Entering his fifth season as the assistant coach at USC Upstate in 2012-13, Grant Rembert has been a solid impact on the face of the Spartans with his tough-as-nails approach to the game.

A former all-conference selection at Southern Conference power Elon, Rembert  serves as Upstate’s recruiting coordinator as well as working with the Spartan hitters, catchers and outfielders. He also oversees the Spartans’ strength and conditioning program.

Rembert recruited and mentored Gaither Bumgardner, the 2012 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, as the Spartans put together their most wins since entering the NCAA Division I level.

Starting last season with a 12-1 record, Upstate stormed into A-Sun play with three-game sweeps over Lipscomb, ETSU and Jacksonville to take second place in the league and post the program’s highest finish in the Division I era. The Spartans posted the third best batting average in the A-Sun at .287 and had the fewest strikeouts in the league.

In 2011, Rembert compiled a recruiting class that featured 13 players including David Roseboom, a 47th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 2010 MLB First Year Player Draft.  Also highlighting the class was rookie catcher Luke Weber.  Weber led the Spartans and finished tied for third in the conference with 20 doubles.

In 2010, Rembert helped put together a 15-member recruiting class that helped the team to a two-win improvement. Along the way, the Spartans, who featured three freshmen in their everyday lineup, won three games against teams that won their conference title in the previous year and Rembert also helped tutor a Spartan catching core that threw out 36 percent of base stealers.

Rembert helped lead the Spartans to wins over SEC school Tennessee and back-to-back Atlantic 10 champions Charlotte during the 2009 season. He also mentored a catching crew that threw out 34 percent of would-be basestealers and helped the team finish the year with a .283 batting average.

Rembert was a volunteer assistant for his alma mater in 2008, helping to lead the Phoenix to their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past seven seasons and their ninth straight 30-win season. Working primarily with catchers and outfielders, Rembert helped Cory Harrilchak to First Team All-Southern Conference honors as an outfielder and catcher Dallas Tarleton to second team honors from the SoCon Media.

He had a standout career for the Phoenix as an outfielder, placing his name in several Elon record book categories and earning two All-Southern Conference honors. He earned two letters for the Phoenix and in 2004, he posted one of the best individual seasons ever for an Elon player. He set Elon season records with 250 at bats and 24 doubles, while his 85 hits are the second-most in school history. He added 60 RBIs, which is fourth in school history.

Before an injury in 2005 forced him to redshirt, Rembert earned a NBCWA Hitter of the Week award for posting five runs and six RBIs, leading the Phoenix to a sweep of Wofford College.

He capped his career by hitting .315 with 51 runs and 44 RBIs, earning second team All-Southern Conference honors, to help lead the Phoenix to a program-record 45 wins, a SoCon regular season championship and a berth in the 2006 Clemson Regional. In the regional, Rembert helped second-seeded Elon defeat third-seeded Mississippi State, 5-4, the school’s first-ever NCAA Division I tournament win.

In 2006, Rembert played for the Evansville Otters, leading the Frontier League team to a league championship, playing 34 games in the outfield. He hit .258 with eight doubles and 16 RBIs in 41 games for the Otters.

Rembert played two seasons at UNC Asheville, earning Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2002. He hit .365 with five homers, seven doubles and 40 RBIs for the Bulldogs. He also earned a slot on the Big South All-Tournament team. He earned All-Big South honors as a catcher in 2003, hitting .324 with eight homers and 51 RBIs.

In all during his collegiate career, Rembert collected 299 hits, 32 home runs and 63 doubles.

A graduate of Maiden High School, Rembert helped the Blue Devils to a state title in 1999 and earned two all-state and three all-conference honors. Also a quarterback on the football team, Rembert was twice named the area and conference player of the year. A two-time all-state selection, Rembert also played in the 2000 Shrine Bowl.

Rembert, a native of Hickory, N.C., earned his degree in business administration from Elon in 2005 and his MBA from Elon in 2007. In 2008, he earned his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification through the National Strength & Conditioning Association.

Rembert and his wife, the former Ashley Thierer, were married on November 5, 2011.   

The Rembert File - Hometown: Hickory, N.C.