James Randall is entering his 11th season as Head Baseball Coach at Claflin University and his 13th overall. Coach Randall school record sits at 178-183 while his overall record sits at 208-287.
Randall took over a team in the 2008 season that had only nine players and has built the Panther program into one of the most competitive ones in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Last season (2016), the Panthers captured the team’s first-ever SIAC championship and the school’s second automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships.
The Mobile, Ala. native is a graduate of Grambling University, where he played collegiate baseball for the Tigers. As a player, Coach Randall earned Freshman of the Year honors finishing with seven homeruns, and a .313 batting average. In his sophomore year, he was named to the second team All-SWAC. As a junior, he earned first team All-SWAC honors, and was drafted by the California Angels. Randall played professionally for eight seasons, including stint with the Chicago White Sox, as well as the Angels. He had his major league debut with the White Sox in 1988.
His professional awards included Redwood Pioneers Fan Favorite Player (voted on by the fans), Most Popular Player Award (Nashua Angles AA), Topps Minor League Player of the Month of June 1986, Triple A Player of the Week (Vancouver Canadians May 16-22 1988), Triple A All Star Game, Buffalo, NY 1988 and Doug Lowman Trophy-Most Home Runs (1988).
From 1989-2002, Randall served as Assistant Baseball Coach at Grambling University. He was elevated to Head Baseball Coach at Grambling in 2003-2006.
Coach Randall earlier served as head basketball coach (boys & girls), assistant baseball coach, and In-School Suspension Guidance Facilitator at Dubach High School, Dubach, LA. Prior to coming to Claflin University in 2007, he also held positions as a Substitute Teacher in Mobile County Public School System as well as the Union Parish School System, in Farmerville, LA.
In the summer of 2017, Coach Randall was inducted into the Grambling State University Legends Sports Hall of Fame.
Coach Randall’s interests include coaching and playing baseball, basketball, football, tennis, fishing, hunting, and working with children.
He is married to Wanda Davis Randall and is blessed with two daughters, Brandi and Latetia. He also has a loving granddaughter, Hayden Dean.
