What might be next for South Carolina baseball in the transfer portal
South Carolina is insanely active currently in the transfer portal over the last few weeks since the season ended, and the Gamecocks aren’t done yet.
While they can’t bring in 10 more players to the already robust class they’ve inked to date, there is still a good chunk of players South Carolina can bring into the program next season.
So where do the Gamecocks go from here? Let’s try and project to see what could be next for Mark Kingston and his staff.
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There have been a few names linked to South Carolina out of the portal, most notably position players. The Gamecocks took a step forward offensively this year but need to continue to improve to take that next step.
The names that South Carolina fans know are the big ones: Alabama infielder Colby Shelton, Clemson infielder Billy Amick and UNC Greensboro infielder/outfielder Kennedy Jones.
Shelton is coming off a Freshman All-American season with the Tide where he hit .300/.419/.729 with 25 homers and 51 RBI. He did strike out a good bit (24.6 percent strikeout rate) but did have a .303 batting average on balls in play this year.
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He has ties to South Carolina and was once committed to Clemson under Monte Lee.
Amick is a South Carolina native who played his high school ball in Columbia and committed to current Gamecocks assistant Monte Lee at Clemson. The year he was an All-American and hit .418/.464/1.242 with 12 homers and 17 doubles this season. He had a .450 BABIP.
Jones, who’s primarily an outfielder, was one of the first big entries into the transfer portal this offseason. He hit .357/.445/.598 this season with 14 homers and a .391 BABIP.
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Those are the big ones and there are undoubtedly some other players the Gamecocks go after. But pitching continues to be a priority.
South Carolina has two commitments currently in Liberty’s Garrett Gainey and Virginia Tech’s Tyler Dean.
Both have the potential to impact the pitching staff positively in 2024. But the Gamecocks have to find more help to bolster a pitching staff that has to replace a ton of production.
The Gamecocks will likely have to replace 69.8 percent of starts from last season, 61.2 percent of innings and 67.9 percent of strikeouts from last year.
There are some starter candidates on the roster like Eli Jones, Roman Kimball and Matthew Becker. But the depth of the starter pool is smaller.
Adding another piece or two that can compete for starter innings is vital, along with bolstering the bullpen.
Other key bullpen arms the Gamecocks have coming back right now are Cade Austin, Chris Veach and Austin Williamson. South Carolina has a few freshmen who could come in and pitch.
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But adding more options there to create a deeper bullpen is another priority.
Offensively, South Carolina could potentially look to add another shortstop to the roster. The Gamecocks lose an integral three-year starter and a quality defensive player like Braylen Wimmer.
There aren’t a ton of shortstop options on the roster currently outside of Will Tippett ever since Michael Braswell left via the transfer portal. There is a shortstop commitment in the 2023 class in Lee Ellis. But looking to add a veteran shortstop could be a priority in the coming weeks.
The Gamecocks have done well in the portal currently, especially offensively. But they’re not done just yet with the potential to get better.
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