More Than a Game
For UNCW’s Tanner Thach, his physical and spiritual journey has reshaped his outlook on life and baseball.
By Alex Riley
Special to The Seahawk Perch
At this point, it’s all a bit of a blur.
There are certainly moments that stand tall among the chaos, but for Tanner Thach the entire experience has been an unimaginable whirlwind, particularly the last few years.
A standout two-way player with a pair of high school state championships? Certainly possible, but still somewhat improbable.
UNCW baseball’s record-setting home run hitter? Didn’t see that coming.
A player of All-American status? Few would have predicted it.
Standing in front of a congregation sharing his faith journey with the world? Not in a million years.
Baseball has changed Thach’s life. More importantly, it has brought people and experiences into his path that the Belvidere native never could have envisioned.
“If I ever think of a time when baseball was the most fun, no pressure, just go out there and play, I think of like 10 or 12 years old. But now, just understanding who I am as a person, maturing as a person and just realizing that the guys that I met on those teams are more important than the success that we had, that’s what’s going to last forever and has caused me to enjoy it so much,” Thach said. “If God didn’t give me the ability to play baseball, that never would have happened.”
This game has given Thach a chance that often feels surreal. A chance to shine. A chance to be an example. A chance to do more than swing a bat.
And he takes none of it for granted.
The starting point
Richard Thach knew early on he had lost the battle.
Diamond sports were woven into the fabric of the Thach household long before Tanner came into the world. Richard had been a catcher at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) and previously led the Perquimans High School’s varsity baseball program as head coach. Kristie Thach was a standout softball player at Elizabeth City State who continues to serve as the volleyball coach at Perquimans High.
Sports, particularly baseball, were undoubtedly going to be part of the Thach childhood experience for Tanner and his younger brother, Maddux.
Kristie’s genetics, however, would ultimately dictate what position their sons would play.
“When they both started throwing left-handed (like their mother), I knew I didn’t have a catcher,” Richard said with a laugh.
Added Tanner: “My dad wanted me to be a catcher so bad. But he said every time he’d try to make me throw right-handed, I just wanted to throw left-handed.”
What Tanner did have from the start was size on his peers, quickly coming to tower over those his age. He walked before he was eight months old and started playing tee ball at three. His size, strength and southpaw skill set made him an ideal candidate for first base and pitching.
Like many small communities in North Carolina, baseball is a labor of love and point of pride in Perquimans. Richard and some other fathers banded together to form a travel ball program called the Perquimans Rivercats. They would spend hours at the county ball fields, both with teammates and as a father-son duo, perfecting Tanner’s skills.
A majority of that core group stuck together through their childhood playing days, ultimately ending up at Perquimans High School.
“It was just a group of kids that enjoyed being around each other. They were extremely competitive. Practice was business-like. And I think that all kind of stemmed from their days as Rivercats,” said Perquimans High School baseball coach Justin Roberson. “Just a special group of kids that really knew what competition was about and knew what hard work was and weren’t afraid of it.”
Roberson knew early on Tanner would be a factor at the high school level. After all, he had a little insight into his upbringing and talents. His sister is Tanner’s mother, Kristie. Also, Roberson’s high school coach when he was a student at Perquimans was Tanner’s father, Richard.
By the time he graduated, Tanner had built a résumé many only dream of. On the mound, he posted a 24-3 overall record with 327 strikeouts in 173.1 innings to go along with a 0.61 ERA. Offensively, he batted .477 with 94 runs, 95 RBIs and 20 home runs over a four-year span. For his career, he struck out just 15 times while drawing 59 walks.
Along the way, Tanner picked up a pair of Four Rivers Conference Player of the Year honors, two Class 1A All-State selections and was the state’s 1A Player of the Year. More importantly, he has his teammates captured back-to-back Class 1A state titles in 2021 and 2022, a number that could have been three straight if not for the COVID-19 pandemic halting the 2020 season.
“Coaches spend their entire life teaching and coaching and they don’t ever get the opportunity to coach kids like I got to coach,” Roberson said.
The next step
The car door closed and Richard looked up in the rearview mirror only to see the face of Chris Morris, a friend and teammate of Tanner’s on the Perquimans High team. Tanner, however, was nowhere to be found.
Richard had hauled the two teenagers down to Wilmington for a weekend baseball camp at UNCW. Suddenly, his oldest son was missing.
“I said, ‘Where’s Tanner?’ He said, ‘Coach (Chris) Moore had come out and pulled him back in,’” Richard said.
That conversation in the fall of Tanner’s sophomore year became the starting point of everything that has happened since.
Granted Tanner isn’t sure to this day why he got pulled aside.
“I really didn’t have my best showing,” he said with a laugh.
What Moore, an assistant for UNCW, saw was Tanner’s potential as a two-way player, something he had been successful with at the youth and high school levels. At that point in his life, Tanner wasn’t ready to trade one for the other. And UNCW was one of the few schools willing to give him an opportunity to do both.
There were other factors that played into the decision as well. Tanner wanted a chance to see the field early in his college career for a program somewhat close to home with a winning track record. He had grown up an N.C. State fan, but even after a great camp showing in Raleigh the program hadn’t reached out.
It didn’t take long to reach a conclusion.
“He came into the room one night and he said, ‘Dad, would you be upset if I committed to Wilmington?’ I said, ‘Son, this is your life. This is not about me,’” Richard said. “We talked about it and called Coach Moore back and he went on and committed. I’m pretty sure he was 15 years old.”
Even as the high school accolades piled up, that pledge remained unchanged. Other schools began to reach out later in his prep career, but Tanner was focused on UNCW. Even when the San Francisco Giants came calling in the 18th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, he couldn’t be swayed.
“Tanner is a very loyal person. His word is his bond and when he says something, he means it,” Kristie said. “UNCW was one of the first ones that was interested in him and just made him feel special. I think once he really saw the kind of coaches that were there, he just decided he was going to go there.”
Added Tanner: “Honestly, when it came down to it, UNCW was the only one that wanted me as a two-way. And that was a big thing.”
“I truly felt in my heart that I needed to be in Wilmington, for whatever reason. I believe it was God and the impact he wanted me to have for him here.”
Finding his way
The accomplishments speak for themselves.
In less than three full seasons, Tanner has left an undeniable mark on UNCW baseball.
With each home run, he adds to the program’s career record. Heading into this weekend’s first CAA home series against North Carolina A&T, he’s sitting at 45 career long balls, well ahead of Bryan Britt and Casey Golden at 40 each. He’s also first in career fielding percentage at .997 and top 10 all-time in Seahawk history in slugging percentage, putouts, double plays turned and RBIs.
His 27 home runs last season obliterated the previous single-season record of 21, while tying him with Nick Feight for most total bases at 175 in a year.
He was a Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-America pick in 2023, followed by earning third-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Association All-America honors last year. After sharing the CAA Player of the Year honor last spring, Tanner was the preseason pick to win the award in 2025.
This year, he was on the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list and is considered one of the top 100 prospects in amateur baseball for the 2025 MLB Draft this July.
On its own, those are remarkable accomplishments. To those who know him best, they are not what make Tanner Thach a remarkable person.
“This is a crazy year, and he’s texting me to ask about this person (back home) because he hadn’t heard about them in a while to see how they were,” Kristie said of the latest exchange with her son. “He’s not ever going to be too busy or too big to think about other people. I think that’s one of his best qualities. He’s not afraid to be who he is. In a world where it’s easy to conform and do what other people are doing, he’s not afraid to stand out.”
Baseball has helped Tanner find himself, not just as an athlete or leader, but as a person.
Standing on the mound or in the batter’s box with the game on the line has always felt natural. Other spotlights have been far less comfortable.
At 16-years old, shortly after committing his life to Christ, Tanner stood before a crowded room at Camp Cale in Hertford. The Christian summer camp has been a tradition for years in Perquimans County, with Tanner and his family regularly taking part.
On this day, nerves ate at him before walking onto the stage. For the first time in his life, he was going to share his testimony to a room of young people.
“When I began to speak, it’s like the nerves just kind of went away. I was very emotional and couldn't control my tears,” Tanner said. “As a 16-year-old, you don’t want to go cry in front of a bunch of people your age. In my old self, I would have been embarrassed to do that. Now, I know it’s OK to be emotional. It’s OK to shed tears of joy, of happiness, tears that recognize I don’t deserve what I’ve been given.”
Since that moment, Tanner estimates he’s engaged in public speaking opportunities more than 200 times, including close to 100 in a traditional church setting.
Make no mistake, Tanner wants to play baseball as long as he’s physically able to do so. He has aspirations of joining the list of former Seahawks who have gone on to reach the Majors.
But, when his time with the game is over, there’s a calling in the back of his mind to do something more.
Seminary and leading a house of worship one day is on the table, as is coaching at some level. He already works with the UNCW’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and leads a Bible study on Thursdays, roles he’s extremely proud to hold. When he goes home to Belvidere, he spends Saturday’s doing lessons with young people in the community, providing them insight to hone their baseball talents. On Sunday, he’ll be in church, sometimes standing before the congregation.
In short, Tanner wants to help others. And no matter how fun hitting home runs can be, that drive to serve and be a witness is a passion that will remain first in his life.
“I’ve got a little sticker on my bat that says, ‘Audience of One.’ I want to play every day like God is the only one watching me – and he doesn’t care if I go 4-for-4 or 0-for-4,” Tanner said. “He just cares about how I’m carrying myself and leading an example of what a follower of him should look like.”
What comes next
Randy Hood has seen this situation before.
After going 0-for-4 against Liberty in the series finale and registering just one hit at Louisiana, he knows Tanner is on a mission to get his offense going again.
It starts with a two-hit, two-RBI day against Southern Miss. By the time the series ends, the junior has gone 5-for-13. He then strings together a run of six straight multi-hit games, including an opposite field home run shot just over the left field wall against North Carolina.
“When he starts getting it going, it just comes in flurries,” Hood said. “Hopefully he just doesn’t let the pressure of thinking he has to carry us all the time or, ‘I’ve got to do more than I did last year to be a first-round draft pick,’ just go put up a solid year. He’s done enough.”
Since that no-hit outing against Liberty on March 2, Tanner registered at least one hit in 12 of UNCW's last 13 games. His average, which had dipped below .270, has climbed back to .317.
These are the ebbs and flows of baseball, something everyone who has played the game comes to expect.
For Tanner, the key is managing his emotions, his patience and the pressure.
He knows eyes are watching his every move. Scouts are eager to see if the power-hitting phenom has the makeup to cut it at the next level.
“I try not to think about it, but it is tough at times. I really just wake up every morning and try to take it day-by-day and be thankful for the day that I have,” Tanner said. “But it’s in our nature to look to the future and what ifs and things like that. I’ve thought about it a lot and really I just want to be content in whatever happens happens. Whatever money, if I come back to school, if I don’t go in the draft, whatever happens happens – and it happens for a reason.”
He calls it a blessing to be able to play a “kids game” at the level he has these past few years. He came to UNCW hoping for an opportunity to prove himself. He’ll eventually leave the school having grown as a player and person.
Maybe one day his name will echo over the speaker system at a MLB park as he steps into the batter’s box. Or perhaps he’ll find himself standing in the pulpit of a small church somewhere in rural North Carolina, sharing lessons from the good book with a congregation.
Either outcome would suit him just fine. With every step forward, he has ended up right where he’s supposed to be. And it’s a path he intends to continue following.
“I try to talk to him in this way – keep all the outside noise outside noise, whether it’s good or bad. Whether it’s positive accolades or naysayers. Just go and play the game and have fun and play with joy,” Richard said. “The Lord has a place for him. I totally believe that the Lord placed him in Wilmington and I believe he’ll place him wherever he goes beyond that, whether that’s baseball or something else.”
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