in Dayton, Ohio as well as conducting his own Kenny Thomas Winter Baseball Academy.  Started in 1990 with 12 kids, Thomas' camps, winter and summer, quickly grew to over 400 students by 1999.

Thomas has coached 48 players who have gone on to be drafted in professional baseball drafts, 85 All-Conference players, six conference Players of the Year, 16 All-Americans, one Southeast Region Player of the Year and one National Player of the Year.

Thomas is also involved in the local community. His work with the Aiken AMBUCS club has garnered him honors by that organization that serves to award college scholarships to physically handicapped high school students.

Michael Holder completed his seventh season as assistant coach for the USC Aiken baseball program in 2011.

He begins his second season as the Pacer pitching coach in 2012.

He came to USCA from his volunteer assistant coaching position at Vanderbilt University.

As a hitting instructor, Holder helped the Pacers to a school-record 47 wins in 2008 and the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship in 2009. The Pacers broke numerous school hitting records in 2009 with Southeast Region Player of the Year and consensus All-American Travis Howard leading the nation in RBIs.

A native of Evans, Ga., Holder spent three seasons with the Commodores mentoring the catchers and overseeing field preparation at Hawkins Field.

In the summer of 2003, Holder served as an assistant coach for the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League.

Prior to his arrival at Vanderbilt, Holder spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Greenbrier High School followed by a one-year stint as an assistant at Middle Georgia College.

Holder graduated from Augusta State University in May 2001 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Education. As a player, he was a four-year letterwinner as a catcher for Georgia Southern University (1995-99). 


Jason Walck begins his second season with the Pacers in the 2012 season.

Prior to joining the Pacers, Walck had spent three seasons as a member of the New Orleans coaching staff. For his final two seasons with the Privateers, Walck served as the first base coach and worked with the hitters and outfielders. He was also used as a batting practice pitcher, while also handling various gameday responsibilities.



Last summer, Walck worked as an assistant coach for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In the summer of 2009, Walck coached the Silver Springs Thunderbolts in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League.



Prior to joining the staff at UNO, Walck worked with the Mid-Maryland Red Sox and as an assistant coach at Reservoir High School in Columbia, Md.



Walck was a four-year starter at Shepherd University where he was a part of a conference championship team.


Josh Eachues returns to the USC Aiken baseball program this season as an assistant coach under the direction of head coach Kenny Thomas.

Eachues signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He joined the Pacers prior to the 2010 season after playing two seasons of professional baseball with the Washington Wild Things in the Independent Frontier League.

Prior to his professional career in the Frontier League, Eachues played winter ball in Australia while also coaching an Under-16 team.

Eachues may be familiar to CSRA baseball fans not only from his playing days at USC Aiken, but also as a founding member of the Aiken Foxhounds in the former South Coast League. He was eventually traded to the Georgia Peanuts who went on to win the SCL Championship.

During his playing days at USC Aiken, Eachues was named to the Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament team in 2007. Prior to joining the Pacer program, Eachues was a member of the Coastal Carolina baseball program under the direction of former Pacer head mentor Gary Gilmore.

A Kingsland, Ga. native, Brian English is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Pacers.

English joined USC Aiken after working with the baseball program at Augusta State.

Prior to his work with the Jaguars, English coached the Cook County High School (Adell, Ga.) baseball team to a Final Four appearance.

As a player, English suited up for South Georgia College for his first two seasons. He then transferred to become a member of the highly successful program at Valdosta State.

While playing at Valdosta State, English earned a B.A. in History. He is currently working on his Master's in Secondary Education.