Charlie Warner competed for the West Florida baseball team in the program’s 
second season in 1982 before he went on to become a coaching legend in the Pensacola baseball community. Warner coached at Jay High School for nine years before taking over as the head coach at Pace High School. He is currently the dean of students and head coach at Pace, and he plans to retire from coaching after the 2014 season.
In 31 seasons, he has a career high school record of 631-140, averaging more than 20 wins a season. He won his 600th game against Navarre High School in April of 2012. He led Pace to five state final four appearances (1997, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012), two state championships (2006 and 2010) and one ESPN National Title in 2010. He has coached two MLB first-round draft picks (Drew Cumberland and Addison Russell) and ten athletes who have played professional baseball. He’s a two-time state coach of the year and was named the national coach of the year in 2010. In addition, he has coached numerous players who have continued their baseball careers at UWF.
Warner inspired three other players to begin coaching careers of their own. He not only became a role model for high school baseball coaches, he exemplified what it means to be an Argonaut.
Warner has been married to Carol Warner for 29 years and they have one son, Niles Ty Warner, who graduated from UWF in 2012.
UWF Athletics Hall of Fame Questionnaire: Charlie Warner
1. What was your most memorable moment in UWF athletics?
First, the family atmosphere. The university was small, with only juniors and seniors are the time. The classes were smaller, and we had outstanding faculty in the HLS department, like Dr. Williamson, Dr. Clark, Dr. Grosse, Dr. Ross and Dr. Watson. These men were not only great instructors that taught with passion, but also great caring people that made everyone feel important.
Second, the lifelong friendships that I acquired with the guys I played with, and 
the awesome playing field we had compared to the rest of the league.
I would also like to mention the great respect and gratitude for Coach Joe Ambersley, who at the time was the athletic director. He was placed in a difficult position to coach our team, because the baseball coach left at Christmas time and did not return.
2. Being a former student-athlete, how has it helped you in your life after college?
Being a student-athlete helped me manage my time. It taught me that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do to get what you want. It helped me to be a competitive person and to keep reaching for my goals when, at times, they seemed unattainable. Also, the love of the game of baseball kept me in school and led me to this point today.
3. Please list any other information you would like to share.
Baseball has been good to me and others that I have coached. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some outstanding people in my assistant coaches. I have had the opportunity to work with some outstanding kids and some outstanding players. I have seen many players have an opportunity to further their education because of baseball.
