Charleston Southern Coach Resigns, Takes Position at South Carolina

Stuart Lake resigned as head coach of Charleston Southern on Thursday to accept a position on the staff at South Carolina as the coordinator of baseball administration and director of player development. Buccaneers associate head coach Adam Ward was named interim head coach for the 2017 season.

Lake, a Charleston Southern alumnus, went 176-265 in eight seasons as head coach. He had the second-most wins in program history and guided the Buccaneers to a 30-26 record in 2014, their first winning season in 18 years. Charleston Southern went 19-34 and finished 10th in the Big South Conference last year.

The announcement of Lake’s departure came the day before teams open official practice, just over three weeks before Opening Day on Feb. 17. In a statement, Lake acknowledged the abnormal timing of the move.

“The timing of this decision is what has made it so difficult,” Lake said. “I love my players here at CSU and all the ones I have been privileged to coach over the last eight years. As a former CSU baseball player myself, I always took pride in what we were working to accomplish.”

Lake returns to South Carolina, where he was a volunteer assistant coach on Ray Tanner’s staff from 1999-2002.

Ward, who played at Clemson from 2007-2009, is entering his sixth season at Charleston Southern. This will be his first experience as a head coach.