Former Buccaneer takes CSU head baseball job

Charleston Southern did not have to look very far to find its new head baseball coach, hiring Citadel assistant and former Buccaneers player Stuart Lake.

Lake replaces Jason Murray, who resigned in June after four seasons. Lake was rumored to be the leading candidate for the position throughout the coaching search and signed his contract over the weekend.

"This is a really special time for me and my family," Lake said Sunday. "This university has always been very special to me, and to have the opportunity to come back and be the head coach is beyond anything I could have imagined.

"It's a special situation and a great challenge, but I promise to all of those who follow and support Buccaneer baseball that I will do all I can to make us as the kind of program that we all can be proud of."

Lake graduated from Charleston Southern in 1994 and spent a few years as an assistant high school coach before moving into the college ranks, first at South Carolina under Ray Tanner. He also has served stints at College of Charleston and Ole Miss before spending the last two seasons at The Citadel.

"I am pleased to have an alumnus as our new head coach," said CSU athletic director Hank Small. "He is so familiar with CSU but also has a great amount of experience. He has worked with some of the best coaches, not only in the area, but in the country."

Charleston Southern has increased its level of commitment to baseball in recent months, a commitment that includes an increase in scholarships and in coaching salaries. That commitment made the job all the more attractive to Lake, but he says the decision to leave The Citadel was not an easy one.

"I was committed to The Citadel and I can't say enough about the support and the patience shown by Coach (Fred) Jordan during this long process," said Lake. "The Citadel was great to me, and serving there for two years was a great experience for me personally and professionally.

"I'd always wanted to be a head coach someday but I wanted to make sure the situation was right for me and my family. Charleston Southern is certainly the right situation. My wife (Tracie) is the volleyball coach at Stratford High School, so we're firmly a part of the Lowcountry."

Lake is already working on a coaching staff and hopes to have everyone in place by the end of this week. His staff will likely include coaches who also have close ties to the program. He spent parts of the weekend on the phone with recruits and signees, and already has made calls to alumni and former players. Building a strong supportive base of alumni is crucial to the program's success, he says.

"We have to get people involved, people who share the same love for CSU and for baseball that I have," said Lake. "Coach Murray had started to do some great things and we were getting people involved. I have to keep that going and make it even better.

"At the places I have coached, the alumni and the former player base is unbelievable in terms of their support. I will have an open door to all alumni and to all of our former Buccaneers who want to be a part of what we are building here."

With Lake's hiring, all three of the area's Division I baseball programs have former players and alumni as head coach, joining Monte Lee at College of Charleston and Jordan at The Citadel.