CLEMSON, SC (AP) – Clemson fired baseball coach Monte Lee after his team missed the second consecutive NCAA tournament.
First year athletic director Graham Neff announced the move on Tuesday. Lee spent seven seasons with the Tigers. He ran for the NCAA in each of his first four seasons to extend the program with 32 postseason appearances in a row.
The NCAA tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and Clemson’s series ended the following year. Last season, the Tigers went 35-23 and 13-16 in the Atlantic Coast Conference game. Their season ended last week with two defeats in the ACC tournament.
“Klemson’s baseball expectations are very high,” Nef said in a statement. “The team’s recent performance on the field did not match the performance of our administration, coaching staff, student-athletes or our loyal fan base.”
Neff said the university is keen to return to where it was – Clemson reached the World Series of Colleges six times from 1995 to 2010 – and will conduct a national search for Lee’s successor.
Lee got 242-136 total with Tiger and 102-86 in the ACC game. This year’s team featured authority Max Wagner, who had 27 Homer to set a program record, and was named ACC Player of the Year.
Assistant Bradley LeCroy and Operations Director Brad Owens will oversee the program while the search continues.
