Baseball Southern Conference

VMI's Slater Headed To Florida

LEXINGTON, Va. - VMI head baseball coach Tom Slater has accepted an
assistant coaching position at the University of Florida, the school
announced.

Slater, who guided the Keydets to a school record 24 wins in 2003, will join
the staff of Gator coach Pat McMahon and will report to his new post July 1.


"I wouldn't have left VMI to go just anywhere, but I have an opportunity to
work for Coach Pat McMahon who I've known and worked with going back to
summer camps at ODU when I was 23 years old and just starting out in the
coaching ranks," said Slater. "It's also a great opportunity to work for one
of the best schools in the best baseball conference in the country, the
SEC."

"The last three years at VMI have been wonderful for my family and me. To
have the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and coach was a special
privilege. Donny White has treated us well and given us the chance to
succeed in baseball at VMI, and I feel we've been able to put the VMI
baseball program in the direction it needs to go. This past year, we had our
first conference winning season since 1989, a school record for wins, and
posted some big wins in the SoCon tournament."

The 2003 VMI baseball team became one of the top VMI athletic stories of the
2002-2003 school year, setting a new program season mark in overall wins
(24-28) and going 16-14 in Southern Conference play after winning just one
conference game in 2002. The team qualified as the #7 seed for the Southern
Conference baseball tournament in late May and registered two wins -
dispatching higher-seeded The Citadel and Furman before bowing to UNC
Greensboro.

"We certainly hate to lose Tom because he has really improved our program
and the players he's recruited," said VMI athletic director Donny White.
"Because of the gains made by VMI baseball under Tom Slater, we feel that a
new coach can build what has accomplished over the last three years. He has
been a big part of VMI baseball and we wish him the very best."

Slater, 35, who also led the Keydets to a school record in conference wins
this past spring, was named 2003 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by
both the league coaches and the league media. He became the third VMI coach
to earn the honor, joining Donny White (1982) and Paul Maini (1988).

Three 2003 Keydets were also drafted in the June amateur draft earlier in
the month - the most ever for VMI baseball players in a single draft. The
players were pitcher Jeremy Harper (14th round-Toronto), catcher Andy Barden
(19th round-Atlanta), and pitcher Phil Hendrix (35th round-Milwaukee).
Slater has mentored 40 players who have been selected in the major league
draft in his total collegiate coaching career that includes assistant
coaching stops at Auburn, VMI, and Marshall.

Slater took over the VMI baseball program on June 8, 2000, after spending
six years at Auburn University as an assistant coach. His recruits at Auburn
included Oakland A's ace Tim Hudson. He also had prior assistant coaching
stops at Marshall (1982) and VMI (1993-94) under head coach Chris Finwood.

Slater is a native of Richmond, Va. and graduated from St. Christopher's
School in 1987 and also served as an assistant coach for the school's
baseball program in 1991.

Slater was a four-year starter at third base for the Keydets (VMI'90) and
played on the 1988 SoCon Division team championship as well as the '87 squad
that reached the SoCon Tourney finals.

TOM SLATER HEAD COACHING CAREER AT VMI

Year Overall Conference
2001 15-32 8-19
2002 10-41 1-27
2003 *24-28 *16-14
Career 49-101 25-60

* School record for victories