It will be a special weekend on the campus of Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

There will be an Alumni Day and a field dedication on Saturday.

Alumni Weekend is highlighted by the dedication of the baseball field to long-time Santa Fe Saints baseball coach Harry Tholen.

Tholen, who was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011, the FCSAA Hall of Fame in 2004, the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Santa Fe College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, served as a baseball coach for over 30 years.

He also managed the fitness center at Santa Fe for about five years and taught multiple classes at the college.

Tholen has 526 of the program’s 1,136 wins.

He was 1985 Florida Junior College Coach of the Year, Mid Florida Conference Coach of the Year, and Ohio-Indiana Junior College Coach of the Year (1980).

His best team finished third place at the NJCAA national tournament in 1985.

He volunteered and assisted current head coach Johnny Wiggs on the FCSAA State Champion teams of 2009 and 2016. The 2009 team finished as NJCAA national runners-up.

“Harry’s the best, first and foremost,” said Wiggs, who has 551 wins. “When I came to play at Santa Fe (1987), my second year, Harry was on a sabbatical, so I didn’t get to play for Harry. I played for Daryl Lauderdale, who is the only coach in the history of Santa Fe besides Harry and I.”

Lauderdale coached for three years (1986-1988) but Wiggs got to meet Tholen, marking the start of a friendship that has endured for over 35 years.

“I knew he was considered one of the best at what he does,” Wiggs said. “Fast forward five years or so, I’m still playing professional baseball, but in the offseason Coach Tholen allowed me to be the pitching coach for Santa Fe College (1992). It was my first opportunity to coach, and coach just gave me great autonomy, made me feel like I was doing a great job. I mean he just instilled confidence in me as a coach. Forever he’s been my mentor, my example, a guy that I’ve looked up to see how to do things, so he’s been very special.”

Wiggs said he learned early on from Tholen “to not skip steps” and to do things the right way all the time.

“You should spell Harry’s first name ‘integrity,’ Wiggs said. “He was a guy that always made sure his teams played that way and made sure that everybody that came in contact with him knew that Harry was going to do things the right way. I always say I don’t know anyone more competitive than me so sometimes when you’re that competitive you have that thought in your mind to not do things the right way…but Harry taught me early on to do things the right way from the get go and good things will happen.”

Tholen was hired in 1981 and Wiggs said he helped make the field.

“He was pulling strings and putting bases in, and he built that baseball field with his own bare hands,” Wiggs said. “He started the program in ’82 and in his fourth year here they won the state and went to the Junior College World Series in 1985.”

In addition to Wiggs’ stint as an assistant coach in 1992 while playing pro ball, he was hired again in 1995 as a pitching coach.

Wiggs had to leave Tholen with a really good team in 1995 due to signing to play AAA ball.

That Saints team went on to win the conference championship and ended up being a state runner-up and just one game shy of a World Series berth.

Tholen also coordinated the NJCAA/Chinese Taipei Series in 2008 and took an NJCAA All-Star team to China and Japan on multiple occasions.

Due to inclement weather, Santa Fe’s baseball game against Polk State College, originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved to noon on Friday, with Tholen throwing out the first pitch.

The Saturday ceremony has been moved to the gymnasium.

Following a brunch from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the lobby, the Harry Tholen Field Dedication will take place at 11:30 a.m. in the gymnasium.

Alums from multiple generations are expected to be in attendance, including Lawrence W. Tyree, one of the past presidents during Tholen’s tenure. He was Santa Fe’s president from 1990-2001.

The Alumni Weekend includes the Santa Fe womens basketball game vs. Hillsborough Community College at 2 p.m., followed by the mens basketball game vs. HCC at 4 p.m.

“Coach Tholen was a leader for me as a young coach guiding me in all things SF,” said first-year Santa Fe Athletics Director Chanda Stebbins, who recently completed her 21st season as the head coach of SF womens basketball, and the program’s winningest coach who surpassed 300-career wins during her tenure. “I quickly realized how respected he was on campus, and he was a great example to me of how to connect with faculty and staff. It is now an honor to be the Athletic Director and in a position to help the college, alumni, and retirees honor such a living legacy of a leader, coach, mentor, and person.”