Coastal Carolina volunteer assistant Matt Schilling lifts head coach Gary Gilmore into the air after clinching the program's first trip to Omaha (Aaron Fitt)

Coastal Finally Reaches Promised Land

BATON ROUGE, La. — Back in 2010, after Coastal Carolina lost in super regionals for the second time in three years, long-time Chanticleers coach Gary Gilmore was despondent.

“For me personally, Omaha has never felt as far away as it feels right this minute,” Gilmore said after his team was eliminated by future national champion South Carolina. “It could be that 1,312 (miles), but I feel like I’m going the other direction to get there.”

That statement stuck with me for more than a half-decade, partly because it perfectly illustrated just how doggone hard it is to[…]