One of the winningest college coaches and one of baseball’s most decorated players highlight the 2020 National College Baseball Hall of Fame induction class.
This year’s class, which will be inducted as a part of a virtual College Baseball Night of Champions ceremony later this month, is headlined by three-time All-American Jason Varitek and former coach Jim Morris, who led 13 teams to the College World Series and won two national championships.
“We are happy to recognize another outstanding group,” said Mike Gustafson, president and CEO of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. “This class touches so many levels of college baseball.”
The only unanimous three-time All-American in NCAA Division I history, Georgia Tech’s Varitek was the 1994 National Player of the Year. He posted a .384 career batting average with 57 homeruns and 251 RBI.
Morris retired as one of only 12 coaches from all levels of college baseball with more than 1,500 wins. In addition to leading the Miami Hurricanes to the 1999 and 2001 national championships, he made a remarkable 32 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament from 1985 to 2016, including his time at Georgia Tech.
Also comprising the 2020 class are Doug Ault, a two-time, first-team NJCAA All-American at Panola Junior College and first-team All-American at Texas Tech; Southern University’s Pete Barnes, who was a two-time NAIA All-American outfielder; Rick Cerone of Seton Hall, who led the Pirates to two College World Series; Montclair State’s John Deutsch, a three-time All-American and 1989 Division III National Player of the Year; Gary Gentry of Phoenix College and Arizona State, a first-team All-American pitcher at both schools while leading both to national championships; Jim Gideon, a two-time All-American pitcher at Texas who went 36-2 in his final two years; Roy Lee Jackson of Tuskegee Institute, a three-time all-conference performer who won 26 games; two-time All-American shortstop Paul Molitor from Minnesota; and legendary coach John Scolinos, who was the third coach in history to reach 1,000 wins.
Everett “Eppy” Barnes rounds out the class as the second inductee to be selected from the contributors section of the ballot, which was established in 2019 to honor important figures in college baseball from off the field. Barnes was an important figure in the creation of the College World Series.
Ault led Panola to the NJCAA World Series in 1969 and 1970. In ’69, he was named MVP of the NJCAA World Series for the national champs on the strength of three wins on the mound and 12 RBIs at the plate. He won 25 games as a pitcher and batted .400 in his two years at Panola, earning back-to-back first-team All-American honors. He later attended Texas Tech and was the Red Raiders’ inaugural first-team All-American on the strength of a .475 batting average. He was the 1972 Southwest Conference co-Player of the Year and later played in the major leagues with the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays.
Pete Barnes was a four-time All-Southwest Athletic Conference outfielder at Southern University. He received first-team NAIA All-American honors in 1966 and 1967 and led the Jaguars to the 1966 NAIA World Series, where he garnered All-Tournament team honors. A 1965 draft choice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he instead chose professional football and excelled in an 11-year professional career, spending three years in the AFL with Houston and San Diego and eight in the NFL with San Diego, St. Louis and New England.
Everett “Eppy” Barnes was a player, coach and administrator at Colgate, but his most lasting contribution was his work helping to organize college coaches in the post-World War II era which led to the first All-American teams and, ultimately, the NCAA playoffs and College World Series.
Cerone led Seton Hall to the College World Series in 1974 and 1975 and was a first-team All-American catcher in 1975. He was named to the College World Series All-Tournament team in ’75 on the strength of a .462 batting average with two homers and five RBIs
Deutsch was the Division III National Player of the Year in 1989 and was a three-time first-team All-American at Montclair State. He was the World Series MVP as he led the Red Hawks to the 1987 NCAA Division III national championship.
Gentry was named National Player of the Year in 1967 by virtue of his 17 wins for the national champion Arizona State Sun Devils. In 1965, he led Phoenix College to the NJCAA national title. At both levels he was named to the World Series All-Tournament team and paired that with first-team All-American honors each season.
Gideon tallied 36 wins in 1974 and 1975 and led the nation in wins each year. He was twice a first-team All-American and led the Longhorns to the 1975 national championship with a stellar 17-0 record and 1.80 ERA.
Jackson finished his career at Tuskegee Institute with a 22-9 record and a remarkable 384 strikeouts in 251 innings. The three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer posted a 0.98 ERA and fanned 160 batters to lead all Division II pitchers in 1975.
A two-time All-American shortstop at Minnesota, Molitor led Minnesota to a Big Ten championship and the 1977 College World Series while setting school career offensive records for hits, home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases, triples and stolen bases prior to his Hall of Fame Major League career.
The legendary Scolinos was the third coach in college baseball to notch 1,000 wins. He won three NCAA Division II national championships and six conference championships at Cal Poly Pomona.
“I’m so proud of our voting committee,” Gustafson said. “They gave this ballot such a high degree of attention during the pandemic, and I thank them for that. We are lucky to have their interest and participation, and they selected a truly great class.”
More information about the virtual Night of Champions will be released soon at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
For more information, contact Mike Gustafson, National College Baseball Hall of Fame president and CEO, at [email protected].
2020 Induction Class – Notes and extended bios
Doug Ault, Panola Junior College/Texas Tech, 1969-1972 (First base/Pitcher)
- Two-time first-team NJCAA All-American
- 2-1 record, .403 batting average as a freshman
- 13-3 record, .406 batting average as sophomore
- MVP of the 1969 NJCAA World Series by virtue of his three wins on the mound, .318 batting average and 12 RBIs
- MVP of 1969 NJCAA regional
- MVP of 1970 NJCAA regional
- Pitched 21 innings for two wins on the final day of the 1970 NJCAA regional
- Twice led Panola to NJCAA World Series (1969 & 1970)
- At Texas Tech in 1972, he was named co-MVP of the Southwest Conference, all-Southwest Conference, all-region and first-team ABCA All-American squad by virtue of his nation-best .475 batting average
- Career batting average of .418 remains atop the TTU lists
- Played in major leagues with the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays
Pete Barnes, Southern University, 1964-1967 (Outfield)
- Four-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference
- Two-time first-team NAIA All-American outfielder (1966 & 1967)
- As a sophomore in 1965, Barnes finished fourth in the country hitting a robust .506. He also ranked amongst the NAIA leaders in home runs (7) and runs batted in (41).
- In 1967, hit .436 with eight doubles and 26 RBIs
- Led Southern to the 1966 NAIA World Series, batting .417 with 5 RBIs in four games
- Two-time NAIA All-American in football (1965 & 1966)
- Drafted in the sixth round by Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 – played linebacker for 11 years, three in the AFL and eight in the NFL
Everett “Eppy” Barnes, Player, Coach, Athletic Director and ABCA founding father, 1922-1968
- Outstanding player at Colgate — signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and played professionally from 1923-1925, including brief major league stints in Pittsburgh in 1923-24
- Returned to Colgate in 1939 to serve as baseball coach and later associate athletic director and athletic director before retirement in 1968
- Founding member and the first President of the American Association of College Baseball Coaches (now the ABCA)
- Earliest work was to establish a college all-star game (held once in 1946), a college baseball championship (now the College World Series) and the annual selection of All-American teams
- Served as president of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the United States Baseball Federation and the NCAA
- Served as board member of the United States Olympic Committee
Rick Cerone, Seton Hall, 1973-1975 (Catcher)
- ABCA first-team All-American catcher in 1975
- Hit 15 home runs with 64 RBIs and a .776 slugging percentage in 1975
- Named to All-College World Series team in 1975
- Part of back-to-back College World Series appearances in 1974 and 1975
- Led the squad in home runs in each of his three years in South Orange
- Left SHU as the school’s all-time leader in batting average (.363) and home runs (26) and now ranks seventh overall in each category
- Drafted seventh overall in the 1975 draft by Cleveland and made his MLB debut later that summer
John Deutsch, Montclair State, 1986-1989 (Outfield/First base)
- First three-time NCAA Division III first-team All-American
- 1989 Division III National Player of the Year
- Left Montclair State as the Division III career home run king with 58 and career RBIs leader with 236
- In 1987, led the nation and set an MSU record with 22 home runs and 77 RBIs
- Named MVP in the 1987 Division III World Series after leading Montclair State to the national championship
Gary Gentry, Phoenix College/Arizona State, 1965-1967 (Pitcher)
- Named National Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1967
- Struck out 229 batters in 1967, a NCAA single-season record at the time and a total that remains second only to 2007 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Derek Tatsuno
- Finished 1967 with a nation’s best 17-1 record and a 1.14 ERA
- In two starts at the 1967 College World Series, he allowed only two earned runs in 23 innings for a miniscule 0.78 ERA. Included in those two starts was a 14-inning complete game win over Stanford in which he struck out 15 and scored the winning run. His other start in Omaha was a complete-game, 7-2 win over Oklahoma State in which he struck out 16. His 31 strikeouts are the second-most in a single CWS.
- Twice named first-team All-American (Phoenix College in 1966, ASU in 1967)
- All-World Series Tournament teams at Phoenix College in 1965 and Arizona State in 1967)
- Led teams to national championship wins at both levels (Phoenix College in 1965, ASU in 1967)
Jim Gideon, Texas, 1973-1975 (Pitcher)
- All-Southwest Conference, first-team All-American and team MVP in 1974 and 1975
- First-team Academic All-American in 1975
- Led UT to SWC championships from 1973 to 1975
- Won 40 games and tossed eight career shutouts
- Led Texas to 1975 NCAA College World Series title
- Threw a no-hitter against Southern Methodist University in 1975
- Combined to throw a two-hitter against Seton Hall in the 1974 CWS
- Led the nation in wins in both 1974 and 1975
- First-round pick of Texas Rangers in 1975 draft
- 1974: 19-2, 2.32 ERA (19 wins is tied for second in NCAA record book)
- 1975: 17-0, 1.80 ERA
Roy Lee Jackson, Tuskegee, 1973-1975 (Pitcher/Designated hitter)
- Three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1973, 1974 and 1975
- Received honors at both pitcher and DH
- 22-9 career record with 384 strikeouts, only 64 walks and a 1.51 ERA in 251 innings
- In 1975, posted a 0.98 ERA and struck out 160 batters to lead all Division II pitchers
- Hit .404 as a sophomore in 1974, then led the team with a .431 average and .718 slugging percentage as a junior in 1975
- Pitched parts of 10 season in the major leagues with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins
Paul Molitor, Minnesota, 1975-1977 (Shortstop)
- Two-time first-team All-American in 1976 (ABCA) and 1977 (Sporting News)
- Two-time All-Big Ten in 1976 and 1977
- Led the Golden Gophers to the 1977 College World Series
- Finished his career with a .350 batting average and had then-school records in runs (112), triples (11), hits (159), home runs (18), total bases (254), RBIs (99), and stolen bases (52)
- Led the Gophers to a 77-23 record in his final two seasons
- Third overall pick in the 1977 Major League Draft
- Inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004
Jim Morris, DeKalb College 1976-1979/Georgia Tech 1982-1993/Miami, 1994-2018
- One of only 12 coaches at any level of college baseball to win at least 1,500 games
- Led 13 teams to the College World Series
- Won national championships in 1999 and 2001 at Miami
- National Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2001
- His teams appeared in the NCAA postseason for 32 consecutive years
- Led DeKalb College to the 1977 NJCAA World Series in only the second year of the program’s existence
John Scolinos, Pepperdine 1946-1960/Cal Poly Pomona 1962-1991
- Led Pomona to Division II national championships in 1976, 1980 and 1983
- Led teams to six California College Athletic Association championships
- Division II National Coach of the Year three times
- In 1984, became only the third college coach in history to reach 1,000 wins – behind Jack Coffey and Rod Dedeaux – a list which now includes more than 60 coaches
- Retired in 1991 with a combined 1,198 victories
- Inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 1974
Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1991-1994 (Catcher)
- Won the 1994 Howser Trophy, Smith Award, Golden Spikes Award, and was named National Player of the Year by ABCA, Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
- Only player in college baseball history to be named a unanimous first-team All-American three times
- Named Freshman All-America in 1991
- ACC Player of the Year 1993
- First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992, 1993, 1994
- Second-team All-ACC in 1991