South Carolina baseball: staff, portal, draft notes
It’s been a dizzying few days for South Carolina baseball with some staff movement, mining the portal and plenty of other news to glean.
The Gamecocks have to replace their pitching coach, put the finishing touches on the 2024 roster and manage the draft looming in three weeks. Here’s the latest in all three areas.
The staff
South Carolina is shifting things around, losing Justin Parker to Mississippi State. The Gamecocks will very likely bring in Liberty’s Matt Williams to replace him. It would take something vastly unforeseen for Williams to not be named the Gamecocks’ pitching coach officially.
With Parker, Mississippi State offered him a massive raise to what he was already getting at South Carolina. At the end of the day, it was too much to overcome.
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The Gamecocks were going to give him a new multi-year deal and a raise, but it still would have been less than what he made at Mississippi State. That left South Carolina needing a pitching coach, which is where Williams will almost assuredly slot into the equation.
He’s been one of the better pitching coaches in the country, turning UNCW and Liberty into really quality staffs. Williams also has plenty of ties to the state of South Carolina. He and Monte Lee have plenty of connections to the state and should be a good one-two punch for the Gamecocks in the state.
Speaking of Lee, he was connected to the Cincinnati opening but ultimately turned down overtures from the Bearcats administration. It seems likely Lee returns to South Carolina next season for his second year as the team’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
It wouldn’t be shocking if Lee also earned a raise and an extension this offseason. Lee’s base salary in his first year at South Carolina was $240,000. That current deal is set to expire on June 30.
The portal
The Gamecocks are in full roster-building mode heading into the last few weeks of June, trying to put the finishing touches on the 2024 roster.
South Carolina’s staff will be in the Northeast this week checking out the Cape Cod League where a few targets and a couple of commitments are set to play this week.
Commitments Tyler Dean and Ty Good are up there at the moment. But the three biggest names are the trio of hitters in Colby Shelton (Alabama), Kennedy Jones (UNCG) and Billy Amick (Clemson).
South Carolina is firmly in the mix with all three hitters. Each has his own ties in some way to South Carolina or the Gamecocks’ program.
All three would be instant-impact players on this roster. It might be tough to land all three, but South Carolina is very much in the mix for each guy.
South Carolina needs to continue to bolster its pitching staff. And that’s something the new pitching coach (likely Williams) has to hit the ground running on this week heading into the thick of the summer.
The draft
The draft is looming for every team, South Carolina included, with a few notes to pass along. Obviously, it’s likely to see guys like Will Sanders, Jack Mahoney, Noah Hall, James Hicks and Braylen Wimmer all ink professional deals.
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But there are a few other players, some in the recruiting class, who could sign professionally as well. The biggest in the high school class right now is George Wolkow, a left-handed infielder in the 2023 class.
Wolkow was initially in the 2024 class. He moved up to get his draft clock started quicker and either go pro earlier or go to school. He’ll also be 20 years old by the time he’s a collegiate junior and potentially ready for the next level if he comes to school.
He’s spending this summer playing in the Northwoods league. He was also selected to play this week in the MLB Draft combine in North Carolina.
Wolkow did an interview with GamecockCentral recently to talk about the draft. He mentioned his coming decision isn’t all about the money (although that, yes, will play a big part). Him feeling ready to live on his own and be a minor league player will play a part, too.
There are some situations where guys have told teams they’re willing to sign out of high school for under slot value or for cheap. That’s not the case with Wolkow. If he doesn’t think it’s right to go pro–whether for money or other reasons–he’s more than happy to come and play at South Carolina.
Another watch is recent commitment Ty Good, the reigning CAA pitcher of the year. Good committed to South Carolina after a good career at Charleston and he is draft eligible this summer.
South Carolina’s been a dream school for Good. But if there’s an opportunity for him to play professionally it’s likely he’ll take it. If not, he’ll be at South Carolina next season.
The first round of the draft is three weeks away. The first two rounds will be July 9 followed by rounds 3-10 July 10 and rounds 11-20 the next day.
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