5 in-state NCAA baseball tournament story lines to follow outside USC or Clemson
1. Coastal is back
The 2016 national champions are 42-17 this year and won the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championships. Coastal is seeded 15th nationally and will open with LIU Brooklyn. Washington and Connecticut also are in the regional.
Former Hanahan standout Seth Lancaster is one of the Chants’ top players, hitting .311 with 19 homers and 55 RBI.
2. Gamecock grad leading Morehead State
Morehead State baseball coach Mike McGuire will be back in the Palmetto State this week with the Eagles playing in the Clemson Regional.
McGuire finished his college baseball career with the Gamecocks in 1992-93 after transferring from Akron. Once his pro career ended, McGuire returned to South Carolina and was an assistant at Winthrop (1997-2002, 2006-2011). His first head coaching job came at Division II Lander, where his Bearcat teams averaged more than 30 wins from 2003-2005.
Since taking over at Morehead State, McGuire has led the Eagles to NCAA tournament berths in 2015 and 2018.
3. SC connections helping UNC Wilmington
UNC Wilmington has a pair of S.C. connections as it gets ready for the Greenville, N.C., Regional, which includes host East Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio State.
Former Wando standout Kep Brown is a redshirt sophomore outfielder for UNCW. He has started 39 games this season and is hitting .238 with five homers and 23 RBIs.
UNCW pitching coach Matt Williams played at Spartanburg Methodist and spent eight seasons as SMC pitching coach.
4. Citadel ties run deep for two tournament coaches
Indiana coach Chris Lemonis and Louisville’s Dan McDonnell have strong S.C. ties from their days at The Citadel.
Lemonis played at Socastee High School and was a two-time all-conference player for The Citadel. He was an assistant for the Bulldogs from 1995-2006.
Lemonis took the Indiana job in 2015 and has led the Hoosiers to three NCAA appearances.
McDonnell was a member of The Citadel’s College World Series team in 1990 and then an assistant there from 1993-2000. He took the Louisville job in 2006 and has led the Cardinals to 11 NCAA appearances and four trips to College World Series.
5. Former Hilton Head standout helping Hatters
The Stetson Hatters are hosting their first regional, and Eric Foggo has had a hand in it.
The former Hilton Head Island standout is a freshman first/third baseman for the Atlantic Sun champions. Foggo has appeared in 32 games, 25 starts and is hitting .245 with five homers and 24 RBIs.
This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 1:48 PM with the headline "5 in-state NCAA baseball tournament story lines to follow outside USC or Clemson."