‘It is time.’ Chapin Hall of Fame baseball coach to retire after final playoff run
Chapin High baseball’s upcoming playoff run will be the last for coach Scott McLeod.
McLeod will retire after the end of season after a long run as Eagles coach.
McLeod informed his team of the decision Friday before their senior night game against Spring Valley. The Eagles are 17-5 on the season and will be one of the top four seeds when the Class 5A Division II playoffs begin next week.
“I have been contemplating the last couple of years,” McLeod told The State on Monday. “My assistant coach Paul Scheno, who has been with me forever, I promised him I would stay with it until his son Tillman would finish his senior year. This is a really good crowd and I enjoy being around them. I came in with a good crowd and I am going out with a great crowd.
“It is time. My body is letting me know it is time. They say you are going to know when it is time, and it is.”
The 67-year-old McLeod says he’s in good health but had a scare April 3 before the game against River Bluff. He was taken to the hospital and doctors had to shock his heart back into rhythm.
McLeod missed one game but said Monday he is feeling fine and ready for his final playoff run.
He’s been at the helm at Chapin for 31 years, seeing the school’s athletics programs move up from Class 2A to now in 5A. He has won 556 games, 12 region titles and four state championships in 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2018.
In 2023, McLeod was inducted into the S.C. Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame as well as Chapin’s Hall of Fame.
“When I first came to Chapin, I could walk into the lunch room and speak to every kid by name,” McLeod said. “When I taught my last year three years ago, I could walk in and see someone I have never seen before. It is crazy how this town has grown.
“I have seen some really good ones come through here. But what I am more proud of is the kids who played in the program that went on to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and coaches. That is what I count as wins and losses. What they go on to do when they get done playing for me.”
McLeod’s run at Chapin almost didn’t happen. He spent two seasons as Chester head baseball coach and accepted a job to be Dorman’s baseball coach and an assistant football coach in the mid-1980s.
At the pleading of one of his aunts, McLeod reluctantly talked with then-Chapin athletic director Eddie Muldrow for a position at the school. It was for a Junior Varsity baseball coaching position and assistant football coach.
After going back and forth about it, McLeod decided to go to Chapin and coach under Randy Cooper, who led the program to three state titles.
“Chapin seemed to be the right place,” McLeod said. “... And it has all worked out the way it is supposed to be.”
McLeod was an assistant coach for seven years before succeeding Cooper. The program hasn’t missed a beat, with numerous players going on to play in college or professionally, with the most notable being Dwayne Wise, who went on to play 11 seasons in the majors.
McLeod said he has many fond memories of his time at Chapin, which included coaching his two sons and the support he received from his wife and assistant coaches.
One of the special moments was Chapin’s last title in 2018, which came months after McLeod received a kidney transplant. He had the surgery in November and didn’t return until January before the start of the season. Chapin began that season as a preseason No. 1 and never left the top spot, capping off the season with a sweep of Airport to win the 4A title.
“That was a special team. I came back and we got better and better and things took off,” McLeod said. “God is good. He found me the kidney at the right time and I’ve got the best wife in the whole world. She has been my rock. Anything I have done is because of her and God.
“There is nothing special about me. I have been at the right place and have good people.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 12:46 PM.
