Former NY Mets minor leaguer, Fort Mill coach hired as Legion Collegiate baseball coach

Legion Collegiate has hired Hamilton Bennett as its new head baseball coach, the school announced in a news release Friday afternoon.

The hire comes after second-year head coach Jalen Benjamin died in a traffic accident in Kershaw County on Aug. 10.

Bennett has an extensive résumé as an educator, baseball coach and player, which is what drew Legion Collegiate athletic director Mike Drummond to him. Bennett was the pitching coordinator at Nation Ford High School last season, and his latest head coaching stop was as Fort Mill’s junior varsity coach in 2023, where he led the Yellow Jackets to a 15-5-1 record. Overall, the new hire has been involved in coaching for 20 years.

Bennett was drafted by the New York Mets in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft out of Tennessee Wesleyan College (now Tennessee Wesleyan University), spending spent four seasons as a left-handed pitcher in the minor leagues. He made it to the Double-A level as a member of the Binghamton Mets and posted a career 3.09 ERA across 170 appearances.

The Tega Cay native, whose grandparents were British, also represented Great Britain in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.

“I have found my new passion since retiring as a player and that is coaching young men and helping them develop their skills to become better than me,” Hamilton said in the news release. “I am looking to take the next step in my coaching career by helping to take Legion Collegiate Academy to the next level.”

Hamilton is a 2007 Fort Mill graduate.