Just shy of a decade ago, Jamey Shouppe accepted the challenge to return Florida A&M's baseball program to prominence.

The Rattlers were coming off consecutive seasons with 40-plus losses, seven total wins and two head coaches.

Shouppe, 62, who spent 21 seasons as an assistant coach at Florida State, has relied on drive and desire to restore a once-respected program.

Shouppe has coached the Rattlers to three conference titles ― the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 2015 and 2019 and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) last Sunday ― and to their first three NCAA Tournament appearances (2015, 2019, 2023) in school history.

FAMU (29-28) will be searching for its first NCAA Tournament win in the Gainesville Regional, where it opens against No. 2 national seed Florida Gators (44-14) Friday at 5:30 p.m.

"FAMU did have a rich tradition and it had gone by the wayside for a long, long time when we took over this program," Shouppe said about his 2013 hire. "There wasn't any pressure to win right away ― although we were able to do that.

"It's just coaching college baseball and an opportunity to be involved in the lives of 18 to 22-year old kids that are still in the process of growing. And you have to look at it that way."

FAMU has 23 titles across three conferences ― the Southern Intercollege Athletic Conference (SIAC), MEAC, and SWAC. Prior to Shouppe's arrival, FAMU's last conference title was in 1994 under head coach Joe Durant.

The Ratters won four consecutive games and beat rival Bethune-Cookman 9-6 in the SWAC Championship game Sunday.

The team gathered at the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center and watched the NCAA Selection Show that unveiled the 64-team field Monday. Wake Forest is the the No. 1 national seed and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) features the most teams with 10, including the Gators.

The four-team, double-elimination Gainesville Regional also features Texas Tech and UConn. FAMU advanced to the Gainesville Regional in 2015, losing to Florida and Florida Atlantic. The Rattlers were also swept by Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina in Atlanta in 2019.

Shouppe is thrilled is team will have the opportunity to experience the NCAA Tournament.

"This is for the young men," Shouppe said of the postseason berth. "It's an accomplishment and not an easy accomplishment at all. So, I'm proud of my young men for the hard work they put in ― battling through adversity. It's always exciting to see their reactions to an opportunity not a whole lot of men get in college baseball.

"No matter how good or bad you are, they're going to be ups and down. But our guys have been consistent and persistent all year long."

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Jamey Shouppe rose through the coaching ranks to lead FAMU baseball's resurgence

Shouppe, from Chattahoochee, played college baseball at Wallace Community College (1979-80) in Dothan, Alabama, and two seasons at FSU (1981-82) under head coach Mike Martin.

He helped the Seminoles win two Metro Conference championships and was an eighth-round selection to the Houston Astros in the 1982 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.

After his playing career, Shouppe returned to FSU to be an assistant coach under Martin in 1990. Shouppe stayed for 21 years, making the NCAA Tournament every season and appearing in the Men's College World Series 10 times, before he left FSU following the 2011 season.

Shouppe pivoted and coached baseball at Coffee High School in Douglas, Georgia in 2013. Months later in July, then-interim FAMU Director of Athletics Michael Smith and then-interim University President Larry Robinson named Shouppe as the Rattlers' head coach.

"Florida State is a big part of my background," Shouppe said. "There's things that you like and try to put in your system and things you don't like. Most of it is just having to be comfortable with who you are when you're coaching. The parents of these players are entrusting their greatest commodity with you. So, everything you do should be player-oriented and geared toward them to get the most out of their Division I experience.

"(Assistant coaches) Brett Richardson, Todd Alford, and Octavien Moyer helped me execute that plan with these guys. It's our job to not only teach them baseball, but teach them about life and make sure they get value from being at FAMU under our leadership."

Shouppe has spent over three decades in Tallahassee, impacting the lives of many players throughout his career ― especially local players as FAMU has 11 on its roster this season.

Zach Morea signed with FAMU in 2018 out of Chiles High School. The right-handed pitcher was named the 2023 SWAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP) after recording four saves in the Rattlers' final four wins on the way to hoisting the trophy in Atlanta.

"[Shouppe] recruits a lot of local talent and I think that's awesome," Morea said. "He gave me a chance and that's all that kids like us come out of high school having. It's worked and I thank Coach Shouppe a lot."

Jared Weber signed to FAMU in 2018 from Wakulla High School in Crawfordville, just a half hour away from Tallahassee. The third baseman notched All-MEAC (2021) and All-SWAC Tournament (2022) honors during his career with FAMU.

"I've been blessed to have [Shouppe] for five years," Weber said. "He's really helped me become a better man on and off the field. I'm just lucky to be part of the team with him."

Jamey Shouppe's leadership at FAMU goes beyond managing the bullpen and setting batting lineups

Not only has Shouppe experienced success as a coach, but he also graduates his players.

This spring, FAMU baseball had five players earn their college degrees ― Evan Badger, Ty Hanchey, Ethan Jenkins, Hunter Viets, and Weber.

The Rattlers had a 3.44 grade point average during the spring semester while becoming the school's first men's team to win a SWAC title since joining the conference in 2021.

"Education has to come first," Shouppe said. "We have good young men. We teach character. We make them go to class and do the things things they need to do to be successful in life. That has to be a priority when you're working with a bunch of young men that probably aren't going to get a chance to play beyond this experience they have here."

Championships. Graduates. National tournament appearances.

Shouppe marvels at his body of work that he produced at FAMU.

"I'm at the backend of my career in terms of coaching," Shouppe said. "You take pride in everything you do and hopefully do well enough that you see some success like this team going into the postseason for the third time in school history."

Here's the full bracket and schedule for the NCAA Division I Baseball Gainesville Regional Round.

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Baseball: Shouppe's coaching journey leads to Rattlers' revival