South Carolina Baseball Is Expected to Name Monte Lee as Interim Head Coach

Following Saturday's news of the Gamecocks and Paul Mainieri parting ways, Assistant head coach and hitting coach Monte Lee is expected to be named the interim head coach.

Clemson Head Coach Monte Lee talks with media before practice at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson Friday, January 28,2022. Clemson Baseball Practice For 2022 Season Preview | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's been a big news day for Carolina baseball on Saturday. The Gamecocks have parted ways with head coach Paul Mainieri and is expected to name Monte Lee as interim. South Carolina will host Arkansas at 4:00 pm (ET) on Saturday.

Following a 22-6 loss in six innings at the hands of the Razorbacks, Jeremiah Donati and South Carolina decided to part ways with Mianieri nearly mid way through his second season with the team. The team is in the midst of a six game losing streak and decided changes needed to be made.

Enter Monte Lee. Lee was the associate head coach and hitting coach under Mianieri for the last year and a half. He is now expected to take the reins of the program in an interim compacity.

Can Lee Turn the Season Around?

Monte Lee is expected to be named interim, per source. @johnmwhittle first. https://t.co/IIxYYKDzsk

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) March 21, 2026

According to Gamecocksonline, Lee has had 21 winning seasons in his 23 years as a full-time NCAA coach, most recently was the head coach at Clemson University for seven seasons (2016-22), garnering a 242-136 overall record and leading the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament berths. Lee coached nine All-Americans, including at least one All-American in six of his seven seasons, and had 34 players drafted a total of 38 times at Clemson.  

Prior to that, Lee was coaching the College of Charleston Cougars, where he led them to a 276-145 overall record. In his seven years at College of Charleston, Lee coached four conference players-of-the-year, two conference pitchers-of-the-year and two conference freshmen-of-the-year. Lee won 200 games at College of Charleston faster than any coach in school history.

Can he have repeat success in Columbia? That remains to be seen. He and his team will get the opportunity to try and get the program on the right track with nearly a half a season worth of games to go. This could serve as his audition for the job or Donati will go looking for the third coach since 2024.