Why Clemson baseball might not have to look far for its next coach
Clemson will cast a wide net in a sea of candidates to replace baseball coach Monte Lee, who was fired earlier this week.
There are a couple of intriguing catch possibilities right under the boat.
They're both in nearby Spartanburg, where Lee was born and where he began his coaching career under Tim Wallace, an NCJAA Hall of Famer, at Spartanburg Methodist College. Todd Interdonato at Wofford and Mike McGuire at USC Upstate have lifted their respective programs to unprecedented high-water levels.
Interdonato was named coach, promoted from assistant under Steve Traylor, following the 2007 season in which the Terriers went from last place during the regular season to a shocking Southern Conference Tournament championship.
McGuire came to USC Upstate in 2019 after the program's debut season in the Big South Conference, an eighth-place finish (9-17) in league play.
Wofford (42-16-1, 16-4-1 Southern Conference) set a program season record for victories this year, won the league's regular-season championship for a second straight time and figured to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large berth but instead was listed among the first four out.
USC Upstate (35-22-1, 17-6-1 Big South) has finished second in the past two years and was off to a 13-5 start in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. McGuire took over a program that was 27-80 in its previous five years in the Atlantic Sun Conference and hadn't posted a winning record since 2012.
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Wofford this season went 7-3 against NCAA Tournament teams UNC Greensboro, Dallas Baptist and Kennesaw State. The Terriers lost to then-No. 13 Georgia by one run. USC Upstate, meanwhile, had wins against South Carolina, Ohio State, Cincinnati and Boston College. The Spartans lost to College of Charleston in extra innings.
Wofford has twice been in position for the Southern Conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament since the only title in 2007. The Terriers needed one win against Mercer in the 2019 championship but lost twice. They needed one win Sunday against UNCG and lost twice. Their 2020 team was built for a title, loaded with seniors and off to a 14-3 start, when it was shut down by the pandemic. The Terriers are 51-22-1 in the last three Southern Conference seasons.
Interdonato was named Southern Conference coach of the year in 2021. In 2014, Wofford had a winning record for the first time since 1992. The next year, the Terriers won 39 games to set a program high mark.
McGuire, a former player at South Carolina (1992-94), came to USC Upstate from Morehead State, where he was Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year in 2015 and led the program to its first 40-win season. At previous stops, he helped led Lander University, Louisburg College and Winthrop University (as an assistant) to single-season victory records as well.
Interdonato and McGuire both seem to deserve consideration at least, even if the hiring wouldn't make much of a splash.
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Why Clemson baseball might not have to look far for its next coach
