Pinewood Headmaster Glyn Cowlishaw has announced that Billy Sylvester will join Pinewood Preparatory School as Head Baseball Coach.
“We are thrilled to have Billy Sylvester joining our staff,” Cowlishaw said. “Our students have so much they can learn from him as a coach, teacher and mentor.”
Sylvester has considerable experience as an athlete and coach.
He attended Hudgens Academy before playing two record-breaking seasons at Spartanburg Methodist College. In 1997, he signed with the Atlanta Braves as a free agent.
The 6-5, right-handed pitcher has five seasons of Triple-A experience in the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics organizations. He also played in the Washington Nationals farm system.
Since leaving the minors, he has coached at the high school and college level.
Prior to accepting the position at Pinewood, he served as co-head varsity baseball coach for Laurence Manning Academy, pitching coach with Francis Marion University and head baseball coach for Carolina Academy.
“I am looking forward to being the baseball coach at Pinewood and having the opportunity to lead a State Championship winning program,” Sylvester said.
The pitcher’s prowess on the mound earned him accolades at the amateur and professional levels.
In high school, he was named all-state and all-region as both a junior and senior. His senior campaign led to him being named the SCISA Player of the Year and selected for the SCISA Low Country Challenge. He pitched a no-hitter during the all-star event.
Sylvester was named all-region during his sophomore year at Spartanburg Methodist College, where he became the single-season record holder for wins and innings pitched.
In the minor leagues, Sylvester had 620 strikeouts in 364 games, mainly as a reliever. He finished with a 3.83 career ERA.
He became the all-time saves leader for the Greenville Braves, recording 55 saves during his stay with the team.
In 2001, he was named a Southern League All-Star, Double-A All-Star and Futures Game participant. He had 26 saves in 2002 and 18 saves in 2003.
While with the Texas Rangers organization in 2004, he was 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 12 saves in 30 appearances, striking out 62 batters in 42.1 innings en route to being named a Texas League all-star. He was then promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma.
He signed with the Washington Nationals in 2005 and went 2-0 with a 2.07 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 29 innings.
In 2006, he was second among the Atlantic League leaders in strikeouts.