In-state Friday night starter announces he’s joining Gamecocks as grad transfer
South Carolina baseball is set to lose a weekend starter whenever the MLB Draft takes place and ace Carmen Mlodzinski is taken in the first round, as he’s currently projected.
Late Thursday, another weekend arm in Jaret Bennett, a grad transfer from Charleston Southern, announced on Twitter he plans to join the Gamecocks.
“I can’t thank Charleston Southern University enough for allowing a kid from Maryland to come to Charleston for the past four years and grow as a player and person,” Bennett wrote in his post. “I’ve met my best friends and had some of the best memories of my life at CSU and I will forever carry those with me. I will forever be a Buc. However, I was blessed with an opportunity that leaves me with eligibility even though I graduate next week. And as hard as it is to say goodbye to my teammates and coaches, I have decided to graduate transfer to pursue a Masters of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina while I play out my remaining eligibility. I’m excited for the opportunity and the challenges that come with it. #ForeverToThee.”
A 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-hander, Bennett started 20 games as a sophomore and junior for the Buccaneers, racking up a 3-9 record in 25 appearances while throwing 98 2/3 innings, striking out 84 and posting a 1.57 WHIP. As a senior, he emerged as the team’s ace, going 2-0 in four starts with a 0.71 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, striking out 24 batters in 25 1/3 innings.
The coronavirus pandemic curtailed Bennett’s standout campaign, but while he is set to graduate from CSU this spring, he’ll have the opportunity to pitch for South Carolina in 2021. He’ll also be pursuing his MBA during that time, he said on Twitter.
Bennett came to Charleston Southern in 2017, just after the departure of current Gamecocks assistant Stuart Lake.
Back in late March, the NCAA Division I Council voted to grant a year of eligibility relief to all spring sport athletes. In a sport like baseball, with strict limits on roster size and scholarship distribution, seniors will not count, though schools can reduce the amount of athletic aid they receive.
But with a shortened MLB draft impacting which players might leave and which recruits might wind up at school, roster management is expected to be an issue for coaches across the country. USC and coach Mark Kingston have already had one player enter the transfer portal since the season was canceled, freshman catcher Jax Cash.
Of the Gamecocks’ four seniors in 2020 — catcher Dallas Beaver, infielder Bryant Bowen, shortstop George Callil and pitcher Graham Lawson — none have said whether they plan on returning or not.
