What Happened to South Carolina Baseball? - From Postseason to Disappointment

Explaining what happened to the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program.

There is one week left in the regular season of college baseball and South Carolina's season feels all but over. They have five wins in conference up to this point and are 26-26 on the season. How did the Gamecocks get here, though? How did a team that made the postseason last year turn into the second-worst team in the SEC?

Let's start with what happened after the 2024 season. The MLB draft came around and the Gamecocks lost some crucial pieces from last year's team. 2024 signee PJ Morlando was drafted in the first round by the Marlins and elected to make the jump to professional ball. Catcher Cole Messina was selected in the third round. The Gamecocks would also proceed to have four pitchers selected later in the draft: Brandon Clarke, Eli Jones, Garrett Gainey and Carson Messina.

So perhaps that can explain some of the pitching woes for the Gamecocks this season. Not only did a promising up-and-coming arm elect to go pro, but four other members from last year's staff left for the MLB.

On June 7th of 2024, it was announced that head coach Mark Kingston had been fired after seven years with the program. Kingston posted an overall record of 217-155, an 83-96 record in conference play and made postseason play three times out of those seven years, one of which was the canceled Covid-19 season. The Gamecocks advanced to the Super Regional round twice.

So, based on that information, it appeared that South Carolina was looking to elevate the program. Someone who could get the program over the hump. That's when the university announced the hiring of Paul Mainieri on June 11th.

Mainieri is a college baseball lifer. He has been coaching the sport since 1983 and has only been away from college baseball for three years over that entire span. Those three years were the stint before South Carolina hired him after Mainieri announced his retirement with the Tigers. Mainieri won a national title with the Tigers in 2009.

The new head ball coach then did what any program does. Hit the transfer portal to make additions to the roster. The Gamecocks proceeded to add 11 new names from the portal while losing eight players to the portal. Most of whom were players who didn't contribute much during the 2024 season.

Some of those additions have been crucial for South Carolina this season, too. Nathan Hall came from Clemson and is leading the team in batting average at .330. Jase Woita from Kansas City Community College ranks third on the team for batting average. Henry Kaczmar from Ohio State is batting over .300 this season.

The pitching additions haven't been as successful. Jarvis Evans from Georgia has a 5.59 ERA on the season with 40 strikeouts and 16 walks. Ashton Crowther from Miami has a 4.13 ERA on the season out of the bullpen with 24 strikeouts and seven walks.

On top of the new additions, South Carolina held onto its star player, Ethan Petry, who had one more year remaining before he could declare for the MLB draft. Petry has delivered this season for the Gamecocks, but towards the end of the season, he suffered an AC joint sprain, which has kept him in the dugout since.

Just by looking at the performances from the players this season, it doesn't seem like South Carolina's record should be as bad as it is. If there is one thing that is missing from the lineup, it's power at the plate.

South Carolina has hit 56 home runs this season, which ranks 121st in the country. The next lowest in the conference is Auburn with 73 home runs on the season. A 17 home run difference.

Perhaps the most glaring issue with the baseball program this season is a feeling of lack of preparation and readiness for the SEC this season. That's based on a quote from Mainieri himself.

“I thought we would do better,” Mainieri said on 107.5 The Game. “I really did.”

“I had just underestimated the strength of the conference and how much better the conference has gotten in the last couple of years,” he said. “The players are so much bigger and stronger and more experienced, older. We just have not been able to match up in some cases with them.”

Mainieri has been insistent that he will return as South Carolina's head baseball coach next season, but it's safe to say that the 2025 season did not go smoothly.