Tigerville—North Greenville University (NGU) baseball coach Landon Powell was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame on May 19.
“I’m incredibly humbled and honored,” Powell said. “This is not something I anticipated in my life, so to be named in the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame is a true honor. This is something I will cherish for a very, very long time.”
The 2025 Hall of Fame class also included Richard Seymour, Clint Dempsey, Gary Gilmore, Shannon Johnson, Harold Olson, Susan Hill-Whitson, Ralph Lundy, Don Whitehead, and Nelson Brownlee.
Powell has coached at NGU for 11 seasons, winning five Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships, five Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championships, one NCAA Division II National Championship, and earning eight trips to the NCAA tournament.
“Coach Powell is a joy to watch at Ashmore Park and an even greater joy to know outside the proverbial lines,” said NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. “He and his family are a terrific example of godly professionalism and dedication to excellence. I’m so thrilled to offer him and Allyson my heartiest congratulations!”
Powell played four seasons of collegiate baseball for the University of South Carolina, finishing with a career batting average of .306 as a switch-hitting catcher, with 44 home runs, 61 doubles, and 193 RBI. The two-time team captain also earned multiple All-American nods, including his senior season when he was given five All-American nods, as well as an All-Southeastern Conference honor.
A former College World Series All-Tournament team honoree and member of the CWS all-time legends team, Powell holds school records for a catcher in career putouts (1,768) and assists (190), and ranks third all-time in Gamecock history in games played (251), including 242 as a catcher. He also ranks second all-time in doubles (61), is tied for third in at bats (866), and stands fourth in both hits (265) and total bases (468), and fifth in home runs (44).
Powell was drafted in the first round, 24th overall in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the Athletics of Oakland California. In his major league career, Powell hit 13 home runs, 59 RBI, and was known as one of the better defensive catchers in Major League Baseball. One of Powell’s career baseball highlights came in May of 2010, where he caught Dallas Braden’s perfect game for the Athletics. Powell’s journey in the MLB, which was marked by adversity on and off the field, was captured by ESPN in an E60 documentary titled, “The Backup Catcher.” The documentary details Powell’s walk through health scares and the loss of his infant daughter.
Powell was inducted into the University of South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Apex High School Hall of Fame in 2020.
“Landon is a Hall of Famer in every aspect,” said NGU Athletic Director Will Lowrey. “He has used his talents to get him to the highest level in professional sports, but seeing first-hand how he invests in the game and the young men he leads makes him a true difference maker.”