Russell Triplett leaves Newberry College after 14 seasons for The Citadel

NEWBERRY — Russell Triplett sent shock waves through the Newberry community on Wednesday evening when he was introduced as the new head baseball coach of The Citadel.

The Clemson alumnus and West Columbia native took over the Wolves baseball program in 2011. In just two seasons, he was able to completely turn the program around earned his first winning season in 2013 with a 29-22 overall record. Then, he would put together four straight 30-win seasons from 2014-17. His 2019 and 2023 seasons were his best seasons at the Smith Road Complex.

In 2019, the Wolves won a school record of 41 games, the South Atlantic Conference championship and hosted a NCAA Regional for the first time ever in school history.

Then, Triplett and his Wolves were able to have another record breaking year in 2023. They won a school record of 43 games, breaking the previous record set in 2019, and won their first NCAA Division II tournament game. The Wolves had two win streaks of 13 and 12 games that season. They also swept five conference series and were ranked in the top 10 nationally for eight weeks. The 2023 senior class left the Newberry College as the winningest class in school history with 131 wins which eclipsed the 2017 class.

Triplett will leave as the winingest head coach in school history, an overall record of 418-278-1, a three times SAC Coach of the Year, coached the SAC Player of nthe Year on three different occasions, two SAC Freshmen of the Year and two SAC Conference Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Despite a down season in 2024, Triplett secured is 400th career win.

His experience as a player at Clemson, then getting his start as a volunteer assistant for one season at Clemson before serving as an assistant coach for USC Upstate, and spending time as a professional baseball instructor at the Blue Chip Baseball Academy have lead to this special moment for him and his family.

“The opportunity to take the helm of a program with as much history, tradition and pure grit as The Citadel is a dream come true,” Triplett said. “The entire process of interviewing for this position has been incredibly fulfilling, and I’d like to personally thank The Citadel’s president, Gen. Walters, the Citadel Director of Athletics Mike Capaccio and every member of the search committee for putting their faith in my background, my experience and my vision. The Citadel ranks as one of those ‘special places’ within the college baseball community, and my entire family and I are thrilled to embrace the unique culture and dedicated alumni base that makes this institution exceptional.”

The Citadel put together a search committee led by their Athletics Director Mike Capaccio after the school and former head coach Tony Skole agree to mutually part ways following the 2024 season. Skole served as head coach for seven seasons. The school interviewed over 60 candidates and decided Triplett was the right man for the job.

“Following a comprehensive search over the past few weeks, I’m proud to welcome Russell Triplett as the new head baseball coach for The Citadel,” Capaccio said. “Triplett has a proven track record of success throughout his career and I look forward to watching him construct a culture of excellence, focused around the development of our cadet and student athletes, in the search to reestablish the deep-rooted, winning tradition of the storied baseball program here at The Citadel.”

The Newberry community gave well wishes to Triplett, but were deeply saddened by the news of him leaving. He truly built a strong program and constantly recruited, and often sign, the talented local players in Newberry County and the surrounding areas.

As for the Wolves, they announced that long time assistant coach Jay Snyder will be their next head coach. He has served as a top assistant for 16 seasons and helped the Wolves win a total of 460 games over that time period, which leads the South Atlantic Conference.