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South Carolina baseball interim coach Monte Lee, pitching coach Terry Rooney and assistant coach John Hendry have been fired, a source confirmed to the Greenville News on May 21.
The source did not wish to be identified because an official announcement has not been made.
Lee took over March 21 after the school announced Paul Mainieri would not finish his second season.
The Gamecocks lost 11-6 to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament first round May 19 in Hoover, Alabama, finishing 22-35, 7-23 SEC with their 13-game losing streak the longest for the program since 1961.
Mainieri, 68, was hired in June 2024 to replace Mark Kingston, who was fired after seven seasons. Mainieri came out of retirement to take the job. In his first season, the Gamecocks went 28-29 and 6-24 in SEC play, the worst conference record in program history.
Lee, 49, joined the Gamecocks staff in 2022 for a second time as he was an assistant coach under former coach and athletic director Ray Tanner from 2003-08.
Lee was coach at Charleston from 2009-15, finishing 276-145 before he took the Clemson job from 2016-22. With the Tigers, Lee finished 242-136 and led them to four NCAA Tournament berths. They also won the 2016 ACC Tournament. He was fired in May 2022.
Jeremiah Donati, who became the athletic director in early 2025, is in the middle of a coaching search for his first big hire.
Lee was asked after the SEC Tournament loss to make his pitch to be the hire.
"It gets a little bit hard to talk about yourself constantly," Lee said. "The only thing I'll say is this. I got into coaching 26 years ago to serve players and be a good mentor and role model. Coach the players to the best of my ability ... I've always had the players' backs."
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina baseball fires Monte Lee, two assistants, per source
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The source did not wish to be identified because an official announcement has not been made.
Lee took over March 21 after the school announced Paul Mainieri would not finish his second season.
The Gamecocks lost 11-6 to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament first round May 19 in Hoover, Alabama, finishing 22-35, 7-23 SEC with their 13-game losing streak the longest for the program since 1961.
Mainieri, 68, was hired in June 2024 to replace Mark Kingston, who was fired after seven seasons. Mainieri came out of retirement to take the job. In his first season, the Gamecocks went 28-29 and 6-24 in SEC play, the worst conference record in program history.
Lee, 49, joined the Gamecocks staff in 2022 for a second time as he was an assistant coach under former coach and athletic director Ray Tanner from 2003-08.
Lee was coach at Charleston from 2009-15, finishing 276-145 before he took the Clemson job from 2016-22. With the Tigers, Lee finished 242-136 and led them to four NCAA Tournament berths. They also won the 2016 ACC Tournament. He was fired in May 2022.
Jeremiah Donati, who became the athletic director in early 2025, is in the middle of a coaching search for his first big hire.
Lee was asked after the SEC Tournament loss to make his pitch to be the hire.
"It gets a little bit hard to talk about yourself constantly," Lee said. "The only thing I'll say is this. I got into coaching 26 years ago to serve players and be a good mentor and role model. Coach the players to the best of my ability ... I've always had the players' backs."
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina baseball fires Monte Lee, two assistants, per source
Continue reading...
