Meet the Coach
Dave Tollett is in his fifth season as head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast University baseball program. He was named the first-ever head baseball coach in August, 2001.
Tollett has led FGCU to at least 35 wins in each of the first four seasons of the program’s history, posting a school record 41 wins during the 2006 campaign. He earned his 100th career victory in 2005 and has a career record of 152-67. During his tenure, he has coached four Division II All-South Region selections and two All-America honorees. Two former Eagles are currently playing minor league baseball.
This past season, Tollett led the Eagles to the semifinals of the NCAA South Regionals. FGCU moved around the Top 25 this season and finished with a record of 41-17. He was also named 2006 Co-Coach of the Year by the Independents Collegiate Athletic Association.
A 1988 graduate of Tusculum College, Tollett made his mark as one of the top high school coaches in the state of Florida. During his 10-year stint as head coach at Charlotte High in Punta Gorda, he posted a 175-96 record to become the winningest coach in school history. In six of his last seven seasons with the Tarpons, his peers selected him as the FHSAA District 16 Coach of the Year. His teams won one district championship and made five appearances in the Florida High School Athletic Association state playoffs in a district that included perennial state powers Sarasota and Venice. In addition to developing seven players drafted by professional teams and dozens more earning college scholarships, Tollett’s teams averaged a 3.67 grade point average in the classroom over his last four seasons.
Tollett also spent five years as the Director of Coaching for the Southwest Florida Eagles, a developmental program that has turned out 24 Division I athletes and eight professional players. He served as the coach of the Southwest Florida All-Star team on nine occasions and served as the Florida Athletic Coaches Regional Chairman in 2002.
An active member of the American Baseball Coaches Association, he is the proud parent of twins Cal and McKenna and reside in Fort Myers.
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