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A life-long native of Wayne County, North Carolina, Carl Lancaster attended Chowan College from 1971-1973. During his time as a Brave under head coach, Jerry Hawkins, Lancaster had a .380 career batting average, with 41 doubles, 9 triples, and 22 homeruns. He enters his 28th season as the Trojans Head Coach with a career record of 979-424-1 (.698 winning percentage) at the helm of the University of Mount Olive Trojans. Lancaster ranks in the top 10 in total victories and career winning percentage among active Division II baseball coaches and in the top 21 among all Division II baseball coaches.
Mount Olive posted a 40-13 record and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls last year. The Trojans won the Conference Carolinas title and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year and eighth time in the last nine years on a 23 game win streak (Tied for second in Trojan All-time history).
During his tenure in the Mount Olive dugout, Lancaster's teams have produced 32 NCAA Division II All-Americans in the past 16 seasons and three National Players of the Year. Thirty-five of Lancaster's players have gone on to sign professional contracts and at least one Trojan player has been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft every year since 2007.
Lancaster's accomplishments have not gone unnoticed nationally. He has been the Southeastern Region Coach of the Year twice; and 11 times he has been named conference Coach of the Year and Division II National Coach of the Year in 2008.
Lancaster's coaching career started at his high school alma mater, Eastern Wayne High School ('71). As an all-state performer in baseball and football, Lancaster got his first taste of his desire to one day enter the coaching ranks under the leadership of former coach, now preacher and close friend, Bill Garner. Lancaster learned about understanding young players and how to help them grow as athletes and human beings. Those lessons paid dividends when he took over the Eastern Wayne baseball program after returning home with a college degree from North Carolina-Wilmington.
Lancaster coached the team for three years before returning to college to get his Master's Degree in Physical Education from Appalachian State University. While at App State, Lancaster worked as a graduate assistant for the baseball team. When he came back to Eastern Wayne to coach, Lancaster's life changed, both personally and professionally.
In 1980, he married Robbie Royster from Oxford, N.C. Thirty-two years later, the couple has four children, Jesse, Nolan, Leslie and Lee Anna.
On the field, Eastern Wayne began an amazing stretch of success. For the next six seasons, the program amassed a record of 105-49, including a state runner-up in 1982, followed by a championship in 1986.
Lancaster has been doing it for years, in fact, twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years and 891 wins later, the talent keeps coming to town, including a pair of family members. Both of Lancaster's sons have worn the green and white. Lancaster's oldest son, Jesse, was a member of the 2008 National Championship team and currently serves as volunteer assistant for the Trojans. One highlight of Lancaster's coaching career is earning his 600th career win in 2006, in which Jesse was the winning pitcher throwing his first collegiate complete game. Younger brother, Nolan, spent three years with the Trojans as a starting outfielder and a relief pitcher.
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