C of C should check dugout for next coach

The College of Charleston shouldn't have to look far to find a replacement for a baseball coach. He's already in the dugout.

With the announcement Friday night that John Pawlowski is leaving to coach the Auburn Tigers after nine seasons in Charleston, the name that jumps immediately to the top of the list is his longtime assistant coach, Scott Foxhall.

Foxhall was an outstanding pitcher for the Cougars from 1992-94 and has been instrumental as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator during Pawlowski's tenure.

Not only did Foxy play for the Cougars, so did his brother, Joey.

If you're into names and numbers, Foxhall sent almost 30 players to the pros, including All-Southern Conference pitcher Nick Chigges, who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 13th round and is slated to join the Charleston RiverDogs staff this week.

Other Cougars tutored by Foxhall include Brian Schlitter (16th round Phillies), Michael Bunton (20th round Cubs), Josh McLaughlin (20th round Oakland), Graham Godfrey (34th round Blue Jays).

Foxhall's list of accolades is long and he has a bucket full of statistics and success stories.

But the best thing you can say about Foxhall is that he's a Cougar, through and through. He deserves a shot.

Player, coach

Ironically, Foxhall's college career started at Auburn.

A native of Greer, he came from a big Auburn family and originally went to the Alabama school for his freshman year to play baseball. He soon learned, however, that his game and his heart belonged in Charleston where he completed his college career as one of the school's all-time leaders in strikeouts (156), games started (28), complete games (9) and innings pitched (193).

Like most assistant coaches in college baseball, Foxhall has labored in relative obscurity as far as the general public is concerned. But to those who know and follow the game, he is well respected and an integral part of the Cougars' success.

Foxhall, 36, would be a popular choice among Cougars baseball fans who have known him for years as a player and a coach.

They also know he's the guy responsible for bringing in the kind of players that have lifted the program from the bottom to the top of the Southern Conference in recent years.

Family matter

The question now is whether or not Foxhall's name will be in the mix to replace Pawlowski.

The College of Charleston has a new athletic director in Joe Hull, who has only been on campus for six months and is no doubt anxious to

put his mark on the athletic department.

The most visible way to do that is through the hiring of coaches, as all ADs have a short list of potential hires in their pocket when they arrive at a new job.

Whether or not Hull is willing to look inside rather than outside to fill this job will be a telling point in his vision for Cougar athletics.

There's also the possibility that Foxhall could be lured away to join Pawlowski as a top assistant at Auburn. Assistant head coaches in the SEC earn as much or more than head coaches in the Southern Conference.

But this is a family matter.

Foxhall is a Cougar at heart and would be a good choice to keep the College of Charleston baseball program on the winning track.

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com.