FLORENCE, S.C. — Longtime UNC Pembroke assistant baseball coach Jeff Jefferson has been hired as head coach at Francis Marion, FMU athletic director Murray Hartzler announced Friday.

Jefferson, 35, takes over the reins from Art Inabinet, who announced his retirement earlier this month after 24 seasons at the helm of the program.

A native of Danville, Virginia, Jefferson comes to Francis Marion after 10 seasons in the Braves program under head coach Paul O’Neil. During his time on the UNCP bench, the Braves made six trips to the NCAA Tournament, registered a .673 winning percentage, and appeared in national polls during eight of the 10 seasons. UNCP posted a team batting average of better than .322 and averaged more than nine runs per game over that decade.

He was responsible for all recruiting efforts of the program and worked with both coaching and instruction for positional players and the pitching staff. He helped develop 44 All-Conference selections, 21 Academic All-Conference honorees, numerous All-Region picks, and a handful of All-Americans.

“I am very excited about this opportunity and extremely grateful for the trust (FMU president) Dr. (Fred) Carter and Murray have placed in me,” Jefferson said. “I am also thankful for my time at UNC Pembroke, especially the commitment that head coach Paul O’Neil made to a young assistant coach 10 years ago.”

“I want to express my thanks to coach Inabinet for what he accomplished with the Patriot program, and I am honored to have the chance to build on the legacy that FMU baseball has established over the past 52 seasons.

“The challenge now is to hit the ground running. I will make initial contacts with all returning players, and those newcomers already committed to the program for the 2025 season. I will also look to recruit as many impactful student-athletes as I can before school starts in August. I hope to establish a style of play and a winning mentality that fans, students, and alumni can be proud of.”

“We are very pleased to have Jeff join the Francis Marion athletic family,” Hartzler said. “During the coaching search, it became obvious that Jeff stood out as someone who was ready to lead a program, and develop a program that could be a challenger for the conference title and NCAA Tournament appearances.

“He has a proven track record of recruiting and developing quality student-athletes that excel on and off the field. He also arrives at Francis Marion with a familiarity for both the conference and region.”

Jefferson becomes only the third head coach in the FMU program’s 52-year history, joining Gerald Griffin (655-433-1 record in 28 seasons) and Inabinet (704-478-2 record in 24 seasons).

Jefferson’s Patriots will face the Braves as members of Conference Carolinas, with a three-game series each season.