LAURINBURG — The Scotland baseball program is on the verge of naming its third head coach in 22 years, the Laurinburg Exchange has learned.
Sources have indicated the Scots are set to hire 34-year-old Chad Hill. Hill has spent the past nine seasons at Union Pines, where he began his coaching career.
The school has not formally announced the decision because it has not been approved by the Scotland County Board of Education. The next board meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday.
The Vikings finished 11-14 overall last year and placed fifth in the 3A Cape Fear Valley standings with a 6-6 conference record. Union Pines advanced to the semifinals of the conference tourney before falling to Terry Sanford.
In 2014 Union Pines won its first Cape Fear Valley conference tournament championship with Hill at the helm, defeating the Bulldogs in the title game.
Along with the one conference tourney title, Hill has paced the Vikings to two Cape Fear Valley regular season championships during his tenure. Union Pines has qualified for the postseason six times under Hill, and he led the program to a 20-win season in 2011 when the Vikings advanced to the quarterfinals of the 3A playoffs.
The program was previously coached by Jamie Coleman, who was hired to the same position at Hoke High School two weeks ago.
Coleman resigned on May 28 after leading the Scots to an 11-8 record this season and a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference. Scotland reached the playoffs twice in three years under Coleman, qualifying for the postseason in 2013 and this season.
Coleman was proceeded by the late Tommy Britt, who coached the Scots from 1992-2012 before leaving his post to focus on his responsibilities as the school’s athletic director.
Current athletic director Richard Bailey said after Coleman’s resignation that the Scots wanted a “strong family man” who could “relate to the players” and embrace the challenge of building close ties with the youth baseball community.
Logan Martinez can be reached at 910-506-3170. Follow him on Twitter @L_Martinez13.