BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood baseball team closed out its 2025 season showing much improvement over the last several years. New head coach Tyrin Pickett looks to keep the Redhawks in the right direction.
Pickett succeeds Nate Caldwell, who led Westwood baseball for the last three years. After posting two 7-win seasons, Caldwell’s Redhawks went 11-13 in the 2025 regular season and reached the best-of-three play-in series for the 5A Division 2 District 4 Tournament. Westwood beat Irmo 9-5 in the first game of the series—the team’s first playoff win. The Yellow Jackets won the next two games to advance.
“The program is definitely growing, with the team’s best season and the first playoff win,” Pickett said. “I’m looking at doing a little bit better, and with players like Austin Jeffcoat, Nathan Caldwell, and Jack Quarles coming back, I’m looking for those guys to bring some great leadership and getting us to grow and develop our younger players.”
Pickett is a 1993 Spring Valley graduate who played college baseball at St. Andrews, earning All-Conference Carolinas first team honors in 1998. After college Pickett coached with his father, Westwood B team coach Bernard Pickett, at Dent Middle School before moving on to coaching jobs at Richland Northeast and Dreher.
“It was one of the most special times of my life, coaching with my father,” he said. “He raised me as a baseball player and as a person, and having him on the team here at Westwood makes me a better coach and a better person.”
Along with his father, Pickett is already invested in Westwood. He has been a hitting instructor at Touch Em All Academy as well as an assistant with the Redhawks since 2022.
Following his appointment to the head coaching position in October, Pickett talked about his experience in a press release.
“I’ve been to two Dixie Boys World Series, helped several athletes achieve their goals of playing collegiate baseball and softball and help build our communities with awesome people that have become coaches,” he stated in a press release.
“My coaching approach is rooted in Toughness, Effort, Attitude (positive) and Servant Leadership. I’m very passionate about leaders prioritizing the needs of their followers to help the organization and/or team succeed.”
With the season opener against American Leadership Academy set for Feb. 27, Pickett said setting the tone of the program begins with seniors Jeffcoat and Caldwell. Jeffcoat, who committed to USC-Sumter, batted .312 and was 1-0 in five pitching appearances last season. Caldwell, who committed to Claflin, batted .464 and was 1-0 as a pitcher with four mound appearances.
Seeing those players further their careers helps attract interest among prospective Redhawks and the community as well, Pickett said.
“When parents see their kids going into a program and leave the program better than they were when they came in, that helps us within the community as well,” he said. “They can say when my son went over to Westwood, he got better both as a player and as a person.”
Westwood will play this season in 5A before moving to 4A next year in the 2026 reclassification.