Monte Lee confident he's right choice to lead Clemson program

Lee says he's the right man for the job (Clemson photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed May 26 23:23:10 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson baseball ended its season on a high note Wednesday, and now Monte Lee is ready to get back to work and get the Tigers back in the postseason conversation. He thinks he deserves that chance and believes he is the right coach to lead the Tigers moving forward.

Down three runs early to second-seeded Georgia Tech in the final game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship’s second-day session, the 11th-seeded Tigers roared back to claim an 11-5 victory Wednesday night at Truist Field.

Adam Hackenberg capped a 14-pitch at-bat with a three-run homer that tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Bryce Teodosio electrified the crowd of 3,915 with a two-out, inside-the-park homer that sparked a three-run sixth.

The game proved therapeutic for the Tigers (25-27) as they snapped a five-game losing streak and ended their season on a high note. Lee said the Tigers will return to Clemson late Wednesday night, and he will have 30 exit meetings with his players starting Thursday at 10 am, and those meetings will run until midday Friday. At that point, it will be on to preparing for next season.

“I am really proud of our club for the way we finished the season. It certainly isn't the season we expected to have. Very disappointing season,” Lee said. “But we finished the season on a good note and played a great baseball game tonight. Swung the bats very well and had some great moments by some seniors. Now is the time to reflect on this season and think about next season and get on the road recruiting. We need to go out and have a great recruiting season and try to reflect and get better.

“I am sure I will begin to think about all the things we need to work on and improve upon. I am sure I will circle up with the administration and follow up with the administration at some point, sooner rather than later, but I am not sure when that will be. And then we will turn our focus to recruiting. We need to have a great season in recruiting. And then we have the draft coming up in July, so it's a bit of an odd situation this year for us. We have a long time between now and when the draft hits to think about who we will potentially lose off of this year's team and with incoming signees.”

Clemson misses the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008, and the Tigers had played in 33 of the previous 34 tournaments. The Tigers also fashioned a losing record for the first time since 1957, the year before the legendary Bill Wilhelm took over the program.

However, Lee thinks his club is close to being a winner and said that would be his message to the Clemson fanbase.

“I think our club is close. I think if you look at the pieces that we have, and we will know a little more in about four or five weeks in terms of the draft and how the draft will affect our roster for next year, but we have some really good pieces coming back,” Lee said. “We have a great freshmen group. We have a lot of returners we think will be back that we feel very good about. Even with our senior class, because of the COVID year, they have a year of eligibility left. So, depending on what happens in the draft, some of these guys may come back and go to grad school for another year so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that some of the guys that graduated could be back. We will certainly look at it and how the draft goes for them. I think we are very, very close.

“We have the No. 10 recruiting class by some publications coming in. And our 2022 class is going to be a Top 10 class as well. If there was one thing I would tell Tiger fans, we've got back-to-back Top 10 classes coming in and we feel very good about the talent level we have coming in next year and also returning.”

Lee was asked if he thinks he will be back in 2022, and he said he hopes that is the case but knows the decision is out of his hands.

“As far as my status and do I think I will be back, I don't make those types of assumptions and I think you know why - I am 100 percent accountable for this program and how we perform in this program,” Lee said. “That is going to be determined by Dan Radakovich and the administration. I am accountable for what happened this season. I certainly hope to be back, and if I am back, we are going to work really hard to turn it around and get these guys ready to have a nice run next year. We will get a chance to meet with the administration and Dan and I will get a chance to talk about it.”

He then said that he believes he is the right coach to lead the program going forward.

“I am a believer in the track record. I have 13 years' experience as a head coach and I've put together a lot of successful teams,” Lee said. “So, I believe in myself and I believe I can lead this team, I can get this team going in the right direction again. I believe in my toughness. I am confident I can coach this team at a high level and can coach baseball at a high level. So, I certainly believe in myself and will certainly express myself to Dan. But I also must look at all the things we have to get better at and all the things we need to improve upon. I am sure that when I get the opportunity we will certainly discuss those things and I will get Dan's input as well. He is one of the best athletic directors in the country and I am sure there are some things he would want to share with me as well. That is kind of where I am.”