Brent Tucker steps down after 12 years, 302 wins at Ringgold,
Brent Tucker has resigned as head baseball coach at Ringgold High School after 12 years and more than 300 wins.
Tucker’s Tigers won seven region championships, including the last five, and had 10 consecutive seasons of 20-plus wins. Ringgold is on a run of 10 consecutive seasons of making at least the second round of the GHSA playoffs.
The Tigers were the Georgia state runners-up in 2012 and made the semifinals in 2010 and 2018, when they won a school-record 32 games. They were 29-9 and reached the second round this season, led in part by Tucker’s son Holden Tucker, a senior pitcher/outfielder who will play for Charleston Southern next year. “It just kind of seemed like the right time,” said Coach Tucker, who was 302-101 overall. “It’s been a tremendous 12-year run here. I don’t know if there is ever a perfect time, but this seems like the right time. I don’t know if I’m done coaching, but we all grew up together on that field, and seeing a lot of them go from boys to young men, it’s just time to graduate with them.”
Tucker, who helped more than 50 of his athletes earn athletic scholarships, plans to remain at Ringgold to teach, though he is keeping the door open to coaching again.
“As of now staying on as a teacher, but we’ll see where the road leads,” he said. “This is a baseball community, and they will always love their baseball team.
“I am honestly appreciative to all the parents who have worked alongside me. My wife (Melissa) and kids also deserve so much credit. A lot of nights I wasn’t at home, but the last four years I’ve been blessed to have my son with me. There are so many different sacrifices that nobody really realizes.”
The run may have come to an end, but the veteran coach’s dry sense of humor remained when asked if he had informed Ringgold players of his decision.
“Met with the players today, and I kind of had a good laugh afterward,” he said. “Honestly, some of them were upset, some sad — and some were quite happy.”