March 23, 2006

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina University Department of Athletics has announced it will retire the #23 jersey of baseball legend Keith LeClair in a special ceremony on April 11, 2006. The ceremony will take place before the Catamounts' 7:00 pm game against the nationally ranked Clemson Tigers.

"Keith had a great career at Western both as a player and coach, and later as head coach at East Carolina," said WCU head coach Todd Raleigh, who both played with LeClair at Western and coached under him at Western Carolina and East Carolina. "He is very deserving of this honor. Also, it is appropriate to retire his jersey when Clemson comes to town so (former WCU head coach who recruited and coach LeClair and current Clemson head coach) Jack Leggett can participate in the ceremony. While Keith may not be able to attend, we look forward to having his family, both immediate and extended, as well as former teammates back for this celebration."

Western vs. Clemson to be carried LIVE on WWCU-FM in Cullowhee, Power 90dot5 and online at WWCU-FM.com

LeClair, who was inducted into the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002, came to Western in 1985 and helped lead the Catamounts to four consecutive Southern Conference Championships. He ranks among the top 10 in six different WCU hitting categories. Most notably, he batted .423 in 1988, which ranks seventh on the WCU single-season list, while his career .375 batting average ranks fourth on the WCU all-time list. In 1988, he was named MVP of the Southern Conference Tournament, as well as being a first team All-SoCon selection. Also during the 1988 season, he established a school record with 101 hits, which ranked fourth in the NCAA that season, and 179 total bases.

After his playing days, he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves organization, playing the 1988 season for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. In 1989, after spending spring training with the San Francisco Giants organization, he returned to Cullowhee as an assistant coach on Leggett's Catamount staff, a position he held for three seasons.

Keith LeClair (right #23) holds up one of his six SoCon Championship trophies as head coach.

In 1992, when Leggett left to become assistant head coach at Clemson, LeClair became the Catamounts' head coach at the age of 25, making him one of, if not the, youngest head coaches in the nation. During that 1992 season, he led the Catamounts to the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships. The team advanced to the NCAA tournament, reaching the championship game at the South II Regional and getting to within one out of advancing to the College World Series. The 1992 team tallied 44 wins and a final national ranking on 17th. His 1994 team posted a school-record 45 wins and earned the school's first ever, at-large bid to the NCAA postseason. In his six seasons at Western Carolina he posted a record of 229-135-2, led WCU to four NCAA Tournament berths and was SoCon Coach of the Year in 1992, '94 and '97.

Following his reign at WCU, LeClair continued his coaching career at East Carolina University. Joining the Pirates in 1997, he spent five seasons as the head coach and tallied an impressive record of 219-96-1. He was twice named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and ABCA East Region Coach of the Year (1999 and 2001). LeClair led the team to four NCAA Regional appearances and one NCAA Super Regional. In 2002, LeClair relinquished his coaching duties due to health concerns related to his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease).

After his retirement, which he compiled a career record of 448-231-3 at both Western Carolina and East Carolina, the Walpole, N.H., native was honored as the first recipient of the Conference USA Student-Athletic Advisory Committee's (SAAC) Coaches Choice Award. In addition, the Conference USA Baseball Coach of the Year Award was named in honor of him.

All alumni are invited to come out before the game for a pre-game cookout with fellow alumni, family, and friends. The cookout is a great chance to catch up with ex-teammates and players from the past. All alumni present will be recognized on the field at about 6:30 pm. Following their recognition will be the ceremony for Coach LeClair.

For those alumni interested in attending this historic night, please contact Todd Raleigh at (828) 227-7338 as soon as possible, so as to reserve the appropriate amount of tickets.