RICHMOND, Va. (October 29, 2025) – The Virginia Baseball Coaches Association (VBCA) today announces the addition of nine coaches to its Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2025 includes nine coaches – two from the collegiate ranks and seven from high school baseball – who made lasting contributions on the players and in the communities they coached. The class will be celebrated on Dec. 4 at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business during the VBCA's annual convention. The VBCA also will recognize its 2025 coach of the year and Baseball Impact Award recipient at the event, which takes place from 6-8 p.m. at Darden. The reception is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased at VBCA.org.
"Coaches make an incredible impact in so many ways," said Tim Merry, founder and executive director of the Virginia Baseball Coaches Association. "We're humbled to welcome our fourth Hall of Fame class, a lineup of coaches that not only won lots of games on the diamond, but also shared a passion for mentoring, teaching and developing players on and off the diamond. Baseball in the commonwealth is better because of them."
The VBCA Board of Directors compiled names and solicited nominations of retired baseball coaches from around the state. Started eight years ago to unite, educate and support baseball coaches in Virginia, the VBCA has named 37 coaches from around the commonwealth to its Hall of Fame in the past four years.
The Class of 2025 includes:
Ken Blackley – Ladysmith High School, Rappahannock High School, Caroline High School, Essex High School, Northumberland High School
Blackley enjoyed success as a boys basketball coach, girls basketball coach, baseball coach and athletic director at a handful of Virginia high schools: Ladysmith, Rappahannock, Caroline, Essex and Northumberland. In addition to 250 wins as a boys basketball coach (he coached future Atlanta Hawks first-round draft pick Cal Bowdler at Rappahannock), he finished with 493 wins as a baseball coach. Blackley's 1993 team at Rappahannock went 22-2 and edged Glenvar 4-3 in the Group A state championship to capture the school's first title – Region A had been represented in the state title game 12 times from 1976-93, and the Raiders became the first team from the region to win it all. Ten years later, Blackley's Essex Trojans knocked off Glenvar 4-2 to win the 2003 Group A state crown. He was named the Virginia High School Coaches Association coach of the year three times and nominated twice for national coach of the year in 1993 and 2007. After retiring from teaching and coaching, Blackley served on the Richmond County School Board, assisting students with their college pursuits. He was inducted into the Northern Neck Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Ferrum College Hall of Fame in 2024.
Nick Boothe – Virginia Wesleyan College
After a stellar baseball career at Old Dominion University, Boothe put together a remarkable, nearly three-decade run as head coach at Virginia Wesleyan College. Over 28 seasons, Boothe led the Marlins to six Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and six NCAA Division III tournaments, four of his teams winning two NCAA tourney games apiece. His record of 611-461-6 ranked 39th all-time in Division III baseball when he stepped down in 2014, and he was the first ODAC coach to be named conference coach of the year six times. Over an eight-year stretch from 1997-2004, the Marlins won twice as many games as they lost (228-114, .667 winning percentage) and went to five NCAA tourneys, highlighted by the 2003 team that went 34-9 (17-1 in the ODAC) and won a pair of NCAA games. In college, he was an all-Sun Belt Conference performer as a catcher (1984) and outfielder (1985), and in 1985, he homered and drove in four runs as Old Dominion edged Western Kentucky 11-10 in 11 innings to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Boothe, a teammate of VBCA Class of 2024 Hall of Famer Wiley Lee, was inducted into Old Dominion's Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Brad Babcock (deceased) – James Madison University
Babcock, who passed away in 2020, took over a second-year baseball program at James Madison in 1971 and turned it into a powerhouse over the next 19 seasons. His Dukes went 558-251-4 (.689) during his tenure and advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times – in his last 14 teams, 12 of them won 30 or more games, and three won 40 or more games. The 1983 Dukes became the first team from Virginia to reach the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. That year, the Dukes finished third in the ECAC South Tournament and were one of the last teams selected to the NCAA Tournament, where they were the sixth (of six) seed and surprisingly won the Eastern Regional with wins over top-seeded South Carolina, William & Mary, The Citadel and Delaware to reach Omaha. Six of Babcock's players went on to become members of the JMU Sports Hall of Fame, and 30 played professionally, including major leaguers Billy Sample and Dana Allison. He had the opportunity to coach his son, Whit Babcock, now the Director of Athletics at Virginia Tech, in his last season in 1989 before becoming an athletic department administrator at JMU. Babcock, whose overall tenure with the Dukes lasted from 1970-2003, was inducted into James Madison's Hall of Fame in 1998.
Rick Holcomb – Courtland High School, Spotsylvania High School
Holcomb's baseball coaching career spanned 34 years, 32 years as a head coach, at Spotsylvania High School and Courtland High School. Over those 32 years, he guided his teams to a record of 370-265-1 and two state championships. After five years at Spotsylvania, Holcomb started the baseball program at Courtland in 1981. In 1995, the Cougars went 24-2 and won their first state baseball title in school history with a 3-2 win over Brookeville in the final. Five years later, Courtland did it again, this time edging William Byrd 7-5 to capture the 2000 Group AA state title. Holcomb earned VHSL state coach of the year honors in 1995 and 2000 and National Federation of High Schools Coach of the Year for Virginia in 2001. His impact extended beyond the high school diamond. Holcomb was a founding member and coach of Babe Ruth Baseball in the Fredericksburg region in 1976, joining a few other coaches in establishing the league to give players not playing American Legion ball an opportunity to play in the summer. And he and two other coaches started the Rappahannock Fall Baseball League in 1988 to give players not playing fall sports an opportunity to play in the fall. The baseball field at Courtland is named in Holcomb's honor.
Gary Rice – Alleghany High School, Valley High School
Rice's coaching career spanned 51 years, 48 coming at Alleghany High School and 40 as a head baseball coach. After three years as the coach at Valley High School, Rice, known for fundamentals, discipline and sportsmanship, led Alleghany for 37 years and finished his career with a 565-269-5 record – the third-most wins in Virginia High School League history when he retired in 2021. His Mountaineers teams captured 14 district championships and three regional titles and made six state tournament appearances. Rice's best team went 25-2 and fell to Powhatan 7-4 in the 2008 Group AA state title game, and the Mountaineers returned to the state semifinals the following season. In his 37 years leading the baseball program at Alleghany, Rice's teams had only five losing seasons. A former baseball player at Ferrum College, Rice coached five players who played professional baseball, a number matched by his five grandsons he was able to coach, including current Alleghany coach Ryan Kessinger. Rice is a member of three Halls of Fame: Covington High School; Alleghany High School; and the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame, the latter of which he was inducted in 2015.
Jeff Smoot – Strasburg High School
A graduate of Strasburg High School, Smoot returned to his alma mater and served as the head baseball coach for 35 seasons from 1982-2016. Smoot compiled an incredible record of 519-229, winning 69% of the nearly 750 games he coached and leading the Rams to eight state tournaments, five state title games and one state championship. Strasburg went 23-5 in 2007, edging Essex in the state quarterfinals, coasting past J.J. Kelly in the semifinals and knocking off Grayson County 9-5 to earn the school's first state baseball championship. His 2014 team went 24-2, falling in the state championship game to end a 22-game winning streak. A longtime member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and lifetime membership and service to the Virginia High School Coaches Association, he served on the Virginia High School League committee responsible for drafting and implementing pitch count regulations. In addition, he has assisted the University of Virginia baseball staff in working for the Dominican Baseball Camp for more than 10 years, annually bringing 20 to 30 high school players to the Dominican Republic for a unique baseball experience. Smoot was named the Virginia High School Coaches Association state baseball coach of the year once and his group level's coach of the year twice.
Jim Snow (deceased) – Menchville High School, Smithfield High School, West Point High School, Poquoson High School, Warwick High School
Snow, who passed away in 2000 at the age of 74, taught and coached for 41 years at five high schools, primarily at Menchville (20 years) and Warwick (14). Known as "The Chief," Snow's teams piled up 19 district titles and 517 wins. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest coach in Virginia High School League history. In 1966, Warwick went 17-3 and fell in the state championship game; that same year, Snow suffered a heart attack and coached a playoff game while in a wheelchair. That was during a four-year run that saw the Raiders win four district title and racking up a 61-15 record. Snow saw a similar run from 1975-77 at Menchville with three straight titles and a record of 58-7. Overall, his teams had a winning record in 37 of his 41 seasons. Known for being tough but fair, Snow believed young people must learn from their mistakes, and that made coaching worthwhile. He also coached football and basketball early in his career; in three years at West Point, two of his teams were state runner-up.
Chuck Welch – Langley High School, Westfield High School
Welch enjoyed a 30-year coaching career, spending 17 years at Langley High School before starting the program at Westfield in 2000-01 and spending 13 years on the diamond. Overall, Welch had a record of 368-249, with 180 wins coming at Langley and 188 at Westfield. In his second year as head coach at Langley, the Saxons went 20-4 featuring future Wake Forest star Brian Shabosky at shortstop and future Langley and Northern Virginia baseball coaching legend Rob Hahne on the mound. Welch started the baseball program at Westfield, where his program was a model of consistency: During one stretch, Welch guided the Bulldogs to 10 straight region tournaments. Just four seasons after the program started, Westfield rallied from six runs down to stun Mills Godwin 8-7 in the state semifinals before falling in the 2004 state final to Cox 3-2. Overall at Westfield, Welch won 64% of his games, and he was named the ABCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2009.
Jim White – Brookville High School
White holds the distinction of winning a state championship both as a player and a coach at his alma mater. He was a player on Brookville High School's state title team in 1973, which won a 21-inning Regional game against Laurel Park, and the highlight of a stellar 30-year career as head baseball coach at Brookville was leading the Bees to the 1987 state championship to cap a 20-6 season. White's teams won nine district titles with state final appearances in 1987 and 1995, and his overall record was 424-209 (.669) for an average of 14 wins per season. He also mentored two future Major League Baseball players in Phil Leftwich and Brandon Inge.
2025 Coach of the Year – Larry Bowles, American Legion Post 280
Bowles, who leads the baseball program at Indian River High School, guided American Legion Post 280 to the American Legion World Series championship. Post 280 finished 27-4, and its run to the championship marked only the second time a team from Virginia captured the title (Midlothian in 1985). In the regional round, Bowles' squad dropped its opener at the Mid-Atlantic Regional at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Md., before reeling off five wins over the next four days to reach the World Series for the third time, with 2010 and 2022 being the others. At the World Series, it dropped its last game of pool play before beating Oregon 7-3 in the semifinals and Texas 5-0 in the championship game. The team was recognized during Game 4 of the World Series in Los Angeles in October.
Baseball Impact Award – Dennis Womack, University of Virginia
Womack spent 23 years as head coach of the University of Virginia before retiring to move into an assistant athletic director position for the Cavaliers. During his tenure, Virginia won the 1996 Atlantic Coast Conference championship and made two NCAA tournament appearances. Among the players he coached and mentored were Ryan Zimmerman, Seth Greisinger, Mark Reynolds, Javier Baez, Brian Buchanan and Joe Koshanksy. Womack, the 1985 ACC Coach of the Year, also impacted baseball in the commonwealth by joining with Scott Gines to found the Best in Virginia showcase camp in 1988. The event became one of the biggest and best-run showcase events at a time when getting seen was a challenge for baseball players across Virginia and the country. In 2001, for example, the camp attracted players from 27 states, and it regularly sold out from 1992 on. Womack, known as a tremendous coach working without the resources of other ACC programs, is credited with helping Virginia usher in a new era with the opening of Davenport Stadium and enhancements that followed.
The VBCA HALL OF FAME
2022
Ron Atkins – University of Richmond
Billy Brown – George Mason University
Jim Cutler – Liberty (Bedford) High School
Tom Harding – Honaker High School
Chuck Hartman – Virginia Tech
Paul Keyes – Virginia Commonwealth University
Marty Miller – Norfolk State University
Mack Shupe – J.J. Kelly High School
Ron Tugwell – West Springfield High School
Norbie Wilson – First Colonial High School
2023
Doc Adams – Lebanon High School
Buddy Bolding – Longwood University
Ray Heatwole – Turner Ashby High School
Bob Menefee – Robinson High School
Abe Naff – Ferrum College
Bill Pelot – Louisa High School
Towny Townsend – Greenbrier Christian Academy
Al Worthington – Liberty University
2024
Greg Conner – Powhatan High School
Mike Covington – Potomac High School
Tony Guzzo – Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University
Curt Kendall – Bridgewater College
Gary Lavelle – Greenbrier Christian Academy
Wiley Lee – Great Bridge High School, Norfolk State University
Tim Lowery – Clover Hill High School, Cosby High School
Del Norwood – Washington-Liberty High School
Lou Peery – Tazewell High School
Jim Thacker – Jefferson Forest High School
Baseball Impact Award
2023 – Jeff Petty, Canes Baseball
2024 – William M.T. Forrester, Metropolitan Junior Baseball League
Coach of the Year
2023 – Lucas Jones, University of Lynchburg
2024 – Daniel Rollins, Paul D. Camp Community College
