South Carolina adds a familiar face to the baseball staff

Release from USC:

The University of South Carolina baseball program and head coach Kevin Schnall have announced the hiring of Stuart Lake as the Gamecocks’ Director of Program Development/Camp Coordinator, it was announced today (Monday, July 20).

Lake was the Gamecock Baseball’s Director of Program Development during the second half of the 2026 season. He took on a dual role with his work at the Gamecock Club and was an analyst on the Gamecock Sports Network for baseball from 2024 to halfway through the 2026 season.

Before that, he was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks from 1999-2002 and most recently from 2017-22 after serving as the head coach at Charleston Southern from 2009-16.

In 2008, Lake became the third CSU/Baptist College graduate to coach the Buccaneers. The 2012 Big South Coach of the Year guided the Bucs’ first winning season in 18 years in 2014, with the 30 wins setting a school record. Lake, who has the most Big South wins in school history, also coached current Boston Red Sox Tyler Thornburg and mentored 12 Buccaneers who went on to be drafted or sign a free agent deal to play professional baseball. In the classroom, CSU had a team GPA of 3.0 and over in six seasons, as six Bucs made the All-Big South Academic teams.

Prior to his arrival at CSU, Lake spent two years across town as an assistant for The Citadel baseball program, where he was responsible for coaching the hitters and outfielders, and was very involved in recruiting prospective student-athletes.

Lake also spent three seasons as an assistant for at Ole Miss, where he was responsible for the hitters and the outfielders. The Rebels enjoyed three of the school’s most successful seasons in program history with 39 wins in 2004, 47 in 2005, and 44 in 2006. The Rebels hosted an NCAA Regional in all three of Lake’s seasons and advanced to and hosted two NCAA Super Regionals. In 2005, Ole Miss won the Southeastern Conference Western Division and in 2006 team won the SEC Tournament.

Prior to his stint at Ole Miss, Lake spent one season at the College of Charleston. In his only year with the Cougars, Lake served as third base coach, hitting instructor and outfield coach.

Lake began his collegiate coaching career at South Carolina in 1999, where he coached the outfielders, served as first base coach, and assisted with the hitters. During his time at USC, the Gamecocks won three SEC East Division titles, two SEC Championships, played in three NCAA Super Regionals and reached the College World Series Championship Game in 2002. Lake helped two SEC Player of the Year winners during his stint as a Gamecock. One of those players, Kip Bouknight, was also the 2002 Golden Spikes Award Winner.

Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Lake coached at Mid-Carolina High School (his alma mater) and at Brookland Cayce High School in Columbia. Brookland Cayce won the AAA State Championship in Lake’s second year in 1998. Lake also served as the head coach of the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plain Collegiate Wood Bat League in 2000.

Lake has coached three players to be named SEC Player of the Year and one named Southern Conference Player of the Year. Two of his players have been named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List with one winning that coveted award. He also has had 24 former student-athletes reach the Major Leagues and Lake is one of the few who can ever claim to coach players that eventually appeared in the Major League All-Star Game, World Series, and the Super Bowl.