Making the case for and against hiring Tom Walter as South Carolina’s next baseball coach
With former South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston being fired Tuesday after seven seasons with the team and no appearances in the College World Series, the Gamecocks have found themselves in a search to find a new head coach.
One of the names mentioned as a candidate for the role is current Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter. Here are the why’s and why’s nots to hire Walter.
Why South Carolina should hire Walter
Since taking over Wake Forest in 2010, Walter has accumulated 420 wins, the second-winningest coach in Wake Forest history.
Walter is just one of seven coaches in the history of Division I baseball to take three different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
However, South Carolina is looking for a deep tournament run, not just an appearance. For Walter, he has proven himself to do just that.
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In 2023, he took Wake Forest on a historic run to the College World Series, posting a 54-12 record with the ability to host both the Regionals and Super Regionals all while winning the ACC Tournament and being named the 2023 ACC coach of the year.
The 2023 season was the first time Wake Forest made it to the College World Series in 68 years.
In addition, Walter has led the Demon Deacons to the Super Regionals in 2017 and taken Wake Forest to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons.
In terms of prolonging players careers, Walter has also been responsible for sending 52 players to the MLB via the draft or signing contracts over the last decade.
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Why South Carolina should not hire Walter
Following Wake Forest’s run to Omaha in 2023, Walter signed an extension with Wake Forest in June of 2023.
This would mean if South Carolina heavily targets Walter as their next coach, they would have to pay what would likely be a large buyout of Walter’s contract to sway Walter away from Wake Forest.
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Since Wake Forest is a private school, the details of the contract are unknown.
After Wake Forest’s 2023 season, Walter followed it up with getting bounced in the Regionals in 2024, going 0-2 in the first round with losses to VCU and East Carolina.
It may also take patience for Walter to bring South Carolina deep into the NCAA Tournament if he were to be the next coach.
After starting his tenure in Winston-Salem in 2010, Walter did not bring Wake Forest to the NCAA Tournament until 2016 and did not take Wake Forest past the Regionals until 2017.
