Scott Wingo will return to Gamecocks, join coaching staff

Scott Wingo will return to the South Carolina dugout this year as the program’s new student assistant coach.

The former second baseman was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers this summer after spending three years in their minor league organization as an 11th-round draft pick. He will join coach Chad Holbrook’s staff while he works toward graduation as a retailing major.

Wingo, 25, started four seasons for the Gamecocks from 2008 to 2011 and finished his career on the highest note. He earned the 2011 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award on the USC’s second straight national championship team.

An All-SEC defender for two seasons, Wingo ranks second on the school’s all-time list in games played with 254 and fourth in walks with 130.

Wingo, who played in Saturday night’s charity softball game hosted by USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, follows in the footsteps of former USC standouts Drew Meyer, Brian Buscher and Adrian Morales, who came back to serve as students assistants in recent seasons while completing their degree work.

This story was originally published July 19, 2014 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Scott Wingo will return to Gamecocks, join coaching staff."