Baseball Adds Lindquist, Valerio to Coaching Staff
COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina baseball program and head coach Kevin Schnall announced a pair of additions to the coaching staff for the 2026-27 academic year. Joining the Gamecock baseball coaching staff are Kyle Lindquist (defensive coordinator/infield coach) and Dan Valerio (assistant recruiting coordinator/field coordinator).
Lindquist comes to Columbia after spending five and a half seasons with the Cleveland Guardians as a senior analyst, helping the organization with advance scouting and player evaluation. Lindquist was on the Guardians staff that won the American League Central title in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and a Wild Card appearance in 2020. He was a volunteer assistant at Davidson in 2019 and spent time at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, as an assistant coach from 2014-18. Lindquist started his coaching career at his alma mater, Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.
Lindquist was a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection as a pitcher and an All-American in 2012 at Marietta, helping the Pioneers to back-to-back Division III national championships in 2011 and 2012. He played a pair of seasons in independent baseball with the Rockford Riverhawks and the Gary SouthShore Railcats.
Valerio comes to the Garnet and Black from Wake Forest University, where he was the director of recruiting for the Demon Deacons this past season, helping Wake to 39 wins and a berth in the Morgantown Regional. He spent the 2024 season with the Detroit Tigers organization, serving as a video coordinator and scout in the amateur scouting department. In that role, he captured video on targeted prospects across the country while assisting in the evaluation and coverage of amateur talent nationwide.
Prior to his time in professional baseball, Valerio worked as the assistant scouting director for Prep Baseball Report New Jersey, where he utilized advanced technologies, including TrackMan, Blast and video breakdown to evaluate prospects. He wrote scouting reports, ranked top uncommitted players, provided statewide coverage and assisted with the organization and operation of technology at major scouting events.
Valerio served as the recruiting coordinator at Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester. There, he managed all aspects of on and off-campus recruiting while assisting with talent identification and evaluation. He additionally coached in the Matrix ACBL Summer League, one of the premier NJCAA summer leagues in the Northeast region.
A former professional player, Valerio spent three seasons in professional baseball, competing for the Somerset Patriots, Windy City ThunderBolts and Eastside Diamond Hoppers. Collegiately, he played at Southeastern University, earning two All-Conference selections and NAIA All-American honors while helping lead the program to an NAIA World Series championship and two World Series appearances. He began his collegiate career at Gloucester Community College, where he was a two-time All-Region selection and made two College World Series appearances.
Valerio earned a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern University and an associate degree from Gloucester Community College.
