FIU began a new era on June 14, 2007 with the hiring of arguably the top assistant coach and recruiter in all of college baseball. It was a day more than three decades in the making for a man who honed his skills at some of college baseball's elite programs, bringing them 19-consecutive top-10 recruiting classes, 14 College World Series appearances and two national championships.

It was a day Henry "Turtle" Thomas patiently waited for and rightfully earned. 

"After 30 years of coaching college baseball, I'm very excited to lead the FIU baseball program," Thomas said. "I'm very appreciative of (FIU) President Mitch Maidique and Athletic Director Pete Garcia, that those two gentlemen have given me this opportunity.

"We look forward to making the FIU community excited about baseball again and we're looking forward to the challenge."

As Thomas enters his second season at the helm of the Golden Panthers' baseball team, he looks to build on an already succesful first year. In his first semester at FIU, 19 players earned a 3.0 grade-point average or better, including four on the Dean's List. The effort and work ethic Thomas helped instill on the field was transferred to the classroom, resulting in a combined team GPA of 3.04, a first in the program's history.

Thomas' first full recruiting class was ranked 15th in the nation by Perfect Game Crosschecker. Since his arrival, Thomas and his staff have made numerous improvements to the baseball stadium and its facilities. The biggest improvement to the stadium was a $75,000 project to pad the outfield wall and decorate it with decals honoring the four retired numbers in FIU Baseball history.

On the field, the product also improved. As a team, the Golden Panthers hit .305 in Turtle's first season, including Ryan Mollica's .413 batting average, which earned the second baseman a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team. Jorge Castillo, who hit .367 with nine home runs and 58 RBIs became the first Golden Panther to be drafted since Thomas' arrival, when he was selected in the 26th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Player draft by the Chicago White Sox.

Some of the most-successful programs in college baseball's recent history grace Thomas' resume, including Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, Louisiana State and his most recent stop, at 2007 CWS participant, Arizona State.

"We are very fortunate to be able to hire a coach as talented as Turtle Thomas," Garcia said. "He knows the game, he's the best recruiter in the country and he knows South Florida. He will bring excitement and interest to FIU baseball.

"The journey to Omaha begins today."

It's a journey that Thomas has made on 14 occasions at four different schools. He has coached in more College World Series than any active head coach.

Thomas' goals for FIU are twofold: to get the community involved and to win, on the field and in the classroom. Simple tasks? No. But the untiring work ethic that belies his placid demeanor assures that he will accomplish his goals. He is committed to getting the job done.

He opened the doors of University Park Stadium on January 18 for the Tamiami Park Little League Opening Ceremonies and addressed thousands of kids on the 128 teams, and their parents, inviting them to become a part of the FIU Baseball Family.

His staff has already compiled a list of all the civic and youth organizations in South Florida to set up speaking engagements.    

"FIU is hiring the hardest-working coach I've ever been around," Arizona State head coach Pat Murphy said. "He's relentless and he's a good person. He is a legend in college baseball for his recruiting efforts and great coaching at winning programs.

"Everything Turtle Thomas is around turns to gold. I feel FIU will be as good a program as they've ever been with him there, and will reach new heights."

Thomas played a major role in the Sun Devils' success in the 2007 season, helping lead the team to a No. 3 national ranking. The Sun Devils ended the season with the nation's third-best team batting average (.345) and slugging percentage (.531), and ranked second in scoring (9.4/game). ASU also led the country in fielding percentage (.979).

Prior to helping ASU return to Omaha, Thomas served as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach at LSU from 2000-06, winning a national title with the Tigers his first year on the job.

"Pete Garcia has made a great choice in Turtle Thomas," legendary college baseball coach and current LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman said. "He is tremendous as a one-on-one coach. It can't be a coincidence that Turtle left a championship program like Miami and came to LSU the next year and helped us win a championship.

"Turtle will be a winner. There is no doubt about that."

The Tigers went to the CWS two more times during Thomas' tenure (2003 and '04) and he oversaw an impressive offensive and individual performances.

Catcher Brad Cresse led the nation in home run (30) and RBI (106) on his way to winning the Johnny Bench Award in 2000. That same year, Mike Fontenot was named SEC Freshman of the Year, helping LSU set SEC records for hits and doubles, and a school-record .340 average. Shortstop Aaron Hill was named the 2003 SEC Player of the Year and outfielder Jon Zeringue won the honor the following season.

In 2004, LSU led the SEC in seven offensive categoris, including average (.333) and on-base percentage (.400). Overall, LSU led the SEC in hits, runs and RBI in four of Thomas' seven years in Baton Rouge.

In 1988 he was named assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Miami by Hall of Fame coach Ron Fraser. The Hurricanes reached the CWS nine times in Thomas' 12 years in Coral Gables, winning a National Championship in 1999, and going to Omaha six-straight seasons (1994-99). From '96-98, UM posted a collective .334 batting average, .557 slugging percentage and scored more than nine runs per game. The '96 Hurricanes set a school record with a team batting average of .343.

 "You have a great guy in Turtle Thomas," said the legendary Fraser. "He can recruit and he knows where to find the best guys. He can coach and he is such a hard worker. This is great for FIU and they are lucky to have him. He helped our program at Miami so much when he was there."

Thomas began his Division I coaching career at Clemson, where he spent eight seasons and helped the Tigers reach the 1980 CWS. He moved on to Georgia Tech and spent two years as the assistant head coach under current Miami head coach Jim Morris before heading to Coral Gables.

While his experience and expertise as a coach are impressive, Thomas' skills as a recruiter are unmatched. He had 19-straight recruiting classes ranked among Collegiate Baseball's Top 10 at Miami and LSU. He is the only recruiting coordinator in the nation who has signed the No. 1 rated class four times, and he has never had a class rated lower than ninth over the past 19 years. Thomas has also signed the second-rated class four times. Every class he signed at LSU ranked in the Top 6, including his 2004 class, which was considered the best in the country.

The roll call of major leaguers Thomas recruited and coached numbers more than 60. The list includes Charles Johnson, Alex Fernandez, Pat Burrell, Danny Graves, Alex Cora, Aubrey Huff, Aaron Hill, Jason Michaels and Brad Hawpe.

A 1975 graduate of High Point (N.C.) College, Thomas earned a master's degree from UNC-Greensboro in 1978. He was a four-year letterman at catcher, playing two seasons at Campbell University before completing his final two undergraduate years at High Point.

THOMAS IN OMAHA

No active head coach has coached at the College World Series as many times as Turtle Thomas. Thomas has been to 14 as an assistant coach with four different teams, putting him at the top of a distinguished list.

Active Head Coaches In The CWS

TO THE SHOW

Thomas has brought in 19 straight top 10 recruiting classes at four different schools. His eye for talent and prowess at developing that talent speaks for itself. Oftentimes it isn’t a matter of if his signees develop into talented pros but rather, when.

Below is a list of Major Leaguers Thomas coached at Miami and LSU:

THOMAS’ CAREER

General Accomplishments

• Two National Titles (1999, Miami; 2000, LSU)

• 14 College World Series Appearances

• Coached, recruited and signed dozens of future Major Leaguers

• 19 Top 10 recruiting classes