Career
Most famous for leading Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series, Portuguese coached for 27 seasons garnering a 641–386–2 record. Portuguese played football and baseball at the University of North Carolina prior to a brief minor league career. In his 27 seasons at The Citadel, Portuguese led the Bulldogs to five National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Baseball Championship appearances and graduated all but two players he coached.
1990 College World Series season
In his second to last season, Portuguese led the 1990 The Citadel Bulldogs baseball team in a dominant season, claiming the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships, the nation"s longest winning streak of 26 games, and the school"s first appearance in the College World Series.
Sweeping through the SoCon Tournament and the Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Florida, the Bulldogs defeated national power Miami (Florida) on its home field twice to advance to Omaha. Following an opening round loss to Louisiana State University, the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Fullerton in extra innings.
The Citadel was eliminated by Louisiana State University in its third game in Omaha. The Bulldogs were ranked sixth in the Collegiate Baseball final poll.