College of Charleston’s baseball team is set to begin its 36th season with a schedule featuring 31 home games. The Cougars will host weekend series against Campbell, High Point, Rutgers, and UNCW. Midweek home matchups include games with Air Force, Charleston Southern, Clemson, Georgia Southern, Presbyterian, and USC Upstate.
Head coach Chad Holbrook enters his ninth season with the program. He holds a record of 262-145 at Charleston and is one of only 13 active Division I head baseball coaches with over 450 career wins and a win percentage of .645 or higher.
The roster sees significant changes this year as Charleston welcomes 20 new players. Transfers Carson Bryant, Reece Holbrook, Parker Sweeney, and Will Tippett are among the newcomers. All three outfield positions will have new starters due to graduation. The team is also set to play Rutgers and Illinois for the first time in program history and will face multiple Big Ten teams in one season for the first time.
Coach Holbrook has added two staff members: Lee Curtis returns as an assistant coach after being inducted into the CofC Hall of Fame in 2018, and Brennan Ramsey joins as Assistant Director of Baseball Operations (Graduate Manager).
Returning players include 18 from last year’s squad. Alex Lyon was named to the All-CAA Second Team in 2025; Landon Penfield made the All-Rookie squad; Davis Aiken and Ethan Plyler received CAA Honorable Mentions. Catcher Dylan Johnson returns for his graduate year after starting in 111 out of 114 games over the past two seasons. In 2025 he batted .296 with 18 doubles, seven home runs, and 49 RBIs.
In relief pitching, Davis Aiken and Alex Lyon are key figures. Lyon earned NCBWA Preseason All-America honors while both relievers were listed on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. Aiken ranks third all-time at Charleston with 25 career saves and is noted as the only Division I pitcher to record more than ten saves in both 2024 and 2025. Lyon achieved ten wins out of the bullpen last year across 31 appearances and ranks third in school history for relief outings (78) as well as walks allowed per nine innings (1.46). The pitching staff brings back just over half of last season’s total innings pitched.
Since Chad Holbrook took over in 2018, Charleston has recorded the fourth-most victories among Division I baseball programs in South Carolina with a total of 262 wins—trailing Coastal Carolina (290), Clemson (289), and Wofford (279). The team’s home win total since then stands at 179, second only to Clemson’s tally of 187.
The Cougars start their season with a four-game series against Rutgers beginning Friday, February 13 at Patriots Point; first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Single game tickets can be purchased by visiting cofcsports./tickets or by calling (843) 953-2632.
“Chad Holbrook enters his ninth season leading the baseball program, holding a 262-145 mark with the Cougars, good for a .644 winning percentage. Holbrook is one-of-13 active Division I head baseball coaches with 450-plus career wins and .645-win percentage-or-better.”
