South Carolina has named Bill Cilento as its new hitting coach, a move that underscores the program’s ambition to rebuild its offensive identity under head coach Kevin Schnall.
A New Era for South Carolina Baseball
Cilento comes to Columbia after 17 seasons at Wake Forest, where he rose to the role of associate head coach in 2019 and helped the Demon Deacons capture a historic College World Series berth in 2023, the first for the school in nearly seven decades.
During his tenure, Cilento coached a hitting unit that placed in the nation’s top 50 for home runs in nine of the last ten seasons, a performance that earned him recognition from D1 Baseball as an assistant “on the rise” nationally.
The staff reshuffle also welcomes Matt Williams as the new pitching coach. Williams previously worked alongside Schnall at Coastal Carolina and served as Mark Kingston’s pitching aide for the 2024 season, bringing a blend of experience and continuity to the mound staff.
A welcome gathering for the newly assembled coaching crew is set for Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Founders Park in Columbia, giving fans an early glimpse of the next chapter for Gamecocks baseball.