South Carolina baseball confirmed assistant coach Chad Caillet retired today and will be replaced by former Clemson head baseball coach Monte Lee, after reports from SportsTalk Media Network and Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball broke the news on Thursday.
It is said Caillet is retiring to spend more time with family. Caillet spent just one season as the lead assistant and hitting coach for the Gamecocks after being hired last year. Prior to his time in Columbia, he spent two seasons at Texas A&M and 12 seasons at Southern Mississippi.
“I would like to thank Chad for being everything we hoped he would be,” Head coach Mark Kingston said. “His work has set us up to be very successful as we move forward. We admire his decision to meet the needs of his family and wish them well moving forward. We are fortunate that Monte is available to return to the Gamecock family. I have respected his work for a long time, and welcome his passion, experience, and knowledge to our team. I look forward to many great days ahead.”
Caillet helped Brandt Belk, Andrew Eyster, Braylen Wimmer and Josiah Sightler all hit over .300 in 2021. Belk led the Gamecocks with a batting average of .340.
Lee was fired from Clemson in late May after seven seasons leading the Tigers. Under Lee, Clemson was 242-136 and made the NCAA Tournament in four straight years from 2016-2019.
Lee was an assistant at South Carolina from 2003-2008. He left Columbia to become the head coach at the College of Charleston in 2009. Lee coached at the College of Charleston until taking over at Clemson in 2016.
“I am super excited to come back to Columbia and help Coach Kingston, the staff, and most importantly the players in our pursuit to get back to Omaha,” Lee said.