College of Charleston Investigating Baseball Coach

College of Charleston baseball coach Matt Heath is under investigation by school officials after complaints from former players about alleged abusive behavior by the head coach over the past two seasons, a source close to the athletic department told The Post and Courier on Monday.

Heath, 38, has a 59-57-1 record since taking over the program from former head coach Monte Lee, who left the College of Charleston two years ago to become the head coach at Clemson. The Cougars were 28-31 last season, suffering through their first losing season since 2001.

College of Charleston athletic director Matt Roberts and Heath both declined to comment on Monday.

The Cougars experienced an unusually high rate of player turnover since Heath took over the program in June 2015. Over the past two seasons, Charleston has had 46 different players on its roster.

Heath brought in 24 new players for the 2017 season. In a down year in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Cougars managed just a 13-11 record in conference games.

Under Lee In 2014 and 2015, the Cougars were 88-34 with back-to-back NCAA regional appearances and a super regional berth.

Heath played a key role in Charleston's success in 2014 and 2015, serving as the Cougars' pitching coach.

This is the third time in the last three years that an athletic coach at College of Charleston has been accused of abusive behavior by players.

In 2014, former men's head basketball coach Doug Wojcik was fired after allegations of physical and verbal abuse.

A year ago, former C of C women's basketball player Zoe Wallis sued the school, including head coach Candice M. Jackson, alleging "gross negligence" during a conditioning run in August 2014.

Heath, Wojcik and Jackson were all hired by former College of Charleston athletic director Joe Hull.

Heath has three years left on a five-year contract. Heath's base salary was $154,875 this past season.