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General  . 

2025 Baseball Preview

by Brad Muller

(Pictured L-R: Ethan Petry, Talmadge LeCroy, Kennedy Jones, Blake Jackson)

There’s no doubt that the hiring of Paul Mainieri as the head coach for South Carolina Baseball fired up an already rabid Gamecock fan base that is hungry to get back to Omaha. The Hall of Fame and National Championship coach doesn’t shy away from that.

“That’s my expectation every year,” Mainieri said. “Omaha is the goal. If you’re not planning to get to Omaha, then you ought not to be playing.”

That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges.

“The unusual thing about the pitching staff starting the fall was having so many guys that were injured before we even began,” Mainieri said. “(Pitching coach) Terry (Rooney) did a magnificent job of going out and recruiting some guys, and he was able to pull in some veteran guys from the transfer portal. The other thing is we didn’t have a lot of left-handed pitching. So, Terry brought in Wyatt Evans (Tennessee), Jarvis Evans (Georgia), Ashton Crowther (Miami), and Aydin Palmer (Florence-Darlington Tech).

“In the fall scrimmages and games, we started to see the strengths and limitations. (R.So.) Eli Jerzembeck has the ability to be a top-flight starting pitcher in the SEC. Eli has a good fastball. He’s got a really good curveball, and he’s got pretty good command. We’ve been working on his changeup. To be a good starting pitcher in this league, you have to have three pitches. Eli’s coming along, and he’s been healthy after he missed all of last year.

“The other guy that that we’re really excited about as far as possibly being a top-notch starter is (So.) Jake McCoy because he is one guy that can throw it up to 97 miles an hour and being left-handed is really a positive for him. I’m hoping that he can maintain his velocity in the mid-90s. His slider is really good, and his changeup is developing.

“For me, more important than even the third starting pitcher is our late inning bullpen. The guy that probably pitched the best for us all fall is (Sr.) Matthew Becker (5-3, 60K, 43.2IP). He was very cool and collected out there. He threw everything for strikes. He’s got a plus curveball. I was told he didn’t have a changeup. Well, he does now, and then he throws 93 miles an hour left-handed. Becker can be that kind of hybrid guy; where if it’s one of the first couple of games of the weekend series, and we have a chance to close out a win, I think he could be a really good ninth-inning guy.

“At the end of fall practice, (So.) Parker Marlatt and (So.) Eddie Copper were finally able to come back from their surgeries and be able to throw bullpens. I really liked what I saw out of both of them.”

Senior Dylan Eskew, who started 15 games last year, had a solid fall and joins sophomore Tyler Pitzer, junior college transfers Brendan Sweeney (Jr., Blinn CC) and Brandon Stone (So., Johnson Co. CC), and freshmen Cooper Parks and Zach Russell who showed promise in the fall. A healthy (R.Jr.) Roman Kimball will also help.

“Nothing would please me more than to see every seat filled for every game. They come here with the expectation that we’re going to win. That’s why I came here.”
Paul Mainieri  . 

The depth in the everyday lineup brings up some fun dilemmas, but defense will be key.

“I made it very clear to all the position players at the start that if you can’t play defense, you can’t play for me,” Mainieri said. “You cannot expect to have a good pitching staff if you don’t have great defense behind him. I think when we start talking about position players, you start with the Superman, Ethan Petry (.306, 21 HR, 53 RBI). He’s going to play somewhere, whether it’s right field, or first or third base.

“I’m really, really high on a freshman third baseman by the name of KJ Scobey, and I think by the time he leaves here, he is going to be a really good player here defensively.

“I went into the fall thinking (Jr.) Will Tippett was going to be that super sub that could play everywhere. But Tippett hit the ball so well this fall, and he’s only batting right-handed. He could play third or first base.

“There’s no question at shortstop. (Jr.) Henry Kaczmar (.320, 7 HR, 36 RBI/Ohio State) reminds me an awful lot of one of the last shortstops I had at LSU by the name of Josh Smith. Josh just won the Silver Slugger with the Texas Rangers. Henry is a left-handed hitter, and he’ll bat near the top of the order. He’s going to be a really good all-around player for us.”

Second base is still a little bit up in the air with junior Caydin Gaskin (NW Fla. St. College) and sophomore Nolan Nawrocki (Clemson) in the mix. In addition to Petry, freshman Beau Hollins, who came on strong at the end of the fall could see time at first base. Florida State senior transfer Jordan Carrion also gives the Gamecocks some depth there.

Mainieri’s biggest concern when he first arrived on campus was behind the plate with the loss of two-time All-American and 2024 Johnny Bench Award winner Cole Messina and backup Dalton Reeves, leaving only returning sophomore Ryan Bakes and freshman Gavin Brayland.

“Then I see (Sr.) Talmadge LeCroy (.242, 3 HR, 28 RBI), who has primarily been an infielder in his career here, but we don’t need him in the infield anymore,” Mainieri said. “He actually came here as a catcher. So, I said, we’re going to make this work. I’ve seen a very enthusiastic, energetic kid, who loves to play baseball, and he did a really good job behind the plate this fall. There are areas that he needs to work on just like everybody does, but I think he’s going be good for us.”

The coaching staff also made it a priority to get an experienced catcher in the transfer portal and landed junior Max Kaufer from Texas A&M where he started as a freshman and played as a backup last year behind All-American Jackson Appel.

The outfield is where the Gamecocks may have the most depth. In addition to Petry potentially filling a spot, senior Kennedy Jones (.289, 9 HR, 48 RBI) returns and was one of the team’s best hitters last fall.

“He’s certainly going to be in there every day, whether it’s in left field or at DH,” Mainieri said. “The other guy that could be in there every day is (R.Sr.) Blake Jackson (.293, 5 HR, 16 SB). He’s a hard-nosed guy. He can run, and he can bunt. At this point, the everyday center fielder may be (Jr.) Nathan Hall (Clemson). He might be one of the better athletes on our team because he has size, power, and speed. He just needs to become a little more consistent.

“(Sr.) Evan Stone played terrific in the fall and is probably the best outfielder on our team. He is an unselfish, team-oriented guy. We also recruited a kid by the name of (Sr.) Dalton Mashore (St. Mary’s), who does a lot of good things, and (Jr.) Jase Woita (Kansas City CC) is a left-handed bat, and we don’t have a lot of that.”
As he prepares for his first season at Founders Park, Mainieri can’t wait to work in a packed house.

“Nothing would please me more than to see every seat filled for every game. They come here with the expectation that we’re going to win. That’s why I came here.

“The SEC is a really tough league. You could finish in the middle of the SEC and still win the national championship. That’s why I call the SEC the big leagues of college baseball.”