Twenty years ago this week, Tulane baseball made history, competing in its first ever College World Series. It was a magical run as the Green Wave compiled an NCAA-best and school-record 56 wins, along with the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. At the helm for Tulane was head coach Rick Jones, who took the program to its greatest heights during his 21-season tenure. A three-time C-USA Coach of the Year and the league’s Coach of the Decade in 2005, Jones was named to the five-person C-USA Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Calling Tulane his dream job, Jones led the Green Wave to a pair of CWS appearances, 12 NCAA tournaments, five  conference tournament championships and won more than 800 games in his career. The signature win against in-state rival and defending national champion LSU on June 3, 2001, to make it to the school’s first College World Series has also been highlighted as one of Conference USA’s top moments in league history. Jones describes that day as the one he would definitely like to re-live if ever given the chance, one of the most memorable in his career.
 
Jones credits his coaching staff as one of the keys to building a dominant program at Tulane, specifically being able to recruit strong players nationally. Jones’ staff at times included several former players who returned to hone their coaching skills.
 
Jones reflected with pride on having players join the coaching ranks.
 
“It’s really special when you have guys that you knew from the time they were in high school and had the chance to coach them (in college) and watch them be successful and then they want to emulate a little bit and get back into coaching,” he said.
 
One of the most notable was Jake Gautreau, two-time C-USA Player of the Year, All-American and member of the Green Wave’s first CWS team. Currently an assistant baseball coach at Mississippi State, Gautreau was inducted into the inaugural C-USA Hall of Fame Class in 2019 and was on hand to help deliver the news to Jones about his C-USA Hall of Fame selection.
 
“That is awesome,” Jones exclaimed after receiving the news about his induction. “That’s an honor, no question about it, and I know I am going in with good company.”
 
During Jones’ tenure, Green Wave players earned 22 All-America honors, 17 Freshman All-America honors, 89 all-conference honors, and 28 all-freshman honors. More than 50 were drafted into Major League Baseball and 76 signed professional contracts. But more importantly to him, all of his four-year players graduated Tulane with their degree and many went on to prominent roles in a variety of professional fields. He talked about that being a significant point of emphasis for players in the program – focusing not just on four years, but 40 years and beyond their collegiate careers.
The Bennett, North Carolina native retired in 2014 as not only the winningest baseball coach in Green Wave history, he was also the school’s winningest coach in all sports. He remains the winningest coach in C-USA history.
 
Jones is currently enjoying retirement in North Carolina. His No. 10 jersey is slated to be retired at Tulane, and his legacy as not only an accomplished baseball coach, but a leader in the university and New Orleans community, is reflected in his induction to nine organizations’ Hall of Fame ranks. His passion for baseball and his former players still burns bright.