McCallie Baseball Coach Tim Costo Stepping Down
(press release) McCallie Head Baseball Coach Tim Costo announced Thursday that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the current season but will remain on staff as an assistant coach. In a joint announcement, McCallie School has elevated assistant coach Matt Allen to the head coaching position.
Costo’s career as an assistant coach at McCallie began with the 2012 season, and he was named head coach prior to the 2017 season.
“Tim Costo has been an excellent leader, not just of our baseball team and program, but more importantly, he has been an outstanding leader and mentor of the young men at McCallie who play baseball,” Head of School Lee Burns said. “I am grateful for his commitment, dedication, and hard work. He has built a program with a strong and healthy culture with many achievements, including a recent state championship.”
As a head coach, Costo guided the Blue Tornado to the state playoffs each season but one (excluding the Covid year of 2020). His teams advanced to the TSSAA Division II-AA State’s final four five times, resulting in a State Championship in 2022 and a runnerup finish in 2017. He was a member of the coaching staff which won the 2014 state title.
“It has been my honor to be the leader of this program for the last 10 years,” Costo said. “I am thankful to McCallie for the opportunity it gave me, and I am forever grateful for the relationships made with the players and coaches. I look forward to continuing our work together with this outstanding coaching staff.”
“Tim’s approach to the game was more about development than winning every game,” Athletic Director Kenny Sholl said. “That is a reflection of his experience as a Major League Baseball player. We learned so much from him and appreciated his ability to juggle two careers at one time.”
Costo was the eighth overall selection in the 1990 Major League Draft after an All-America career at the University of Iowa. He played professional baseball for 10 years including a stint in the Major Leagues.
Matt Allen brings a wealth of coaching experience to the program. He was hired by McCallie in 2019 to teach science and serve as a varsity assistant baseball coach. Before arriving at McCallie, he was a teacher and head baseball coach at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville for five years and worked as an assistant coach at McMinn County for one season.
“Matt Allen will step in as our new varsity coach and will continue to build on this strong foundation and tradition,” Mr. Burns said. “He is a man of great integrity and character and will inspire our young men as he coaches them. He is an outstanding leader with a great mind for the game.”
“In Coach Allen, we are getting a young guy who is connected in the local baseball circles and beyond,” Mr. Sholl said. “He has a love and a passion for the game, and we know he will work tirelessly to get the best out of each McCallie young man in his program.”
Allen is a graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University where he was a member of the baseball team.
“I am extremely honored and blessed,” Allen said. “This is a dream job for anyone coaching high school baseball in this area. I want to build on what we have been doing as a staff. We want to use baseball to emphasize the culture of the school. We want our guys to be part of that, and that includes past players and those coming up in the middle school program.
“I am appreciative of Mr. Burns and Mr. Sholl and the confidence they have in me to lead this program and these young men.”
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he Blue Tornado host Memphis University School Friday and Saturday in the first round of the TSSAA Division II-AA state playoffs in a best-of-three series. Friday’s game starts at 6:00 pm, and Saturday’s game begins at 12:00 pm with a third game following if necessary.
