Piedmont University Athletics

Jim Peeples completed his 15th and final year as the Head Coach of the Piedmont College baseball program following the 2016 season completing a coaching career full of success and accolades as the leader of the nationally respected Lions.  Having also served as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Piedmont, Peeples has earned 360 career victories with each of the veteran’s 15 seasons as a head coach coming while leading the Green and Gold of Piedmont.

In his 15 years at PC, Peeples has led the Lions to a 360-298 overall record for a .547 winning percentage with three straight top four finishes in USA South play during Piedmont's first three years as a conference member.  

"What they're saying about Coach Peeples..."

"Jim Peeples is one of my favorite coaches at any level and in any sport. He is in the coaching profession for the right reasons. He has a passion for young people that is unique to today's coach. He is smart, an excellent communicator, humble and a tremendous teacher.  More importantly, he is a coach who can set positive standards in an athletic culture because of his own actions. The kids in his program are fortunate to have a man who models the behavior of a caring husband, a father of two girls and a strong mentor to many young men. I have always been drawn to him because of his natural personality and high integrity. He always makes time for me when we talk and I appreciate his friendship a great deal...he is the best of the best."     -Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt University     Head Baseball Coach

""Peeps" is one of the BEST teachers of the game of baseball in our country today. His zest for learning more and more about our game is only overshadowed by his enthusiasm for sharing this knowledge with his players each and every day. His tremendous passion for our game is shown everyday in how he coaches and how his kids play: RELENTLESS!!!"     -Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina University     Head Baseball Coach

The Piedmont skipper’s influence on college baseball is not limited though to his own program as he serves as the Chair of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships Committee involved with the sport on a national level.  Additionally, Peeples was also instrumental in bringing NCAA postseason play to Piedmont for the very first time with Loudermilk Field serving as the host site for the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Baseball South Regional.
 
Prior to Piedmont’s move to the USA South, Peeples led his team to a trio of GSAC tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2011), four GSAC regular season titles including three straight crowns (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011), two NCAA National Tournament appearances (2008, 2011), and two appearances in the National Christian College Athletic Association College World Series in Celina, OH (2002, 2003). Under his direction, PC baseball has garnered attention being ranked or receiving votes in a national poll in eight of the past nine seasons.

Peeples has guided his teams to 23 wins against top-25 nationally-ranked teams in his 15 years as a head coach.  One of the highlight wins against a nationally-ranked foe for the Lions came against the 12th ranked Majors of Millsaps College, a team that was coming off a World Series appearance from the season prior before dropping an 8-3 decision to the Lions on February 21 of 2014.
 
A four-time Coach of the Year in the conference year-end awards, Peeples was also named Georgia Dugout Club Coach of the Year following the 2008 season after leading his team to an incredible 34-14 overall record, a GSAC tourney and regular season crown, the program’s first-ever NCAA National Tournament appearance, and a national ranking as high as #5. 

During Piedmont’s affiliation with the Great South Athletic Conference, Peeples mentored four GSAC Pitchers of the Year, two GSAC Players of the Year, and one GSAC Freshman of the Year.  Additionally, Peeples saw 42 players selected as GSAC All-Conference honorees, 22 selected as GSAC All-Freshman award winners, and an impressive 88 All-Academic selections.

A trio of Peeples’ Lions have been honored with a South Region Rawlings Gold Glove award with one of those regional selections, pitcher Kevin Caldwell, picking up Piedmont’s first ever national Rawlings Gold Glove award after the 2013 season.  Seventeen players have also been awarded American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-South Region honors under Peeples’ direction while one of those also was named an ABCA and D3Baseball.com All-American (Tom Dimitroff, 2008). 

Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2016, Peeples was able to guide his team to a 21-19 overall record including four wins over teams ranked in either the ABCA or D3Baseball.com national polls.  His final game as the skipper at Loudermilk was a fitting end to a wonderful career as the Lions defeated then #7 Emory on April 24 in a 10-4 game thanks to a strong showing from their senior class. 

Piedmont also picked up wins over #5 Birmingham-Southern College and #18 Marietta College in the same weekend during a home tournament, wins which catapulted PC into the national rankings.  The showing marked the 8th time in nine seasons that Piedmont either earned a spot in the polls or was receiving votes.
 
In 2015, the Lions finished with a 23-17 overall record including wins over nationally ranked foes such as Piedmont’s 2-1 extra-inning thriller over then-6th ranked Birmingham-Southern College on a starry April night at Loudermilk Field.  Including the win over the Panthers, Piedmont picked up three wins over teams who went on to play in the NCAA National Tournament.
 
Four Lions earned spots on the USA South All-Conference listing at the end of 2015 with three of those earning 1st Team status and two of the four, Josh Thomas and Evan Gresham, earning ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Team honors.  Thomas went on to make program history becoming the first-ever Capital One Academic All-District honoree from Piedmont baseball as a junior for the Green and Gold.

The 2014 season saw the Lions come away with a 25-14 overall record, Peeples’ 6th season with at least 25 wins or more since taking over at Piedmont in 2002.  The Lions also posted a 17-10 record in the USA South to place 4th in the regular season standings of the ten member programs competing in the league as Piedmont swept four conference foes in 2014.
 
Posting a 15-4 record at home, the fans at Loudermilk Field had plenty to cheer about in 2014 with five players earning All-Conference accolades including four that were underclassmen and eligible to return in 2015.  Capping off the individual accolades was pitcher Allen Tokarz who earned ABCA All-Region accolades after setting a new program record in the NCAA Era with a season ERA of 1.65, a remarkable feat when considering the long lineage of pitching success at PC including the likes of All-American Tom Dimitroff.

Peeples led his Lions into a new era with the advent of the 2013 season which was the team’s first in the USA South Athletic Conference though it was a familiar landing spot for the Piedmont skipper who spent nine years as an assistant at member school Methodist University earning a half dozen conference titles during his time on staff. Peeples’ squad posted an even 22-22 record including a 13-11 mark in their USA South debut taking two of three in five of their eight league series.

The individual accolades were the story for the Lions in 2013 though as the program made history with its first Rawlings National Gold Glove award winner as Kevin Caldwell claimed the honor at the pitching position.  Piedmont baseball had previously seen a pair honored with gold gloves on the regional level before Caldwell earned the program’s first-ever national honor while two more Lions earned All-Region distinction from the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2013 (Josh Bailey and Jacob Brewster). 

During the 2012 season, Piedmont earned a 26-17 overall record marking the 5th time a Peeples-led Piedmont team has accumulated more than 25 wins in a season all while playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules.  More impressively, PC won four games against nationally ranked competition in 2012 highlighted by a 4-1 victory in front of the home fans at Loudermilk over the nation’s then #1 team and defending NCAA National Champion in Marietta College on a memorable Friday night in March.  Marietta also went on to win the 2012 national title picking up just eight losses compared to 48 wins with PC representing one of the few defeats for the nation’s best.

Having crested the 200 career win plateau during the 2010 campaign, Peeples saw his 2011 squad add to his legacy by grabbing hold of the Great South Athletic Conference regular season crown after taking two of three from league-rival Maryville College in the friendly confines of Loudermilk Field, a ballpark where the squad was 17-5 on the season.  The team also took home the conference championship tournament title in 2011 winning a pair of thrillers over the final two days of the event including an extra-inning 5-4 win over Huntingdon College on championship Sunday, a win which eventually handed the program its second NCAA appearance.

Individual honors also came rolling in for the Lions in 2011 as Piedmont boasted the league’s Player of the Year and Coach of the Year while seeing five make the All-Conference team and a record 16 honored on the All-Academic team, a mark that was second to none in the GSAC.  PC also saw four players earn All-Region accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association and had a player awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove for the second time in three seasons. 

2011 was also a year of national attention for the boys on the diamond as their closer (Matt Collins) finished as the nation’s leader in strikeouts per nine innings in all three Divisions of the NCAA and placed second in Division III with 13 saves all while setting a new NCAA Division III record for appearances in a season with 35 – besting the old mark of 32 set by Piedmont’s own All-American Tom Dimitroff.  As the Lions finished statistically ranked as the top team in the country in sacrifice flies and second in total strikeouts, Piedmont also ended the season ranked in the nation’s top 25 poll for the second time in four years taking the #25 spot in the final release from the ABCA.

Under Peeples’ watch in 2010, five Lions were honored with All-Conference selections as Piedmont finished nationally in the top 30 of NCAA Division III with 95 total stolen bases while leading the conference for the second consecutive season in All-Academic selections with eleven players making the grade. The PC skipper also mentored an ABCA All-South Region team selection at the designated hitter position.

Peeples guided his 2008 version of the Lions to one of the program’s most successful season since the school became a full-fledged member of NCAA Division III as his squad posted a 34-14 overall record to go along with a Great South Athletic Conference regular season and tournament title. As a result, his team was awarded the program’s first-ever berth in NCAA postseason play traveling to the South Regional where the squad also recorded the program’s first postseason win in the school’s NCAA era with a come-from-behind 10-6 effort over then top-seeded Salisbury University.

For his efforts during the 2008 run to nationals, Peeples was named GSAC and Georgia Dugout Club Coach of the Year as he tutored seven GSAC All-Conference selections including the conference Pitcher of the Year. He also had four players honored on the American Baseball Coaches Association All-South team and produced PC’s first ABCA All-American selection as well.

Prior to his arrival in Demorest, Peeples spent nine years as an assistant at Methodist University where he helped guide the team to a 270-118 record. During his time in Fayetteville, the baseball program laid claim to six Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (now USA South) championships while also making six trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. His squads also made two appearances in the Division III College World Series highlighted by the 1995 team who finished as the national runner up to champion La Verne.

Before beginning his coaching career, Peeples was a multi-sport athlete in his collegiate playing days at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA lettering in both baseball and football. On the diamond, Peeples earned four varsity baseball letters playing the outfield while also spending time on the mound as a pitcher for the Titans. In addition to his baseball experience, Peeples also tallied three varsity football letters roaming the defensive backfield as a free safety.

After finishing his graduate degree, the longtime PC skipper started his coaching career by returning to his alma mater Westminster College where the football team went a combined 27-0 during the 1988 and 1989 campaigns winning back to back NAIA Football National Championships.

Peeples then spent two years coaching at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where the team won back-to-back conference championships with his 1992 team winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship.

Peeples is a 1988 graduate of Westminster College where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications. He then moved on to receive his masters’ degree in Athletic Administration from Slippery Rock University in 1991. 

Peeples and his wife of more than 25 years, the former Laura Maria Remsen, were married in 1990 and now reside nearby the college.  The couple is parents to a pair of daughters, Ashley (18), and Taylor (23) with the oldest having finished up her undergraduate work at Piedmont in the summer of 2013, graduating college in less than four years.

Coach Peeples Year-by-Year Coaching Record (2002-2016)

Season	Record	Pct.	School
2016	21-19	.525	Piedmont
2015	23-17	.575	Piedmont
2014	25-14	.630	Piedmont
2013	22-22	.500	Piedmont
2012	26-17	.604	Piedmont
2011	32-15	.681	Piedmont
2010	21-21	.500	Piedmont
2009	20-21	.488	Piedmont
2008	34-14	.708	Piedmont
2007	19-23	.452	Piedmont
2006	27-17	.614	Piedmont
2005	21-24	.467	Piedmont
2004	20-27	.426	Piedmont
2003	27-24	.529	Piedmont
2002	22-23	.489	Piedmont
Totals	360-298	.547	1 School

Coach Peeples Coaching Record by School (2002-2016)

School Name	Seasons	Record	Winning Pct.
Piedmont (2002*-2016)	15	360-298	.547

*Coach Peeples began his Piedmont coaching career in 2002, two years before the move to NCAA Division III