OVERLAND PARK, Kan.- Announced by the College Baseball Foundation, former NC State Baseball head coach Ray Tanner has been selected as one of 21 college baseball standouts to be inducted into the 2025 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Tanner is one of six coaches inducted in this year’s class and is the first NC State Wolfpack Baseball member to be inducted in the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Ray Tanner’s long and illustrious career has made a tremendous lasting impact on two very proud and prestigious baseball programs,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “His outstanding contributions to the great baseball traditions of NC State and the University of South Carolina have set the table for this distinguished and well-deserved honor.”
From 1977 to 1980, Tanner played for the Wolfpack under head coach Sam Esposito, starting four seasons at shortstop and third base. In 1980, he was named to the All-ACC first team.
Immediately after graduating in 1980 with a B.S. in Recreational Administration, Tanner remained an assistant coach under Coach Esposito. After seven seasons as an assistant, he was promoted to head coach following Tanner’s retirement. At 28 years old, Tanner became one of the youngest head coaches in the country.
In his first season as head coach, Ray Tanner led NC State to a then-school record forty-five wins, a second-place finish in the ACC, and a spot in the NCAA tournament. His team again broke the school victory mark in 1990 and was named ACC Coach of the Year after winning forty-eight games. The last NC State ACC Tournament championship came under Tanner in 1992.
In 1993, Tanner led the Wolfpack to win 49 games again, breaking his record, which stood for the next 20 years. Under coach Tanner, NC State made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
He finished his NC State career with a 395-173-3 record and a .694 winning percentage, which ranks fifth all-time in the ACC among head coaches who have coached at least four seasons. The Wolfpack saw eight All-Americans under the guidance of Tanner.
The 18th induction class will be honored at the 2026 Night of Champions presented by Prairiefire on February 12, 2026, in Overland Park, Kansas, the home of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The event will be the ceremonial start to the 2026 college baseball season, which begins on February 13, 2026.
To be eligible for the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, players must be out of college for 15 years and have completed one year of competition at a two-year institution in the CCCAA, NJCAA, or a four-year NCAA (Division I, II or III) or NAIA institution. Ballot-eligible coaches must be retired for two years or be active and at least 75 years old.
Each year, more than 200 representatives nationwide vote on the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction class. The voting body is comprised of national and regional college baseball media, active and retired coaches, former players, former inductees, college baseball historians and members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) collegiate baseball committee. The College Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 2006. Since then, 175 players, coaches, umpires, administrators, and contributors have been selected for induction. Click here for a full list of College Baseball Hall of Fame classes.
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