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Baseball  . 

Infield Wizard Hopes to Make an Impact for Carolina Baseball

by Brad Muller

Henry Kaczmar has been playing baseball ever since he could hold a bat. While he has excelled on the diamond, the junior shortstop, who transferred after two stellar seasons at Ohio State, is proud of his magic and music skills as well.

“I love doing card magic,” said Kaczmar, an Ohio native who earned Second Team All-Big 10 honors last year for the Buckeyes after being named to the All-Freshman team the year before. “My grandpa would always teach me card magic when I was growing up. Then I started learning tricks on my own. I’ll do it on road trips or really anywhere I am, I’m doing card magic! It’s legit card magic.

“I started playing piano when I was ten. I don’t read sheet music. I learned from hearing and watching. I’ve been playing ever since. I’m trying to find a place where I can play here.”

Pulling a rabbit out of a hat or jamming on the ivories isn’t what brought him to South Carolina, but as someone known for great defense and equally good bat skills, Kaczmar is a nice addition for the Gamecocks.

“A lot of my strengths aren’t things you’re always going to see on paper,” said Kaczmar, who is a service management major and wants to work in the sports technology field when his playing days are done. “I feel like my baseball clock and my baseball IQ on defense are strengths for me. I give a lot of credit to my dad (Chris) for that because he was my high school coach. He taught me to be a hard-nosed ball player. I always wanted to be a right-handed hitter, but he made me be a left-handed hitter, and I thank him every day for that!

“I like to think I’m a gritty, old-school kind of guy. I grew up always wanting to play pepper before every game.”

Henry Kaczmar
“My goal coming in was to be kind, keep my head down, and just work as hard as I can.”
Henry Kaczmar  . 

Despite leading the Buckeyes in hitting last season after batting .320 with seven home runs and 36 RBI, Kaczmar wanted to prove himself even more.

“When I entered the portal, I wanted to prove I could play on a bigger stage. In terms of competition, there’s nothing that compared to the SEC. There is the development aspect of it as well. South Carolina was always on my radar. The coaches are big on honesty and that’s all a player can ask for. My experience here has been outstanding so far. My goal coming in was to be kind, keep my head down, and just work as hard as I can.”

Before making the jump, Kaczmar had other things to think about as he was projected by some to be among the top 250 eligible players for the Major League Baseball Draft, but he stayed focused on college baseball.

“It came down to what was going to be best for my baseball career in the long run,” Kaczmar said. “It was a tough time for me because I had a lot of people who I trust tell me different things. I had to get selfish, which was the hard thing to do, but truly this was the right move for me. The whole development aspect and playing in the SEC were things that were going to greatly benefit me down the road. I felt like this would prepare me more for the minor leagues and help me potentially move quicker through the minors. I’ve already had such a great time here, and it’s important for me to work towards graduating.”

As a man of many talents Kaczmar hopes to make magic happen on the diamond for the Gamecocks this spring.

“I feel like I’ve gelled well with my new team and these coaches, and I feel good about where I am going into the spring,” Kaczmar said. “There were more people at our fall exhibition against Air Force than any game I ever played at Ohio State.

“I’ve felt so much support from the fans ever since I committed. You can’t help but see all the history here. I can’t wait to get out there and play.”