Assistant Coach/Pitching,Recruiting
Britt Reames
Former major league pitcher and Upstate native Britt Reames has joined the Furman baseball program as pitching coach.
Reames replaces Brent Shade, who recently accepted a similar position at Mercer University following four seasons at Furman.
"Needless to say we're thrilled to have Britt join our staff," said Smith in making the announcement. "He brings tremendous enthusiasm, credibility, and a very high level of experience and knowledge to our program, as well as a full appreciation of the competitiveness of the Southern Conference."
A Seneca, S.C., product, and 1996 graduate of The Citadel, Reames spent six seasons in the major leagues from 2000-06 with four different clubs, including St. Louis, Montreal, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. He also played three seasons of winter ball in the Dominican Republic during that span.
At The Citadel, where he posted an 18-7 record and 2.03 ERA over four seasons, he twice earned All-Southern Conference honors while helping the Bulldogs to a pair of league tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1995 Major League Draft, he worked his way up through the minor leagues before making his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2000, going 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA over 40 2/3 innings of work. He was a credited with the win in the Cardinals' game three series clinching playoff victory over the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 NLDS.
In December of 2000 he was traded to the Montreal Expos, where he spent three seasons. He later made appearances with the Oakland Athletics in 2005 and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 before returning to the Upstate to devote attention to his Anderson, S.C., business, Blue Chip Baseball, an instructional service that he began in 2003.
Reames will be inducted into The Citadel's Athletic Hall-of-Fame
Assistant Coach
Dave Delgado
A familiar face and proven winner in Upstate baseball circles and Greenville community for many years, Dave Delgado joined the Furman baseball staff in January as an assistant coach. This will begin his second season as the team's first base coach.
Delgado brings over 25 years of baseball head coaching experience to the Paladin program. From 1999 through 2006 he served as head coach at Greenville High School, where in 2005 he directed the Red Raiders to a 3A state championship, for which he was named South Carolina Coaches Association Coach-of-the-Year.
Prior to his tenure at Greenville, he coached at Hilton Head High School (1996-99) and Pope (Ga.) High School (1995). His first head coaching stop in the Greenville metropolitan area came at Mauldin High School, where in six seasons from 1989-94 he directed the fortunes of a highly successful Mavericks program, including a 1993 state championship run that netted him his first state coach-of-the-year scroll.
From 1979-88 he headed up the diamond program and served as an assistant football coach at Dixie High School in Due West, S.C. During that time he also coached summer ball at Front Royal in the Valley League. In the fall of 1988 he assisted current Clemson head coach Jack Leggett during Leggett's former tenure at Western Carolina.
A 1977 graduate of Erskine (S.C.) College with a degree in education, Delgado, the son of a career military father, lived in Texas, Japan, Germany, and England as a youngster. He has three sons, David, Jr., Eric -- both veterans of the Iraq conflict -- and Brent, a sophomore at Lander University in Greenwood.
Assistant Coach
Jeff Whitfield
Jeff Whitfield is entering his first season as an assistant coach with the Furman baseball program. In his new position with the Paladins, he will direct the squad's catchers and hitters.
A three-year starter and all-region catcher at Anderson's T.L. Hanna High School, he attended Lander (S.C.) University in Greenwood, where he started in 190 games for the Senators over four seasons and served as team captain in 2004. A four-time Peach Belt Conference Academic Team selection, he was hit by pitch an NCAA Division II record 45 times during his career.
Holder of bachelor of science degrees from Lander in exercise studies and physical eduction, he played one year of professional ball with the Yuma Scorpions, an independent team in the Golden Baseball League in Arizona and California.
After returning to the Upstate, he has held a number of teaching and coaching positions, including instructor at the Ballpark of Anderson, assistant coach at Anderson University, and assistant coach at Dorman High School. He has also coached the Upstate Mavericks 18U and 17U the past three years. His classroom teaching experience includes stints at Belton Elementary and Middle Schools, Lone Oak Elementary School, and Greer Middle School.
