Chad Holbrook pledges that USC will bounce back

South Carolina baseball coach Chad Holbrook on Thursday wrapped up the 2015 season, the first in 16 seasons when the Gamecocks didn’t make the NCAA Tournament.

He didn’t shrink from the responsibility for the underachieving 32-25 season, but he also was resolute that he’s the right man to fix the problems and get the Gamecocks back in the hunt for a national championship.

The third-year coach, whose teams have gone 119-63 with two trips to the NCAA Tournament, served as an assistant under former baseball coach and current athletics director Ray Tanner for four seasons (2009-13) after spending 15 seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, North Carolina.

“I’m not going to let this one year define me,” Holbrook said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be around some great coaches, great players, and great teams. When I first got into coaching, I just wanted to see what it was like to go to Omaha. I’ve been lucky to have been six times, and I’ve participated in five national championship series. ... I also know the type of character and the type of toughness and what to do from a preparation standpoint to get there.”

Holbrook called this season, which also ended with the first losing SEC record (13-17) since 1997 and the first time with fewer than 40 wins since 1999, the most difficult of his coaching career.

“Obviously, we fell short of the goals we had in mind for this year’s team,” he said.

As this season’s NCAA Tournament starts Friday, with instate opponents such as Clemson, College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina having earned bids, the Gamecocks, who have reached the tournament 30 times since 1974 with 11 trips to the College World Series, find themselves in the unusual position of watching others play this summer.

Holbrook remains convinced said the pieces will be in place to turn that around in the 2016 season.

“We’re going to work tirelessly to ensure that when I’m sitting up here next year at this time, we’re getting ready to play a big NCAA Tournament game and not wrapping up our season. That’s going to be our focus and determination as we move forward,” he said.

After getting off to a 17-3 start, including a conference-opening sweep of Kentucky, the Gamecocks struggled the rest of the way. They went 15-22 and lost series to Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee, the three worst teams in the league. They did show signs of life late with series wins over top-10 foes Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, but it wasn’t enough.

A 3-8 record in one-run games – along with a 6-13 record on the road – proved to be the difference for this team. Four mid-week losses to instate opponents, three in extra innings, didn’t help either.

“A play here or a play there, a win here or a win there, and we’re playing (Friday),” Holbrook said. “There’s a fine line in college baseball, and parity is obviously rampant in our sport. ... We’ve prided ourselves on winning those games in the balance around here over the course of many years. This year a lot of those games in the balance went the other way. We’ve got to correct that.”

The offense hit .257, the worst average since 1973, and the ERA jumped to 4.20. Holbrook noted this team lacked the toughness or the strong personalities that characterized some of the best USC teams. While looking for players to provide a spark, he also used a different lineup nearly every game, which he admitted played a big part in the team’s inconsistency.

“One of the things that stands out to me is maybe I moved some guys around a little bit too much earlier in the year and they didn’t get quite comfortable or in a consistent rhythm of playing,” he said.

Tanner has voiced his support for Holbrook to lead the program despite the down season. Tanner noted this week that fans were unhappy with him at times as well over his 16 seasons as the coach. That vote of confidence is important to Holbrook.

“Coach Tanner is probably the most competitive person I’ve ever met, and he doesn’t like the situation we’re in any more than I don’t like it. We want to win,” he said. “But he does a have semblance of understanding, and that’s been somewhat therapeutic for me.”

Holbrook, in turn, defended his staff of pitching coach Jerry Meyers, recruiting coordinator and third-base coach Sammy Esposito, and volunteer assistant Brian Buscher, who works with hitters and infielders. He noted the number of championship rings they’ve compiled as assistants and Buscher’s experience in the major leagues.

“I have great coaches. They work extremely hard, and they’re great people,” Holbrook said. “As I sit up here, I’m awfully lucky to have the character and the type of coaches from a coaching talent standpoint and personality standpoint and type of people they are.They represent this program and this university in a first-class way.”

He acknowledged that more players may leave the program in June. Two sophomore starters, shortstop Jordan Gore and catcher Logan Koch, will not return, and conversations are continuing with other players on which ones also might not be back.

Seniors Kyle Martin and Elliott Caldwell, who had strong seasons, have finished their careers, but the bigger issue may be the MLB draft. Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop and junior second baseman Max Schrock are drawing strong pro interest. Wynkoop likely will go in the first four rounds and sign, although Holbrook is hopeful Schrock, a second-team All-SEC performer, will come back for his senior season. He believes Schrock has a “strong desire” to return, although the right round and right money offer can change that.

Holbrook reiterated that sophomore right-hander Wil Crowe, the team’s Friday night starter, will probably miss all of next season after having Tommy John surgery on his elbow this spring. But he likes a pitching staff that returns right-handers Taylor Widener and Clarke Schmidt as well as a recruiting class that could provide some immediate help.

“There’s going to be a lot of new names and a lot of new faces next season,” he said.

He can’t wait to get started.

“I’m not going to overhaul who I am because we had a tough stretch this year because I’ve been a lot more successful than I’ve been unsuccessful.”

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Chad Holbrook pledges that USC will bounce back."