USC Sumter baseball to host fundraiser for coach's wife after disease diagnosis

After the wife of a well-known local baseball coach was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease, the USC Sumter baseball community is rallying to support the family through a special fundraiser.

USC Sumter baseball team will host the fundraiser for former head coach Tim Medlin and his family on Saturday, March 14, as the Fire Ants take on Florence Darlington Tech at 1 p.m. at Riley Park, 655 Church St.

Medlin's wife, Claudia, was diagnosed with a fatal neurological disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD, in January.

CJD is a very rare disease with only one to two cases reported per 1 million people, according to CDC.

Tim and his family have been very involved in the community for a long time and have been a part of the college's baseball program for about 12 years.

"The Medlin family, they do love Sumter. Coach Medlin always found ways to get us involved as a team in the community, whether it was doing hundreds of hours of community service, going to the elementary school," current head baseball coach Will Thompson said about the family.

Claudia was also very involved with the team and the community.

"Anyone who's in athletics knows that it's hard to be a coach without the support of your significant other. Claudia has been that constant support for him and for our players," said USC Sumter Athletic Director Age Cataldo. "She's their mom away from home."

Thompson, when asked what the family means to the program and the community, said, "You can't think about USC Sumter baseball without thinking about Coach Medlin and Claudia."

Money from admissions, concessions and on-site donations will benefit the family. There is also a GoFundMe for those who would like to support the family but are unable to attend Saturday's game. Visit https://tinyurl.com/3djyx7ne to donate.

As of Monday, March 9, donations have totaled $23,111, according to the GoFundMe page.

The team is also looking for more opportunities to raise money, including as a small auction, and make donations.

"We feel like this is the least we can do to try to help their family through an extremely tough time," Cataldo said.