A second head coaching job has opened up in Lexington County. 

White Knoll’s Nick Pelham is leaving his position at the school to become the first head coach of the newly established Lake Wylie High School in Clover. The school is set to open during the 2026-27 academic year. 

“While this marks a transition for the White Knoll High School Timberwolves, we support coach Pelham as he takes this next step in his professional journey, and we are thankful for the time, energy and passion he has invested in our school and football program,” White Knoll principal Nicholas Pearson said in a release. 

Under Pelham’s leadership, the Timberwolves had one of their most successful stretches in school history. The team went 38-24 during his reign and made multiple deep runs in the postseason. 

Their most successful season came in 2023, when the team went 14-1 and became the first team to outright win its region over Dutch Fork since the arrival of coach Tom Knotts. The Timberwolves beat the Silver Foxes 17-14 in the regular season. 

White Knoll wound up advancing all the way to the 5A championship game that year, where the team ran into none other than Dutch Fork. Beating the Silver Fox dynasty twice in one year was just too much to overcome, and the team lost 21-6.

The Timberwolves have been trying to make it back to the state championship game ever since, but have run into a different region rival.

Irmo bounced the team out of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, keeping Pelham short of his goal of turning White Knoll into a championship-winning program. 

Before arriving at White Knoll, Pelham was the defensive coordinator at Dutch Fork under Knotts. There, he won five state titles from 2016-2020. Before that, he was at Westwood, Richland Northeast and Dutch Fork before Knotts’ arrival. 

After almost 20 years of coaching in the Midlands, he’s out. At Lake Wylie, Pelham will get to build a program from scratch. It will be molded to his specifications from day one. 

Meanwhile, White Knoll will begin its coaching search right away. It is the second opening in the county, joining Chapin after coach Ryan Cole resigned.

“As we move forward, we remain committed to maintaining the strong foundation and high standards that have been established for our football program,” Pearson said. “We will begin the search for a new head football coach promptly, with a focus on identifying a leader who aligns with the values, traditions and spirit of White Knoll High School. Updates will be shared as the process progresses.”