South Carolina baseball assistant retiring, Monte Lee rejoining program
Monte Lee is coming back to South Carolina.
The former Gamecocks assistant is rejoining the program as the Gamecocks’ recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, sources confirm to GamecockCentral and On3. He fills the void left by Chad Caillet, who Rogers mentioned is retiring from baseball to spend more time with his family.
“I would like to thank Chad for being everything we hoped he would be,” Mark Kingston said in a statement. “His work has set us up to be very successful as we move forward. We admire his decision to meet the needs of his family and wish them well moving forward. We are fortunate that Monte is available to return to the Gamecock family. I have respected his work for a long time, and welcome his passion, experience, and knowledge to our team. I look forward to many great days ahead.”
GamecockCentral heard strong indications over the last few days a homecoming for Lee was in the works. Lee will be the team’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
Both SportsTalk Media and Kendall Rogers from D1Baseball were first on the news.
Lee was one of the lead assistants for the Gamecocks from 2003 to 2008, a staple of two College World Series teams in 2003 and 2004.
South Carolina had quality recruiting success with Lee on staff and made the NCAA Tournament every season Lee spent with the Gamecocks.
“I am super excited to come back to Columbia and help Coach Kingston, the staff, and most importantly the players in our pursuit to get back to Omaha,” Lee said.
Lee left South Carolina to take over as College of Charleston’s head coach, where he spent seven seasons.
He was 276-145 in his time with the Cougars with six seasons with at least 35 wins. The Cougars had three 40-win seasons during his tenure, including his final two years in Charleston.
Lee made the NCAA Tournaments four times there in seven seasons, including getting to a Super Regional in 2014.
After seven years there, Lee took the Clemson head coaching job where he had early success with the Tigers.
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Clemson won at least 42 games in his first three years there with three regional appearances, including two home regionals and a top eight seed in 2016.
Things faded quickly with Clemson finishing under .500 in 2021 and then missing the NCAA Tournament for consecutive years with a 35-23 season this year.
Lee’s Clemson tenure finished 242-136 with a 102-86 mark in ACC play over seven seasons.
The former South Carolina assistant has spent his entire career in the Palmetto State and brings incredible in-state ties.
Lee played at the College of Charleston and all of his coaching gigs have come in South Carolina.
He was an assistant at Spartanburg Methodist before moving to South Carolina then College of Charleston and Clemson.
The Gamecocks are coming off an underwhelming 2022 season, finishing 27-28 and 13-17 in the SEC.
Mark Kingston is entering his sixth season with the program. Justin Parker will return for his second season as the team’s pitching coach.
Scott Wingo is currently serving as the team’s volunteer assistant.
The Gamecocks spent the offseason trying to retool its roster, bringing in a wealth of transfers and freshmen to try and get South Carolina back to the College World Series.
