Assistant coach David Beckley named recruiting coordinator.
Charleston, S.C. The Citadel Head Baseball coach Fred Jordan announced the hiring of Stuart Lake on Monday as an assistant coach where he will take over the duties of outfield and hitting instructor. Lake comes to The Citadel after having spent three years coaching at the University of Mississippi under head coach Mike Bianco where he worked with the hitters and outfielders for Rebel baseball. Prior to his tenure at Ole Miss, Lake spent four years at the University of South Carolina and one year as an assistant at the College of Charleston.
“I have always respected this program, ever since I was a player,” said Lake. “Even when I worked at South Carolina, we had so much respect for The Citadel because it was always one of our toughest games of the year.”
Lake will serve as the hitting and outfield instructor and will also assist in recruiting and other administrative duties. Assistant coach David Beckley, who has been a part of Jordan's staff for the past six years, will take over responsibilities of recruiting coordinator while he continues to coach the infield and base runners.
“This program has accomplished a lot in the past 20 years and I am glad that I have a chance to come back and be a part of it,” added Lake. “I am excited to meet the players and get started with this quality team.”
Lake will fill the position of former coach Chris Lemonis who was named top assistant and recruiting coordinator under Dan McDonnell at Louisville. Lemonis acted as a coach on the Bulldog staff for 12 years under Jordan before joining fellow teammate McDonnell, who was previously an assistant at Ole Miss. Lemonis and McDonnell were together as members of Jordan's staff from 1995-2000, after playing together from 1989-1992.
“We are very excited to have attracted Stuart Lake who is recognized as one of the top hitting instructors in the country,” said Jordan. “Although we are extremely disappointed in Lemonis' departure, we are equally excited about Coach Lake's arrival.”
No stranger to the Lowcountry, Lake graduated from Charleston Southern in 1994 where he was a member of the Buccaneer baseball team during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Lake began his collegiate coaching career at South Carolina in 1999 where he coached the outfielders and served as first base coach while also assisting with the hitters. During his time there, the Gamecocks won three SEC East titles and two overall SEC championships. South Carolina also played in three NCAA Super Regionals and reached the national championship game of the College World Series in 2002.
Lake helped coach two SEC Player of the Year winners during his stint as a Gamecock. One of those players, pitcher Kip Bouknight, whom Lake coached in high school, was also the 2002 Golden Spikes Award winner.
In his only season with the Cougars (2003), Lake served as third base coach, hitting instructor and outfield coach. Lake had two hitters drafted during his short tenure. Second baseman Lee Curtis posted a .399 average to earn his second straight Southern Conference Player of the Year award and was drafted in the eighth round by the Boston Red Sox in the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He also coached catcher Matt Lauderdale, who was selected in the ninth round by the San Diego Padres in 2003.
“It is nice to be back in Charleston. A lot of my family is from this area, so I am glad that baseball has presented an opportunity to come back and work with Coach Jordan,” commented Lake.
Lake just completed his third season with the Rebel baseball program. He joined the staff in 2004 as an assistant responsible for the hitters and outfielders. In his first year at Ole Miss, Lake helped increase the Rebels' offensive production at the plate. Ole Miss belted 14 more home runs than in the previous year and the team's .443 slugging percentage was 33 points higher than the year before. In addition, the Rebels recorded 614 hits to top the 600-hit mark for the fifth straight season before breaking that mark again with more than 750 hits in 2005.
His second season with the Rebels proved to be one of the best in the history of the program offensively. Two of the program's best hitters, Stephen Head and Brian Pettway, gained All-America status after leading the Rebels at the plate.
In the 2005 season, the Rebels produced more than 750 hits, scored more than 500 runs and drove in 462 runs on the way to a Western Division title, the program's first in 23 seasons. Lake's tutelage at the plate saw six of the Rebels hit over the .300 mark for the year. The offense was also a big part of the Rebels coming within one game of the College World Series, falling to eventual national champion Texas in the Oxford Super Regional.
During his tenure as a Rebel, Lake helped coach 1B/LHP Stephen Head to SEC Co-Player of the Year honors. Head was also a finalist for the 2004 Golden Spikes Award, amateur baseball's most prestigious award, before being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 MLB draft.
Lake also had two of his outfielders get drafted in the 2004 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Seth Smith was a second-round selection by the Colorado Rockies and Charlie Babineaux was taken in the 28th round by the San Francisco Giants. In 2005, outfielder Brian Pettway earned All-America honors before being drafted in the third round by Toronto.
The 2006 season saw Ole Miss claim the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship as the Rebels' offense pounded away at the competition. Ole Miss outscored its opponents 39-10 in four games, hitting .356 for the tournament. Ole Miss also led the Southeastern Conference in hitting, batting at a .309 clip for the year and four Rebels finished in the top eight in the SEC in total hits for the season.
Ole Miss' offense produced more than 700 hits for the second-straight season as the Rebels made a run to game three of a Super Regional against Miami, the second-consecutive season Ole Miss has hosted a Super Regional and third straight to host a Regional.
Lake also tutored supplemental first-round draft pick Chris Coghlan, the highest drafted Rebel ever at the 36th overall pick, along with three other Rebel hitters who had their name called in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He also coached Zack Cozart to All-America honors as the sophomore was the second leading hitter on the team behind Coghlan.
Lake has coached more than 60 players who have gone on to play professional baseball in his nine-year coaching career. Six of those players were drafted in the first two rounds.
Prior to his college coaching career, Lake coached at his alma mater, Mid Carolina High School, and Brookland Cayce High School in Columbia, S.C. 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 League in 2000
Lake, 34, is married to the former Tracie Smith of Clover, S.C. The couple has a son, Hayden (1), who was born on November 17, 2004.
