CLEMSON — The year before he took over as Clemson’s head baseball coach, Jack Leggett was in Dunedin, Fla., scouting players at a baseball tournament that had some of the best high school players in the country.

It was at this point when Leggett first ran into Tim Corbin. At the time, Corbin was the head coach at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. He was a young coach trying to make his way up the ladder.

The year was 1993 and PC was an NAIA program at the time.

“Honestly, Presbyterian, at that time, did not really have a chance to get most of those players because they were top-flight players. But he was there working as hard as anybody else, and I noticed him,” Leggett recalled.

At the time, Leggett was an assistant coach under Clemson Legend Bill Wilhelm. He was hand picked by Wilhelm to replace him as Clemson’s new skipper in 1994.

Leggett knew how to run a program. He started the baseball program at Vermont when he was 24-years old. He later moved on to Western Carolina where he coached the Catamounts for nine seasons before Wilhelm asked him to cover for one year and be his coach-in-waiting when he retired following the 1993 season.

When Leggett got the job, the first person he reached out to was that young PC coach who was trying to entice future big leaguers to come to little ole PC.

“I knew he was from New England. So, when I got the job, I met him at a Lums, which is like a Denny’s around here,” Leggett said. “I met him in White River Junction, Vermont, and we are into the conversion for about five or ten minutes and I am thinking to myself, ‘This guy is really sharp.’ I point blank asked him, ‘Do you think you can do the job?’ I explained what the job was — recruiting, working with the outfielders, hitters and all of that and he said he can do the job.”

Corbin, who is reuniting with Leggett and current Clemson head coach Erik Bakich in this weekend’s Clemson Regional, was Leggett’s first hire as Clemson’s head coach. The two worked to continue Wilhelm’s legacy and continue to build the Clemson Baseball Program into one of the best in college baseball for nine seasons (1994-2002).

“He was a great hire and probably one of the best ones,” Leggett said. “I have not made too many mistakes hiring people, but Tim was locked in. He was zoned in. He was competitive. He is a hard worker. He is very organized and very knowledgeable. He is a quick learner. So, the nine years we spent together, we had great chemistry, it was a great friendship, and we still have a great friendship. I saw it coming early.”

Now a Hall of Fame coach himself, Corbin brings his Vanderbilt Commodores to Clemson this weekend for the Clemson Regional. Vandy, the No. 2 seed will play No. 3 Coastal Carolina (Noon, ESPN2) in Game 1 on Friday.

Obviously, this is not the first time Corbin has brought his Commodores into Clemson. They won the 2017 and 2018 Clemson Regionals.

However, this trip to Clemson is different. Leggett, who now serves as the program developer under Bakich, was not involved with the Clemson Baseball Program the last time Vanderbilt came to town.

Bakich, who served seven seasons under Corbin at Vanderbilt after working one year under Leggett at Clemson, was the head coach at Michigan.

However, Clemson eventually brought them all three together, again.

“I think that is what makes it unique and special,” Leggett said. “It is good to see Tim and Maggie. They have a special bond with what Clemson University is all about and the baseball program here and, of course, Erik and myself do as well. I am sure it is exciting for him.”

Corbin is beyond excited.

Leggett is his mentor, while Bakich is his apprentice. They all acknowledge how Clemson first brought them together and now it has reunited them, again.

“He [Leggett] took a chance on an NAIA coach and hired him. He basically gave me a road map on what a head baseball coach looked like,” Corbin said. “I think of the mentors in my life, he is at the top because he was able to show me that you can use baseball to do other things with young kids.

“He was a teacher. I think teachers can be coaches. I do not think all coaches are teachers. But he was a teacher. He loved the educational part of coaching, and he loved developing young kids.”

It brings a smile to Corbin’s face when he sees Leggett back in the Clemson dugout, a spot he occupied for 22 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach from 1994-2015.

“It is great for him. It is great for Clemson. It is great for Coach Bakich. It is great for the kids,” Vandy’s head coach said. “They can feed off someone whose eyes have seen so many experiences. You are talking about a collegiate football player who played baseball. He is a Hall of Famer. He has done everything at the mid-major level. He has built programs.

“He built a program at the University of Vermont. That carried over to Western Carolina. He is a New England guy, as I am. So, I feel like there is a certain closeness there just because of where we are from. There is so much you can learn from that guy. If I had a kid that could play for Coach Bakich and also play for Coach Leggett, I think you got a gift. You got a gift as an 18 o 19-year-old kid for sure.”

Bakich, now in his second year at Clemson, has that same gift. Like his two mentors, he loves to teach his coaches and coach his players.

Another Leggett disciple, Keith LeClair, recommended Bakich to Leggett as a volunteer coach in 2002. The 2002 Clemson coaching staff comprised of Leggett, Corbin, Kevin O’Sullivan (Florida’s head coach) and Bakich.

“I could not say no to Keith LeClair, and I did not know Erik at the time. However, I saw early on Erik was going to be special. In the first day or two, I thought to myself, ‘This is a really good move.’ I saw what he was capable of doing at that time,” Leggett said.

When Corbin left for Vanderbilt in 2003, Bakich followed and stayed in Nashville until 2009 when he took the head coaching job at Maryland. He ultimately made his way to Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the College World Series Championship Series in 2019.

In the last two years, Bakich has brought the Clemson baseball program back up, where it has earned a top-8 national seed for a second straight year.

“I did not screw them up too badly by being around me. There is always a chance of that, I guess,” Leggett said jokingly. “I think they both have the attitude, enthusiasm, work ethic, toughness, competitive juices and the ability to learn and listen.

“They just became really good coaches, and I am proud of both of them.”

Clemson Regional

Friday’s schedule

Game 1: No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Coast Carolina, Noon, ESPN2

Game 2: No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 High Point, 7 p.m., ACCN

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