Associate head baseball coach and recruiting coordinator Monte Lee is preparing for his first game against Clemson since returning to South Carolina last summer for his second stint in Columbia.
Lee was previously Clemson's head baseball coach for seven years, leading the Tigers to a 242-136 overall record from 2016 to 2022. His tenure included winning the 2016 ACC Tournament and qualifying for four straight NCAA regionals with the Tigers to begin his tenure but ended when he was fired in May after missing out on the postseason in 2021 and 2022.
Ahead of the upcoming away-neutral-home series between the two rivals, Lee said that he does not know how he will be received on Friday when the Gamecocks travel to Clemson.
"The people at Clemson were great to me," Lee said. "I have many great relationships there with a lot of people, and if I get the chance to say 'hello' to them while I'm there, I'd love to. But ultimately, it's about me going up there and trying to help our team win a ballgame."
Lee said that being on the other side of the inter-state rivalry is not new but that he expects to feel a little weird before the game starts.
"You just remember recruiting (the other players), you remember coaching them," Lee said. "Just being there with them through good times and through bad times and all those special moments that you spend together."
He also said that keeping emotions in check is key going into this weekend's series, which is split with a game each in Clemson, Greenville and Columbia.
"We try to be as loose as we possibly can and as calm as we possibly can," Lee said. "Once the national anthem starts and their starting pitcher goes out there, the emotions are going to rise a little bit."
Prior to Lee's time at Clemson, he was the head coach for the College of Charleston from 2009 to 2015. He qualified the Cougars for a Super Regional in 2014.
He also served as an assistant coach on Ray Tanner's staff at South Carolina from 2003 to 2008. Lee said that he does not know if he could have had a "better apprenticeship" than working under Tanner during that time.
"I learned a lot about just competing every pitch," Lee said. "I talk about (it) even to this day, and I saw it firsthand as a young assistant working for Ray."