USC assistant Lee will be named C of C coach

Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Monte Lee

South Carolina assistant coach Monte Lee will be the new head baseball coach at the College of Charleston.

Sources close to the search process said Tuesday that Lee had been offered and accepted the position left vacant when former C of C coach John Pawlowski took the head coaching job at Auburn on June 20.

Provided Lee clears a routine background check, the school stands poised to officially announce his hiring on Thursday.

Lee, 31, is a former standout player for the Cougars and a College of Charleston graduate.

He served six seasons as an assistant for the Gamecocks, working primarily with the hitters and outfielders. He also served this past season as South Carolina's recruiting coordinator.

Neither Lee nor College of Charleston athletic director Joe Hull would confirm the hiring.

Lee offered no comment, while Hull would only say that the school's search committee "made real progress" on Tuesday.

Lee, who played for the Cougars from 1996 to 1999, is one of the greatest players in school history and is included on Charleston's Wall of Fame.

He finished his college career with 240 career hits and 150 RBIs.

Drafted in the 38th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, Lee played briefly in the minor leagues before beginning his coaching career as an assistant at Spartanburg Methodist from 2001 to 2002 before leaving for an assistant coaching position with the Gamecocks.

A native of Spartanburg, Lee graduated from Lugoff-Elgin High School, where he was a four-year baseball letterman.

Lee's hiring ends a rapid-fire search process that Hull was determined to complete quickly once he learned that Pawlowski had accepted the head coaching job at Auburn.

Hull headed a seven-person search committee. In addition to Lee, the committee interviewed Charleston associate head coach Scott Foxhall, North Carolina assistant coach Chad Holbrook and Clemson assistant coach Tom Riginos.

Holbrook withdrew his name from consideration to remain at North Carolina, while Foxhall withdrew his name from consideration to accompany Pawlowski to Auburn as the Tigers' pitching coach.

Lee will be replacing the most successful coach in Charleston history.

Pawlowski, 44, coached nine seasons at Charleston, compiling an overall record of 338-192-1.

During Pawlowski's tenure, the Cougars won three Southern Conference regular-season titles and one SoCon Tournament title and made three NCAA Regional appearances, including an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2006.

Reach Charles Bennett at cbennett@postandcourier.com.