From Pharr to Buck to Cope
A ‘third generation’ state champ with FHS baseball, Copeland talks about what he’s learned from Buckner; ‘unreal job:’ Buck
-
Garrett Copeland is the fourth Farragut High School baseball head coach to win a state title, which started with FHS field namesake John Heatherly in 1982. He is pictured with wife, Ashley Copeland, and their 8-month-old daughter, Hadley. - Photos by Alan Sloan
-
Seven-time state champ as Ads skipper, Matt Buckner (on left, with Copeland) talks about his former assistant: “I’m so proud of him. That’s a lot to follow (so much 2024 talent lost to graduation). He’s just done an unreal job. A really smart guy.” - Photos by Alan Sloan
Garrett Copeland is now a “third generation” Farragut High School baseball state champ skipper. Taking over at FHS in 1998, then Ads skipper Tommy Pharr needed his sixth season (2003) to claim the first of his five at Farragut, with four more later at CAK. A top Ads assistant and former player of Pharr’s at Monterey High, Matt Buckner came from Bearden after six years leading BHS — having learned much from his mentor while tutoring a talented Dawgs pitcher, Copeland (Class of ’09) — and won a state title his first FHS head coaching season in 2010, grabbing seven state crowns in just 14 full seasons. In Copeland’s 2025 “rookie” season as a head coach after 12 assisting Buckner at FHS, he piloted a team largely inexperienced to the Division I-4A state title. About “Buck” (right photo, Buckner on the left with “Cope” after his state title win May 24), “He’s been a great mentor to me. ... He’s been a huge part of my baseball life,” Copeland said.
“He’s there anytime I need him. I can’t say enough about what he’s done for me. I think he did a good job of preparing me for the situation and preparing me for the role here.”
