Former players and fans of all sorts come out to support Chants in College World Series

As former Coastal Carolina baseball standout Mike Costanzo arrived at TD Ameritrade Park on Sunday evening to watch his former program play in its first-ever College World Series game, he said people can’t even imagine how much conversation and texting has gone on between old teammates leading up to a moment that so many had dreamed of for so long.

Costanzo, the 2004 and 2005 Big South Player of the Year, quickly found his waiting group of a few dozen former players who would pose for a picture in front of the ballpark before heading in to watch the Chanticleers earn a 2-1 win over Florida on college baseball’s biggest stage.

“Words can’t really describe it. I’m so happy for Gilley and the coaching staff. We’re just all here, there’s about 100 of us old teammates and alumni wishing them the best and that’s why we’re here,” Costanzo said. “It’s reconnected a lot of guys, old teammates and [is] bringing everybody together. It’s a great thing for the program. A lot of people say that we’re a mid-major, but not one of us believe that. We belong here.”

Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore had said earlier in the week that had heard from around 100 former players who expressed that they would be making the trek to Omaha after the Chants broke through with an NCAA super regional sweep at Louisiana State last weekend, and there’s no telling how many in all eventually made it into the stadium.

For many former Chants there wasn’t even a choice to make.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” said former pitcher Austin Kerr, who finished with the program last season. “We grinded for years for this, and these guys that are taking this picture every one of them grinded for this opportunity. I grinded with at least 90 percent of these guys, 95 percent, and we grinded and grinded and never made it. This group is my brothers and they made it, so I had to be here. I couldn’t miss it for the world.”

Said fellow former Chant Josh Keener, who played 16 games for the team from 2009-10: “Obviously these players did the work to get here, but all the former players laid the groundwork and I think that’s been a big part of it. ... First time here, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t really put it into words, it’s difficult to describe.”

As the Chants celebrated the monumental win after the game and soaked it in with their teal-clad contingent, Gilmore shared a hug along the side of the dugout with Costanzo.

Later he spoke of receiving that continued support from his former players and keeping that connection strong all these years later.

“I walked in there 21 years ago and it took a while to cultivate some of that, but the last 15 years has been pretty good baseball at our school and a lot of those guys were the ones that put us on that pedastal, so to speak, that got us some national recognition,” he said. “... It’s just one of those things where they have a lot of pride and there’s a huge connection between our coaching staff and those guys. We stay in touch with them, we’re a part of their life and they’re a part of ours 15-20 years later. And this was their opportunity. They didn’t get to come, but they wanted to be here to see this undertaking.”

As for the fan response in general, Coastal Carolina distributed about 600 of its 700-ticket allotment, according to CCU assistant athletic director for ticket sales and revenue Michael Jacobs.

And the Chants’ supporters arriving to the ballpark Sunday night came from all backgrounds.

Craig Randall, who said he’s been a season-ticket holder for Coastal Carolina football, basketball and baseball games since about 2001, had attended the NCAA regionals at NC State and then watched the super regional matchup with LSU on television – or tried to, at least.

“I taped it. I got too nervous actually watching it. Once I found out they won then I watched it,” he said.

And then he made his plans to get to Omaha to see this breakthrough moment for the program in person.

“Like Coach Gilmore says, once in a lifetime deal and we’ve all been waiting a long time,” Randall said. “We’ve had a lot of good teams through the years, but this team seems to have a little bit of magic in them and I hope we can do it for a few more days.”

Colby Hylwa, a 23-year-old Omaha resident, was walking by the stadium in a teal Coastal Carolina t-shirt and backwards Chants hat. He had become a fan of the team from afar and has been waiting for this moment for a while as well.

“Honestly it was probably back in ’08 or ’09 or so. I saw them on TV, I just kind of fell in love with them,” Hylwa said, noting that he thinks the Chants were playing South Carolina in that game he watched and he remembers liking their colors and the way they played. “I always hoped they were going to make it here and they always came up close, but they never made it. I’m glad they finally made it this year.”

Carson Glowacki, a 17-year-old from Parker, Col., was wearning a black and teal Coastal Carolina shirt and said he is hoping to attend the university as a student after high school. He was coming to the College World Series anyway, but having the Chants here made it even better.

“It’s super exciting. I started following them a couple of years ago. It’s cool to get the whole underdog vibe kind of thing even though we’re not underdogs,” he said. “... Like the whole city of Omaha has really adopted Coastal Carolina too, I feel like.”

Everybody who has bought into Coastal Carolina’s baseball program for whatever reason over the years is living the dream with the Chants this week, a dream Gilmore has worked 21 years to make happen. And the former players who were part of laying the foundation that helped make this moment possible shared their appreciation for their former coach and seeing him finally get to this point.

“It’s the biggest athletic event to come into Coastal Carolina history. I give a lot of credit to Gary Gilmore. He had a lot of opportunities to leave for a lot more money, and nowadays it’s easy to do that and he didn’t do it,” Costanzo said. “I give all the credit to Gary, Kevin Schnall, the coaching staff, Drew Thomas, Coach [Matt] Schilling and I just wish them the best. That’s why we’re here.

“Everybody in college baseball [wants to] get to this and it’s only right to come down here and give everybody that respect. This team did it, everybody wanted to do it so that’s why we’re here.”

Said Kerr: “It’s just awesome. It says a lot about our program in general, everybody that supports Gilley and everybody that wanted Coastal to be here. We’ve always had great teams, but this is the first team that’s really broke through and made it to the promised land. And all the guys that have played in the past, we’re all just ecstatic to be here.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2016 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Former players and fans of all sorts come out to support Chants in College World Series."