The name Jim Morris is a name that is synonymous with Miami Baseball. During his 25-year tenure with the Hurricanes, Jim Morris coached teams were highlighted by dominantly consistent play. Having won National Championships in 1999 and 2001 as well as ACC Regular season championships in 2008, 2014, and 2016, the Hurricanes baseball team was one that was well known for winning.
His 25-year decorated career in Miami, is noted for the steady greatness the Hurricanes produced. From the time he took the helm in the fall of 1993, till the time he left in 2018—No team qualified for the College World Series as many times as a Jim Morris coached team. His teams qualified for the NCAA Regionals for 32 consecutive years, 23 at Miami and 9 at Georgia Tech. He was also named as the National coach of the Year in both 1999 and 2001.
Morris and Miami set a lot of records. In his first six years at UM, he set the NCAA record for guiding a team to the College World series to begin a tenure; he also set a record of 13 straight Regional Appearances to start a tenure.
Overall, in his complete baseball head coaching career, Morris was at the helm of a program for 41 years. Jim got his first coaching job as an assistant at Appalachian State in 1975. He then spent his first 4 seasons as a Head Coach at DeKalb (GA) Community College. Morris followed DeKalb by taking an assistant’s job at Florida State from 1980-1981. He returned to his role as skipper in 1982 when he took the head job at Georgia Tech. He led Georgia Tech from 1982-1993. In the fall of ’93 he dons “the Orange and Green” and led “The U” for 25 years (1994-2018). Morris was elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
While the man is a coaching icon, he has tremendous impact on the Valley Baseball League. Morris played for two seasons in the VBL for the Charlottesville Hornets. Morris graduated from Elon in 1973, but not before playing Shortstop for the Hornets and leading the VBL in Stolen Bases while hitting out of the 5-hole. His ’73 Hornets also won the VBL championship that summer.
Morris never forgot his VBL roots. Every year, Morris made sure that the Valley was ripe with Talent from his NCAA teams. He sent VBL greats such as Yonder Alonso, Carlos Gutierrez, Eddy Rodriguez, Laz Gutierrez, J.D. Arteaga, Aubrey Huff and Jason Michaels—just to name a few.
It is with great pleasure that the VBL can finally offer Jim Morris a place among the VBL greats. Welcome to the VBL Hall of Fame Class of 2023!
