CLEMSON — With the podium presence of a presidential candidate, Monte Lee announced loud and clear how he intends to restore Clemson to its place among college baseball’s model programs.
A Monday press conference well-attended by Clemson officials, past and present players, and family and friends, saw the 38-year-old former College of Charleston head coach express his vision for perhaps the most pressure-packed position he’s taken in a baseball uniform.
To close out his 13-minute opening statement full of thank-yous and promises, Lee released his six-point manifesto as his own stamp on the program, which for the last 58 years has only seen two head coaches in Bill Wilhelm and Jack Leggett.
Toughness, integrity, gratitude, excellence, relentless and selfless. As an acronym, the six words spell out “Tigers.”
“We’re going to create a culture in this program,” Lee said. “In our sport, in academics, in the community, and in the weight room, those are the four areas we will create an identity here at Clemson.”
The Tigers have the eighth-most victories in college baseball, but Leggett was removed after 22 years and six College World Series appearances on June 4 upon the team’s fifth consecutive ouster in an NCAA regional.
Lee, the College of Charleston product who coached his alma mater to four NCAA tournaments the previous seven years, displayed strong diction in his first public remarks as Leggett’s successor.
“Our teams will always be on offense in everything we do,” Lee said. “When we are pitching, we will attack. When we’re on defense, we will attack. When we’re on offense, we will attack. When we run the bases, we will attack. We will not do anything defensively.
“We want players who have no fear of failure because this game is full of failure. If you fail 70 percent of the time as a hitter, you’re hitting .300. So we are going to eliminate the fear of failure from our players. We are going to get them to embrace it, accept it, deal with it, and play with full-out aggression.”
Clemson announced Lee’s contract is worth $350,000 per year for five years. Leggett had been earning $400,00 annually.
Chief among Lee’s initiatives: re-emphasize in-state recruiting. Only nineteen of the 39 players on Clemson’s 2015 roster — a little less than half — hailed from the state of South Carolina, while the Tigers fell this spring to Charleston Southern, Wofford, Winthrop, Coastal Carolina and Presbyterian.
“The kids of South Carolina will be our utmost priority,” Lee said. “We will recruit this state inside and out.”
As Lee stated Monday, he has lived, played and coached his entire life and career in this state.
“Monte Lee has had a lifetime of experience in our state. He has had success at each stop during his career journey,” athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “I know Monte fills every one of the criteria we’re looking for in a head coach, and I’m excited to welcome him and his family to our Clemson family.”
He was born in Spartanburg, graduated from Lugoff-Elgin High School and the College of Charleston, served as an AAU and junior college assistant before spending six years on Ray Tanner’s staff at South Carolina and eventually taking over the Cougars.
“Not many people get that type of opportunity,” Lee said. “The one thing I bring to the table right away is I have relationships across this state that I believe are second to none. I can reach out to all the different pockets in this state. I have strong connections in every area.
“But that doesn’t mean necessarily that we won’t go outside this state. We’ll go into the state of Georgia, Florida, the whole East Coast, the Midwest, the West Coast. We’re going to go wherever we have to go to find the best players to fit our program.”
