Kemp to manage RedWolves

FLORENCE — Chris Kemp’s first goal as Florence RedWolves manager — win the Petit Cup.
A championship is Kemp’s main objective as he takes over for Wes Davis, who resigned after managing the club for the past two seasons.
Florence finished with a 30-25 record this season and lost in the first round of the Petit Cup playoffs.
“I was aware of the history of this team,” Kemp said. “This team has always made the playoffs, and I want to take them even further.”
“We are very excited about having coach Kemp with us for the 2010 season. He is a quality coach and a quality person, and will fit into our organization very well,” Florence owner Kevin Barth said. “Coach Kemp has some big shoes to fill, having to follow Coach (Wes) Davis and Coach (Sean) Heffernan, but we are confident he can fill them.
“We are looking forward to watching Coach Kemp build his team for next summer, and hopefully he can put together a team that can bring home our first championship.”
Kemp was an assistant last year with CPL’s Outer Banks Daredevils. The Daredevils won the North Division’s first-half title and were second in the league in batting average, .268, and first in the league in hits with 508.
“He will be a good fit for us as he already has CPL league experience, and he has always played and coached with winning programs,” RedWolves general manager Jamie Young said of Kemp. “We believe he will continue the trend that Florence has had of putting a good product on the field and being a contender for the CPL league championship each year.
“Hopefully this will be the year we can bring it home.”
The Georgia native played for SMC in 2002-03 and finished with a .368 average before playing at Tennessee. In two seasons, Kemp played in 112 games for the Volunteers with a .298 career average.
Kemp was drafted in 2006 by the Texas Rangers where he played in 115 games with four different affiliates posting a .243 average.
Kemp retired from baseball in 2008 and began his coaching career at SMC. In two seasons, Kemp has helped the team to a 100-24 record including a 55-9 record in 2009 which was second best in the country for junior college teams. SMC played in the NJCAA World Series in 2009 and SMC had 12 players sign to attend Division I schools this fall.
Growing up in a baseball family, I always wanted to be a baseball coach,” Kemp said. “I wanted to do it as soon as possible, and I finally got the opportunity.”