American Baseball Coaches Association Board member Glen Tuckett passed away last night at the age of 93. The 64-year ABCA Lifetime Member was the third-longest tenured ABCA member having never missed a membership year since originally joining in 1959.
Tuckett, a 1979 ABCA Hall of Fame inductee, is one of Brigham Young University's winningest coaches having compiled a 445-256-4 (.634) record. At the time of his retirement, Tuckett ranked as the ninth winningest baseball coach in the NCAA.
In his 17 seasons at BYU, Tuckett led his team to the College World Series twice (1968 & 1971) and won 13 division titles and three conference championships. The Cougars also garnered two NCAA District 7 crowns and Tuckett was a three-time District 7 Coach of the Year.
The 1977 ABCA President began his coaching career at West High School in Salt Lake City following a nine-year stint as a player in the professional ranks. Tuckett came to BYU in 1959 where he served as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. Tuckett took over as BYU's Athletic Director in 1976. In this role, which he held for 17 years, Tuckett served on a variety of committees including the NCAA Committee on Committees, NCAA Television Committee, College Football Association Executive Committee and College Football Association Television Committee. Tuckett was enshrined into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1982 and was also the recipient of the 2007 BYU Distinguished Service Award.
One of the highlights of Tuckett's career came in 1974 when he was chosen as coach of the United States team which won the World Amateur Baseball Tournament for only the second time in the tournament's 27-year history.
Tuckett left a lasting impact on the sport of baseball and on the ABCA having served on the ABCA Board of Directors since the mid-1970s and was elected as Chairman of the ABCA Board of Directors for two terms from 2004-10. Tuckett received the ABCA/Wilson Lefty Gomez Award in 1990 and is a member of the Utah Old Time Athletes Association Hall of Fame, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame, Murray High School Hall of Fame and Utah Summer Games Hall of Fame.