Monte Lee Leaving USC To Be New C of C HC

[lacene]

6 year Gamecock assistant coach Monte Lee is heading back to his alma mater, the College of Charleston to accept the position of Head Coach for their baseball program. Lee served as our recruiting coordinator for the '08 season, and also worked with the outfield and hitters, as well as Camp Coordinator.

While at South Carolina, Lee has helped lead the Gamecock hitters to be among the best in the country and the nation. The 2007 squad led all Division I schools in home runs with 113 round trippers and batted .301 as a team. The team also averaged 7.9 runs per game, the ninth highest mark in the country.

Four different offensive players earned All-SEC honors including first baseman Justin Smoak, second baseman Travis Jones, third baseman James Darnell and designated hitter Phil Disher. Disher and Smoak each earned All-America honors as well.

Congrats on your new HC job, Coach Lee, and good luck in the future (except when you're playing us ;) ).

I'm also hearing rumors that Coach Tanner is replacing Lee with UNC assistant coach Chad Holbrook. This would be a slight upgrade, IMO, as Holbrook is fast becoming one of the nation's best recruiting coaches in college baseball. Holbrook also coached outfielding and hitting at UNC.


Anyone heard of any of this, or have any thoughts?

[lacene]

Updated:

Chad Holbrook Named Associate Head Coach

Tanner Moves Quickly to Replace Monte Lee
July 7, 2008

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/scar/sports/m-basebl/auto_action/2101998.jpeg
Chad Holbrook

The University of South Carolina has announced the hiring of Chad Holbrook as Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for the baseball team. Holbrook will coach third base, serve as hitting instructor and oversee the Gamecock offense, including base running and the short game. He will also work with the outfielders. Holbrook comes to the Gamecock program after serving 15 seasons as a member of the University of North Carolina coaching staff.

"I am very excited to have Coach Holbrook and his family become a part of Gamecock Nation," said South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner. "He is truly one of the finest coaches and recruiters in all of college baseball. His experience and expertise will be an asset to our baseball program."

As recruiting coordinator for the North Carolina program, Holbrook has put together consecutive top 10 recruiting classes in the nation the past two seasons that has helped the Tar Heels in making three consecutive College World Series appearances. From 2006-2008, North Carolina led the nation in wins with 54 in 2006, 57 in 2007 and 54 in 2008. PG Cross Checker ranked his latest recruiting class No. 3 in the nation. Holbrook's 2007 class ranked fourth in the nation by Baseball America with his 2006 class selected eighth in the country. Baseball America also ranked his 2004 class 11th in the nation with the publication naming the Tar Heels recruiting class of 2003 as the No. 1 group in the country. That 2003 class also tied for first in Collegiate Baseball's recruiting rankings with South Carolina.

In Holbrook's 15 seasons on the UNC coaching staff, the Tar Heels have made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances including four NCAA Super Regionals and three trips to the College World Series. The 2007 squad also captured an ACC championship, the first in Chapel Hill since 1990 when Holbrook was a freshman player.

Read More (http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/070708aaa.html)