The procrastinator’s guide to South Carolina baseball’s 2020 season
In just a few days, South Carolina baseball will kick off its 127th season when the Gamecocks host Holy Cross at Founders Park.
If you didn’t realize Opening Day was so soon and you haven’t kept up with the Gamecocks all that much during the offseason, that’s OK. We’re here to help. Here’s our procrastinator’s guide to South Carolina baseball for 2020.
COACH SPEAK
Mark Kingston enters his third season at the helm for USC, after previous stops at South Florida and Illinois State. Kingston’s first two years could hardly have been more different — in his first season, South Carolina overcame a slow start and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals and came one win shy of the College World Series. In his second, the Gamecocks cratered after a good nonconference start and lost 28 games, tying a program record, and missed the NCAA tournament for the third time in five years.
Entering Year 3, Kingston is hoping to re-create the success he had at USF, where a subpar second season paved the way for a standout third one. To that end, he shuffled duties on his staff this offseason, with director of player development Trip Couch joining the on-field staff and assistant Mike Current taking over the player development role. Volunteer assistant Stuart Lake also took over responsibilities as hitting coach.
THESE GUYS ARE GONE
South Carolina won’t have its top pitcher from a year ago, as junior Reid Morgan was taken in the 13th round of the MLB Draft and signed with the Seattle Mariners. Morgan was USC’s most reliable starter in 2019, leading the team in starts, innings and strikeouts.
The lineup, meanwhile, is losing nearly half of its regulars — starting catcher Luke Berryhill forfeited his eligibility and signed a pro deal with the Cincinnati Reds, while senior starters T.J. Hopkins (center field), Jacob Olson (third base) and Chris Cullen (first base) all graduated. Hopkins, Berryhill and Olson ranked second, third and fourth on the team in batting average in 2019, respectively.
Behind them, a number of other part-time contributors have left — infielders Quinntin Perez, Nick Neville, Jonah Beamon and Jordan Holladay and outfielder Ian Jenkins, all of whom started at least a game in 2019, transferred this offseason.
THESE GUYS ARE BACK
On the pitching staff, the Gamecocks have two returnees who should anchor the weekend rotation — redshirt sophomore Carmen Mlodzinski and sophomore Brett Kerry. Mlodzinski missed most of last season after breaking a bone in his foot, but he blossomed over the summer into a potential first-round draft pick. Kerry emerged as a freshman All-American out of the bullpen and performed well enough in preseason scrimmages to move into a starting role.
Senior Graham Lawson and sophomore Daniel Lloyd will likely play key roles in the bullpen as well.
In the lineup, junior outfielder Andrew Eyster returns after leading the team last season in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. Junior infielder Noah Campbell entered last year as a preseason All-American but disappointed, hitting just .239 with nearly a strikeout per game. He’ll try to bounce back and boost his draft stock after playing well in the Cape Cod League over the summer.
Sophomore Wes Clarke struggled in his rookie season as a catcher, but he made the switch to first base during fall scrimmages, has thrived in the new role and will begin 2020 as Carolina’s starter there. Sophomore outfielder Brady Allen and senior shortstop George Callil were solid contributors a year ago and are in contention to start as well.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
On the mound, Kingston and pitching coach Skylar Meade reloaded primarily with arms from junior colleges — junior right-hander Brannon Jordan will start Sunday’s opening weekend game, while junior right-hander Thomas Farr and junior righty Andrew Peters are expected to carve out roles.
JUCO transfer Noah Myers seems likely to take over center field. He’s a speedster, stealing more than 70 bases at the junior college level last year and providing great range in the outfield. Freshman Brennan Milone was a highly-rated prospect out of high school and has secured the third base position with a big bat and solid defense. Grad transfers Dallas Beaver and Bryant Bowen both provide proven D-I bats, with Beaver set to start at catcher. And infielders Braylen Wimmer (freshman) and Jeff Heinrich (junior college) had strong preseasons and might challenge for innings as well at second base.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Gamecocks start their season by hosting Holy Cross — the Crusaders finished 2019 with a 22-32 record and were picked to finish third out of six teams in the preseason Patriot League poll. They do have the league’s preseason pitcher of the year, junior Liam Dvorak, who had a 6-5 record with a 3.58 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 75.1 innings last season.
First pitch on Opening Day is scheduled for 4 p.m., though the forecast currently calls for rain Friday. Saturday’s game starts at 2 p.m., and Sunday’s starts at noon.
BEST HOME SERIES
The 2020 regular season ends May 14-16 with a rivalry showdown at Founders Park, as the Gamecocks host SEC power Florida, a preseason top-five team.
THE SEC LANDSCAPE
South Carolina was been picked to finish fifth in the SEC East for the 2020 season in a vote by the league’s coaches. Vanderbilt was predicted to win the East, with Vandy, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and Mississippi State all getting votes to win the overall conference title.
BALLPARK TALK
For the first time ever, all South Carolina baseball fans will be able to buy a beer at Founder Park, as the athletics department approved alcohol sales during the offseason. Beer and wine won’t be sold at the concession stand, however. There will be separate kiosks on the concourse for that.
WATCH THE GAMES
Right now, South Carolina is scheduled to have eight games broadcast on national TV, as well as 42 others that can be streamed online. The home game of the annual rivalry series with Clemson will be one of those games streamed online via WatchESPN. The TV details for the other two games in that series have yet to be announced.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 8:58 AM.
