Kotchman Named Chipola College Alumnus of the Year

Tom Kotchman, a major league baseball scout and minor league coach, has been named Chipola College’s 2009 Alumnus of the Year.
Kotchman’s life has been connected to Chipola College since he signed a baseball scholarship there in 1973. He went on to a successful career in professional baseball, but he continues to give back to the little college that gave him his start.

As a major league scout and one of the most respected managers in the minors, Tom has helped sign several Chipola players to big league contracts. But more importantly, he makes regular visits to Chipola to share advice with all the players, not just the big prospects.

Chipola baseball coach Jeff Johnson says, “There are a lot of alumni who say they want to help and some even write checks, but Tom goes above and beyond. Anybody who knows Tom would say that he is a giver.” Chipola president Dr. Gene Prough agrees. “Tom loves Chipola. Even before his daughter Christal played at Chipola, he was always in touch, asking what he could do to help our student-athletes. That connection is still strong today,” Prough said.

Kotchman is very open about the influence that Chipola had on his life. “My time at Chipola playing for coach Ellis Dungan was very important for me as a player and more so as a man,” Kotchman said. “You cannot put a price on the life lessons I learned at Chipola. Years later my son Casey was offered a scholarship to Chipola but was drafted in the first round and is currently playing in the big leagues. My daughter Christal received a scholarship to Chipola where she was the starting shortstop on their national championship softball team. As a family we will be eternally grateful to coach Johnson, AD Dr. O’Daniel, college president Dr. Gene Prough and softball coach Belinda Hendrix for the opportunity that was given to Christal,” Kotchman said.

Christal went on to play for the College of Charleston, and Casey was drafted by the LA Angels and now plays for the Boston Red Sox.

Tom could probably be a major league manager today, but he chose family over his career. In 1990 at age 35, he’d managed an Angels’ Triple-A club to rave reviews and was on the fast track for a major league assignment. But he had a young son and daughter who were growing up with dad out of town, so he walked away from that future as a Major League manager and went home to be a dad. In 1990, he took a scouting position in Florida and a short-season Rookie Ball manager assignment.

“That was so important to me and my sister, having him home with us when we were young,” said Casey. “Choosing us over his career, told me that once the cheering stops, all you have is your family. I was privileged and spoiled to have him do what he did.”

Three decades after Tom played at Chipola, he helped sign a young Marianna High School graduate Jeff Mathis to a big league contract with the Angels. Jeff is the son of one of Tom’s 1974 Chipola teammate’s Danny Mathis.

Tom Kotchman attended high school in Seminole, Florida, and played baseball at Chipola and Georgia Southern. He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 and played two seasons in Class A.

The 2009 season marked Kotchman’s 31st year as a minor league manager. In 11 seasons with the Boise Hawks, the team never finished lower than second. He has managed the Provo Angels and since 2005, the Orem Owlz. Through 2009, he had compiled a career managerial record of 1,584 victories with eight league championships, including Orem’s ‘09 Pioneer League title.