Former New York State baseball great Jim Toman, after battling with brain cancer, passed away on Tuesday, August 4.
Toman, a Pennsylvania native who spent over 30 seasons as a college baseball coach, died aged 64.
According to his obituary, James Michael “Jim” Toman lost his fight to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain tumor.
North Carolina State University announced the death of college baseball player Jim Toman, who played from 1981 to 1984.
Since his diagnosis in 2025, Toman had been struggling with brain cancer, known as glioblastoma.
Toman’s former colleagues and students have been pouring tributes to the long-time baseball coaching great.
Ray Tanner, who won two national championships during his time at South Carolina, shared a heartfelt tribute.
“I coached you at N.C. State. You became team captain, and I knew you were destined for great things.”
Tanner, while recalling his time with baseball icon Toman, added, “You joined me in the dugout at State, and when we made the move to Columbia, I knew Gamecock Baseball needed you here with me. Rest in peace my friend.”
Toman’s long-time coaching career started at the high school level before he secured his first college assistant job at Florida International.
Being an assistant at NC State and South Carolina, Toman coached both teams under the leadership of college baseball great Ray Tanner.
His dream job arrived in 2008, when he joined as head coach at Liberty and led the team to lift the NCAA March Madness twice during his nine seasons.
After that, he landed a role at Middle Tennessee, where he spearheaded the Blue Raiders program from 2019 to 2022 before saying goodbye to his coaching career.
