State College of Florida Baseball Coach Set to Retire

The legendary head baseball coach for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota is set to retire at the end of the season. His son and assistant baseball coach, Tim Hill II will take over the head coach position.

The transition announcement was timed to help recruit and retain athletes and coaching staff as the baseball season begins, officials said Tuesday.

At a press conference held at the College’s Bradenton campus, Lars A. Hafner, president of the school, lauded Tim Hill Sr., Florida's all-time leader in junior college career wins and a National Junior College Athletic Association Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The coach led his team to surpass dozens of, for the dozens of records in his 31 years as head coach at SCF.

Hefner named Hill's son and the team's assistant coach Tim Hill II to fill the head coach position. Tim Hill II is in his 14th year as the assistant coach at SCF. He will be just the third head baseball coach in the team's 53 year history.

He is credited with helping the baseball program win three state championships and make three trips to the JUCO World Series and send 115 student-athletes to four-year college and university baseball programs and 59 players to professional baseball. The team also produced more NJCAA All-American student-athletes and JUCO Players of the Year than any other Florida school. 

“In the past 13 years with Tim managing all phases of the offense and defense and coaching third base, we have broken 32 individual and team-hitting records and 12 of 13 both single game and single season offense records," Hill Sr. said.

Still he says he is most proud of three decades worth of students becoming successful adults.

“We have won a lot of games and championships and we have had great success on the baseball field," Hill Sr. said. "But what I am most proud of is seeing our players move on to colleges, universities and professional baseball and become good husbands, fathers and productive citizens.”

The SCF baseball program is recognized as the most successful junior college program in Florida and one of the top programs in the nation. Hill Sr. came to the college in 1978 as assistant coach to the college’s first baseball coach, Bob Wynn. He was named head coach for the 1981-82 season.

“As a former student-athlete and administrator involved with JUCO athletics for 25 years, I have known about this college’s baseball program for a long time," Hafner said during a press conference. "The baseball program deserves its elite reputation in Florida and around the country, and as president it has been exciting to watch the program continue to grow and prosper as we have progressed as an institution.”

Hafner said he is confident in his decision to put Hill II at the program's helm.

The younger played for the SCF baseball program in 1988 through 1990 when he was named to the All-State Academic and All-State Tournament teams.  He distinguished himself at the university level, graduating cum laude from the University of Central Florida with his bachelor’s degree in marketing. He later earned a master’s degree in health and physical education from Georgia Southwestern State University.

Before returning to SCF in 1999 where he has held the positions of student life advisor and instructor in addition to his assistant coaching duties, Hill II worked in professional sports organizations, including the Boston Red Sox, and was assistant baseball coach and sports information director at Georgia Southerwestern State where he helped coach the team to a conference championship and a berth in the regional tournament.

Donald Bowman, vice president of educational and student services, and Matt Ennis, athletic director, said Hill II’s commitment to academics as well as athletics was a major factor in recommending him for the head coach position.

Hill II will continue teaching after he assumes the head coach position. The head coaching position is a part-time, stipend position, as are all SCF head coaching positions.