Kingston not shying away from lofty expectations at South Carolina

Before taking the South Carolina job, Mark Kingston hadn’t been able to watch a lot of film on South Carolina, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the program.

Coaching in the AAC last season, he wasn’t able to see a lot of games or pay close attention to the team, but knows exactly what the expectations are as he begins his reign as the South Carolina head coach.

“He understood a lot about the dynamics of our baseball program even though he’d never been very close to it,” athletics director Ray Tanner said. “He had followed us, knows a lot about what goes on here, he’s made trips along the way to different schools.”

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And it’s those expectations he’s embracing and facing that make him excited for the future in Columbia.

“We will embrace your expectations. I know what the expectations are. Coach Tanner made sure I knew what the expectations were many, many times,” he said. “We won’t run from the expectations. We’ll run toward the expectations. Trust me, they’re the same.”

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South Carolina last made a trip to the College World Series in 2012, the last year Ray Tanner, now athletics director, was coach.

Before the coaching search went into full swing, Tanner said he wanted a coach who understood the pressure and expectations before accepting the job. From conversations with Kingston, Tanner thinks he’s found the coach that doesn’t shy away from high pressure.

“He’s all about embracing the culture we have here. I did not put much pressure on him during the process about winning,” Tanner said. “All I said was, ‘We got to beat Clemson, and I would like to go to Omaha.’ I really didn’t get into more detail than that.”

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Kingston is no stranger to Omaha. He went in college playing for North Carolina and was an assistant on Miami’s 2001 national-title winning team and recruiting coordinator on Tulane’s 2005 College World Series team.

He’s no stranger to the big stage, taking his former team South Florida to two NCAA Regionals in his three seasons in Tampa.

Putting an added emphasis on development and hard work, he knows what it takes to get to the premier event in college baseball. He said in his introductory press conference winning teams that culture is one of the most important things a team can have, and hopes to instill that culture at South Carolina.

“We want Omaha as much as you do,” Kingston said, addressing the fans in his press conference. “Only eight teams get there, but we can work every day to make sure that’s our focus…I’ve been to Omaha three times with three school. I want to get there a fourth time, with a fourth school with these colors.”