An improbable dream fulfilled in one unforgettable season
In 2016, a mid-major team from Conway, South Carolina, shocked the college baseball world. Led by veteran head coach Gary Gilmore—who had spent two decades building a program that had once played on borrowed fields and traveled in hand-me-down vans into a national power—the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers captured their first College World Series title in dramatic fashion.
At the heart of that victory were players like G. K. Young, a Conway native and lightly recruited power hitter, whose towering home run in the deciding game ensured victory and completed Coastal's improbable run to the top. Alongside teammates like shortstop Michael Paez and ace pitcher Andrew Beckwith, Young embodied the grit and determination that defined Gilmore's program.
Tenacious and True tells the story behind Coastal's unlikely championship, capturing the voices of the players, coaches, and devoted fans who made it happen. Gifted storyteller Scott Pleasant brings readers into the dugout with a story of persistence, pride, and what it means to belong to a team—and a town.
Scott Pleasant is director of the Writing Center at Coastal Carolina University and is the co-author of Lines of Scrimmage: A Story of Football, Race, and Redemption.
