On June 4, 2015, Dan Radakovich made the decision not to retain Hall of Fame head coach Jack Leggett. After Leggett’s dismal, the Clemson athletic director came to assistant coach Bradley LeCroy, who had coached under Leggett for eight years, and asked him to stay on through the transition of a new head coach.

Two weeks later, Monte Lee was named Clemson’s new head coach. LeCroy described those two weeks in between as the longest and toughest of his professional career.

“I told people that I would not wish those two weeks on my worst enemy. It was tough,” LeCroy said. “The program was in such transition.”

LeCroy was also in transition. For most of those two weeks, he had no idea if coaching at Clemson was still in his future, which was hard to accept considering Clemson is his life.

LeCroy was born in Anderson, South Carolina and was raised in nearby Walhalla where he played for legendary coach Ed Taylor at Walhalla High School. After graduating from Walhalla, he came to Clemson where he played for Leggett from 1997-2000.

With the exception of the five years he was an assistant coach at Western Carolina, who the Tigers will play Friday in Game 2 of the Clemson Regional, and Tennessee, LeCroy has spent much of his life in and around the Clemson area.

“Obviously, this program means a lot to me. It is not just my job,” he said. “I played here. This is where I went to school. My wife went to school here. We are raising our two young boys here.”

LeCroy said he was very blessed when Lee was named as Leggett’s replacement. The two have known each other for nearly 15 years, dating back to when Lee was a young assistant coach at South Carolina and LeCroy was just getting started as a volunteer coach at Clemson.

“Fortunately for me, Monte and I have known each other for a long time,” LeCroy said. “We worked the camps together and things like that so we had a previous relationship. Obviously, I respected him from what he had done in his career, and I think he respected me, obviously, to keep me on staff.

“We communicated throughout the process. Obviously, I knew he was a name that was in the mix. We communicated through the phone. He asked me if I was willing to stay and I said, ‘Yes, if it is the right situation. I would love to stay here at Clemson.’”

It turned out to be a very good situation. LeCroy stayed on as recruiting coordinator, as well as coaching the infielders and assisting with the hitters. Though he has been a part of some very good teams at Clemson in his time as a player and as a coach, last week was the first time he was part of a team that won an ACC Championship.

Now, as the No. 7 national seed, the Tigers will host, as long as they keep winning, every tournament game in Clemson, giving LeCroy an opportunity to return to Omaha for the first since 2000, his senior year at Clemson.

“Obviously, with Monte coming in, and being able to stay and continue to do what I do for this program, I’m very lucky. I’m very blessed,” LeCroy said. “I appreciate Monte giving me the opportunity to stay in this program and so far it has worked out.

“I had some other opportunities outside of Clemson, but this is my home and this is my place.”