Ray Tanner was the guest speaker at the First Responders of the Midlands Memorial Dinner on August 25
Ray Tanner is in high demand as a guest speaker
Raleigh, NC (WLTX) --- USC baseball coach Ray Tanner was back at his alma mater Tuesday night where he received an award from the Raleigh Hot Stove organization.
Tanner was honored by the group for his contributions to baseball in the past 12 months.
The former N.C. State player and head coach is a popular figure in the Tar Heel state, even though he no longer leads the Wolfpack program. Having won back-to-back national titles has made Tanner a cult hero in his hometown of Benson, N.C.
In fact, Tanner's success with the Gamecocks has meant a busy offseason in terms of speaking engagements. But those stops on the lecture circuit will stop this week when the Gamecocks start practice on Friday.
It will mark the first official preseason work for the Gamecocks who are ranked third in the Baseball America preseason rankings.
The season opener is Feb. 17 at home against VMI.