Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee made an offer Charles Mack couldn’t refuse.
On Wednesday, the 2018 shortstop from Williamsville, N.Y. committed to Clemson.
“Clemson is unbelievable. You can’t get much better than the campus and baseball program, especially with coach Monte Lee coming in (with) a lot of experience, so I like the coaching aspect and the baseball aspect, along with the campus and how beautiful it was…(Lee) gave me a very good offer,” Mack told TheClemsonInsider on Thursday.
“For position players, it’s hard to get that kind of money.”
Clemson pitching coach Andrew See first contacted Mack while he was on staff at Duke. He continued to show interest after Lee brought him to Tigertown.
“(See) actually let our team came practice there and see a little bit of the campus, the baseball aspect of it. We took a tour with the coaches, looked at the batting cages, workout facilities,” Mack said. “Then, he pulled a couple of people aside to talk to them personally and I was one of them. He gave us all the information that we needed about Clemson and all that. I really enjoyed going around campus.”
Mack returned a few days later.
“We went around the whole campus, looked at the dorms and all that, really enjoyed it. We went to the football field. We went back and talked a little bit more. My parents and I, we got more of an idea about Clemson and everything,” he said. “I called coach two days after and he was ready to make me an offer.
“He made me an offer. At first it was a little low, because there are two other kids in my family and we’re all going to college. He did me a favor and raised it up a little bit, so I took it. I’m very happy I took it.”
Despite having three years of high school still ahead of him, Mack didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to play at Clemson.
“You never know. It could be off the table. You may never get a better offer and you may regret it, so I took it and I’m happy I did,” he said.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect also had contact with Vanderbilt, Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh.