The Main Reason Kingston Needs to Go

[Fried Chicken]

We just lost in a regional to one of the last 4 in and very few fans are talking about it or seem to care. 2000-2012 seems like an eternity ago. It’s no longer a given that we’ll return to being a baseball powerhouse. Fans have become indifferent, even accepting mediocrity. That’s a dangerous place to be for our baseball program.

Kingston has been here 7 seasons and has won nothing, yet he still has defenders. That baffles me for a program that was once dominant.

 

[atl-cock]

Many on here do care.

Lot more parity in the college game than a dozen years ago. Vandy is no longer tops. Still a program like USC's should not be laying eggs.

And a last four in won it all in 2008.

 

[TN-Gamecock]

There are some other good coaches in South Carolina worth considering. CofC and North Greenville...?

 

[Sweetwatergolf]

There are some other good coaches in South Carolina worth considering. CofC and North Greenville...?

CofC, who would that be for heaven's sake. Give Elander from Tennessee a look.

 

[Fried Chicken]

There are some other good coaches in South Carolina worth considering. CofC and North Greenville...?

I don’t know if this is serious (I don’t mean any offense to you) or not but Holbrook is C of C’s coach. So rules him out.

Landon Powell will certainly get an interview if he wants one. I agree with Rogue that we’ll target someone that has won at this level. If I’m Tanner, I’m keep Powell as my guy if I can’t land my first 2 home run hires.

But we can certainly do better than we have been doing.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Many on here do care.

Lot more parity in the college game than a dozen years ago. Vandy is no longer tops. Still a program like USC's should not be laying eggs.

And a last four in won it all in 2008.

Vandy had a rough year but they are far more relevant the past 10 years than we have been.

And of course many fans do still care. But there are a lot of fans that don’t right now. This program has been difficult to watch for many of the years Kingston was the coach. Not having any pitching coming into this season is baffling and that rests on Kingston. Injuries and bad breaks happening every season eventually has to point to the man in charge.

If James Madison wins it all, we can look back and realize maybe we got a bad draw. But we shouldn’t not be pissed right now because of Fresno State 16 years ago.

I wish him well. I don’t despise the guy. But we need a change. As you said, we shouldn’t be laying eggs. And it’s one thing to have a bad year or two, maybe 3. But 7 seasons with nothing to show for it? What more do we need to see before we know what Mark Kingston can accomplish with this program?

 

[Blues man]

Hitting was supposed to be Kingston's thing. We just got shut out by a team who hasn't thrown a shutout in two calendar years... let that sink in.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Hitting was supposed to be Kingston's thing. We just got shut out by a team who hasn't thrown a shutout in two calendar years... let that sink in.

Well, we hit the road. So there’s that…

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

We just lost in a regional to one of the last 4 in and very few fans are talking about it or seem to care. 2000-2012 seems like an eternity ago. It’s no longer a given that we’ll return to being a baseball powerhouse. Fans have become indifferent, even accepting mediocrity. That’s a dangerous place to be for our baseball program.

Kingston has been here 7 seasons and has won nothing, yet he still has defenders. That baffles me for a program that was once dominant.

Coaching and player development is not Kingston's forte.
He needs to seek out a statistical analyst position in MLB.
Ray, please make it happen!

 

[Patriot321]

Coaching and player development is not Kingston's forte.
He needs to seek out a statistical analyst position in MLB.
Ray, please make it happen!

Ray needs to go with Kingston, wherever they choose. We are going to allow Tanner to make another bad hire?

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

Ray needs to go with Kingston, wherever they choose. We are going to allow Tanner to make another bad hire?

Can't afford to wait for Ray to go - for the sake of Gamecock Baseball, it's now or never.

 

[Patriot321]

We just lost in a regional to one of the last 4 in and very few fans are talking about it or seem to care. 2000-2012 seems like an eternity ago. It’s no longer a given that we’ll return to being a baseball powerhouse. Fans have become indifferent, even accepting mediocrity. That’s a dangerous place to be for our baseball program.

Kingston has been here 7 seasons and has won nothing, yet he still has defenders. That baffles me for a program that was once dominant.

Apathy has definitely set in around the baseball program, after a long history of success and then back to back NCs, fans just come to expect more. The state of the overall athletic program seems to be in a funk, not progressing upward, except for WBB of course, and that affects overall enthusiasm in my opinion. Other than WBB, what sport do people think we are anywhere close to even competing for an SEC title, much less a NC? People want to compete and win, at least in the conference, in the major sports, we do not. I also think there is just some overall negativity, disillusionment, and "indifference" as you called it, with the overall state of what was once amateur athletics. The NIL, portal, soon-to-be contracts and player salaries, and other issues, just bring chaos and distractions from what should just be relaxing entertainment. It will never make me accept mediocracy but it all does have me feeling "indifferent".

 

[jasonscottinsc]

I think it's probably time. Too much inconsistency. Last year was fantastic, but they didn't do a great job of following it up this year. I still think college baseball is much tougher to win than when Ray was coaching as more schools have put money into baseball now.

Going back to 2008 there has been at least 1 SEC team in the national championship every year except for 2016. And there have been four years where both teams in the CWS championships series were from the SEC.Seven SEC schools have been in the championship series at least once since '08.

To be fair, Kingston didn't inherit the same program Holbrook did. Holbrook did not recruit well by the end of his tenure (which was a head scratcher) and it showed up especially in year two under Kingston. Since then, Kingston had some really good years, but they just couldn't seem to do it in back to back years, and I think that's the biggest problem - just when you think you have momentum, it goes the other way.

 

[Baltcock96]

There are some other good coaches in South Carolina worth considering. CofC and North Greenville..

C of C? Are you serious? Been there done that and no thanks on both sides. Landon Powell? Maybe, though I think we shoot higher. Maybe some mid majors. Campbell HC. They gotta be able to recruit and relate to the players.

 

[atl-cock]

C of C? Are you serious? Been there done that and no thanks on both sides. Landon Powell? Maybe, though I think we shoot higher. Maybe some mid majors. Campbell HC. They gotta be able to recruit and relate to the players.

If Chad hadn't departed Columbia under the negative circumstances, his time in Charleston may have seasoned him enough to be given consideration. Alas, that bridge was burned.

 

[Baltcock96]

If Chad hadn't departed Columbia under the negative circumstances, his time in Charleston may have seasoned him enough to be given consideration. Alas, that bridge was burned.

Perhaps. We will never know. Personally I don’t see Chad leaving C of C. He’s in a good spot and not in a pressure cooker.

 

[atl-cock]

Perhaps. We will never know. Personally I don’t see Chad leaving C of C. He’s in a good spot and not in a pressure cooker.

Maybe at some point in the near future, baseball can schedule C of C regularly.

What I would like to see if we are on the road over spring break and after the spring semester has concluded is to schedule some non-SEC teams midweek either on the way to or coming back from an SEC weekend series, e.g., if we are scheduled to play in Lexington, why not play Louisville on the Wednesday before. They can return the game in Cola when they play Clemron at some point. Or Tulane when we're playing in Baton Rouge. Something different than just the same old mid-majors in NC and SC.

 

[Baltcock96]

Maybe at some point in the near future, baseball can schedule C of C regularly.

What I would like to see if we are on the road over spring break and after the spring semester has concluded is to schedule some non-SEC teams midweek either on the way to or coming back from an SEC weekend series, e.g., if we are scheduled to play in Lexington, why not play Louisville on the Wednesday before. They can return the game in Cola when they play Clemron at some point. Or Tulane when we're playing in Baton Rouge. Something different than just the same old mid-majors in NC and SC.

That would be nice.