Clemson AD will Move Expeditiously in Getting New Baseball Coach

Neff calls Clemson Baseball top 15 job

CLEMSON, S.C. — Tuesday was a tough day for new Clemson Athletic Director Graham Neff. Just five months into the job and he has already made a difficult decision.

Neff announced earlier in the day a change in leadership within the baseball program and Monte Lee will not return as the head coach. Lee spent the last seven seasons as the Tigers’ head man.

“It was a tough day. Tough day. Never easy decisions like this and certainly with my role here it is important to evaluate and to make tough decisions. That is what this is and primarily because of who Coach Lee is as person, first of all, and as a leader of Clemson baseball,” Neff said. “He has always led Clemson in a first-class manner and has been an incredibly important part of our department.”

Lee still has two years remaining on his contract, which Neff said equates to about $500,000. As for who will replace Lee as Clemson’s next head coach, that search will begin immediately.

“From a market and where we attend to go with the search, as I said, I consider Clemson baseball a top 15 job. Period,” Neff said. “With the tradition, the resources, the facilities, the fanbase, the talent within this state of South Carolina and region, and I think that is where Clemson baseball should be and what that means from a competition for postseason, Regional, Super Regional and Omaha.

“We have been to 12 College World Series, and we intend to increase that number. So, the ability to attract that caliber of coach is where we intend to start.”

Longtime assistant coach Bradley LeCroy, along with Director of Operations Brad Owens, will oversee the program while the search for the new head coach is conducted. Both worked under Jack Leggett, as well.

Neff said they do not initially anticipate LeCroy being a candidate for the head coaching vacancy. LeCroy played for Jack Leggett from 1997-2000 and coached on his staff for eight years. He was Leggett’s assistant head coach from 2013-’15.

When Lee took over, he kept Bradley on staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator the last seven years. LeCroy did interview for the job after Leggett was let go in 2015.

“We do foresee him to be an incredibly important part of a transition process here,” Neff said. “He carried himself in that regard last time, seven years ago. I have had time to meet with him and Brad this afternoon and charged them and asked them to help do that transitionally.”

Graham said no timeline has been established on when Clemson wants a new baseball coach in place, but they do want to move expeditiously.

“We want to be incredibly respectful for the time of the year with baseball and postseason and regionals and maybe where we would want to target some coaches,” he said. “No set timeline. We have a couple of scenarios just based on availability and candidates to discuss. But we want to move quick. We are incredibly bullish on our job and the profile of our job as a top 15 job and the interest that it will have.

“Again, our desire to win and win big in the requisite investment and resources that would intel. We are ready to present a great package to get into those conversations with the timeline to be TBD.”