Analyzing impact of Joey Holcomb expected to join South Carolina baseball staff
South Carolina is expected to bring in Joey Holcomb from Campbell to round out its coaching staff, so let’s take a look at what his resume looks like.
Holcomb–who can start after July 1–is a long-tenured assistant dating back to the mid-2010s who’s also been in charge of developing offenses in the Big South, SoCon and ACC with plenty of success doing it.
With his looming addition to the program, let’s take a deep dive into his resume.
The background, track record
Holcomb became an assistant at UNC-Greensboro where he was also with future Notre Dame and Florida State head coach Link Jarrett. That staff spent time turning UNC-G into one of the better teams in the SoCon while leading Holcomb to take a job as NC State’s recruiting coordinator.
Holcomb also spent two years, one full season, with the Wolfpack which ended in the College World Series. After the 2021 season, he went to work at Campbell while the Camels won 40 games in consecutive seasons and ended in a regional final in 2023.
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He’s worked with outfielders and catchers while going from school to school, including multiple all-conference players and a handful of players of the year.
During his time at Campbell, Holcomb helped coach 15 different all-Big South hitters with a few being outfielders and catchers, too. Grant Knipp and Ty Babin were both first-team all-league the last two years at catcher.
Lawson Harrill, Tyler Halstead, Max Weller and Logan Jordan were all outfielders at Campbell that turned into all-league hitters on either the first or second team. Harrill was also the Big South Player of the Year this season.
One source, speaking about Campbell in general, raved about Holcomb and the entire staff’s ability to develop guys on the roster.
Campbell infielder Zach Neto was also the league’s POTY in 2022. In one full year at NC State, Terrell Tatum (DH), Jose Torress and Austin Murr (infielders) then Jonny Butler and Tyler McDonough (outfielders) landed on All-ACC teams.
Holcomb helped coach almost 30 all-SoCon players during his time at UNC-G including SoCon Player of the Year and outfielder Andrew Mortiz in 2018 and SoCon Freshman of the Year Caleb Webster in 2017.
That bodes well for a Gamecocks team that brings back an All-American catcher in Cole Messina, an All-American outfielder in Ethan Petry while having a few big pieces in the outfield like Austin Brinling, Kennedy Jones and others.
Stats of Holcomb-involved offenses
One positive about Holcomb is his ability to adapt and change his offenses based on personnel. During his time at UNC-G, the Spartans weren’t a big power-hitting team but relied more on hitting for average and manufacturing runs. During his time there UNC-G didn’t strike out a ton and had over 20 sacrifice flies in five of his seven seasons there.
It wasn’t a home-run-happy lineup but one that hit a ton of doubles bunted a good bit and would do a lot to scratch across runs. There was some rebuilding that needed to be done during that staff’s first few years there, but UNC-G averaged at least seven runs in three of the final four seasons and averaged double-digit hits per game in all but one season there.
Then, over his last four seasons (three full) his teams were also good about hitting for power, too. NC State slugged .508 with an OPIS of .889 during his tenure (including a COVID-shortened season) while averaging 7.4 runs and 10.3 hits per game.
StatOverallCampbellNC StateUNC-GRuns/game7.49.27.46.8Hits/game10.910.910.311.0Average.311.309.295.315On-base %.394.425.381.386Slugging %.489.555.508.464OPS.882.980.889.850BABIP.358.350.345.362Walk rate (%)10.112.111.19.1Strikeout Rate (%)17.319.121.015.9Home runs672241120311
That group did strike out a good bit but would hit for a good chunk of power, averaging 1.98 doubles and 1.6 home runs per game there. NC State did also walk in 11.1 percent of plate appearances over those two seasons.
In his full season with NC State that group slashed .286/.367/.493 as a team with a .333 BABIP and a 10.4 walk rate and 21.1 strikeout rate. The Pack led the ACC in average, runs, home runs and slugging while being third in doubles, fourth in walks and fifth in on-base percentage.
Those numbers were insane, also, at Campbell with things culminating in a prolific 2023 season. Holcomb and the Camels slashed .318/.439/.561 as a team while notching a .365 BABIP, 12.8 walk rate and 19.4 strikeout rate. They averaged 9.6 runs while picking up 11.3 hits per game.
Overall through his three stops (575 games, 20,101 at-bats), his offenses have combined to hit .311/.394/489 (.882 OPS) with a .357 BABIP.
He and Monte Lee combining forces at South Carolina has to be encouraging.
The recruiting
Holcomb has extensive ties to the Carolinas while spending his entire assistant coaching career in North Carolina.
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He also has ties to this area and has recruited at a high level. Obviously, Campbell and UNC-Greensboro recruits at a high level for mid-major programs.
North Carolina State’s recruiting classes in 2022 and 2023–which Holcomb had a big hand in building–were top 25 and top half of the ACC.
Combining him again with Lee and his extensive ties to South Carolina and Matt Williams, who also is incredibly well-connected in the state, is a very positive sign for the Gamecocks moving forward.
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