Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University baseball head coach Lance Rhodes announced the addition of Seth McLemore to his coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season. McLemore joins from Appalachian State, where he spent two seasons.

"I'm very excited to welcome Seth and his wife Courtney to Carbondale," said Rhodes. "As I began the search process, the one name who continually came up as someone I had to speak with was Seth. After the first conversation, I knew Seth was a coach that players would love playing for. His passion for coaching and success has followed him everywhere he has gone. I am excited to work alongside him, and our staff looks forward to building a championship program together."

During his tenure at Appalachian State, McLemore contributed to 63 victories and helped achieve two Sun Belt Tournament Championship semifinal appearances. His efforts saw one player named a Second Team All-American, two players named All-Region, and four players named to the Sun Belt All-Conference Team. Additionally, two Mountaineers were selected in the MLB Draft during his time there.

"I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Southern Illinois! God has blessed my wife and I unbelievably," said McLemore. "I want to thank Coach Rhodes for the opportunity to join his coaching staff. I can't wait to continue building on the successes the program has had under his leadership."

In 2024, Appalachian State broke its single-season home run record with 96 home runs and scored a program-high 484 runs. The team also set records in on-base percentage (.411), slugging percentage (.508), and hits (576). CJ Boyd set a new career home run record with 35 homers over two seasons, while Banks Tolley set a single-season record with 26 home runs.

McLemore's prior experience includes serving as an assistant coach at Milligan University in Elizabethton, Tenn., where he helped lead the Buffaloes to a 36-21 record. Before Milligan, he coached at NCAA Division I Murray State during their record-setting season in 2021.

He also held positions at Central Methodist University during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In addition, McLemore coached in various summer leagues including roles with Spearfish Sasquatch (Expedition League) and Beach Collegiate Baseball League.

McLemore played college baseball at Southwest Tennessee Community College before transferring to Central Baptist College in Arkansas where he earned all-conference honors.