South Carolina Baseball: Gamecock legend officially leaving Columbia, gets new coaching gig

South Carolina baseball fans all know the name Scott Wingo. Wingo rose up from relatively unknown backup to one of the best second basemen in program history, but he also became one of the best leaders and "clutch players" ever to wear the interlocking SC on his hat.

Wingo was part of both USC national championships in 2010 and 2011, and he was the player who touched home plate for the winning run in 2010 as Whit Merrifield delivered the most famous opposite field single in Rosenblatt Stadium history.

Wingo returned to the Gamecocks for two separate coaching stints, including being with the program during the past two seasons. In 2022 and 2023, Wingo was the team's volunteer assistant coach, and he was in the process of being transitioned to the role of director of player development for 2024. The move didn't seem to be what Wingo wanted.

Earlier this offseason, South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston hired Joey Holcomb from Campbell to fill the third assistant coaching role, and in December, Wingo put out a blunt social media post about looking for coaching opportunities.

On Saturday, it became official that Wingo was leaving the Gamecocks and would be an on-field coach once again.

D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers reported on Saturday that Wingo would be the next hitting coach for the Manhattan Jaspers.

With Wingo's departure, the Gamecocks will need a new third base coach, a role that makes sense for Holcomb as he has experience waving runners in to score from his time coaching at UNC-Greensboro and Campbell.

It is unclear at this point who might join the South Carolina baseball program to help in some of the off-field roles that Wingo was set to fill.

The Gamecocks open their 2024 season February 14th-18th with a home series against Miami (OH).