Why South Carolina baseball is placing a premium on hosting a super regional this season
Mark Kingston walks past his expectations every day.
The halls around Founders Park are littered with photos and placards and reminders of the 2010 and 2011 national championships. The bar was set then, which then leads to the question that has been circulating since Ray Tanner jumped from baseball coach to athletic director in 2012: Can anyone else jump that high?
Kingston, who will enter his seventh season as head coach in 2024, seems confident he can get there. After coming off a 27-28 season two years ago, South Carolina blew what expectations it had into smithereens last season.
The Gamecocks started 34-6 and vaulted to No. 3 in the polls. If South Carolina fans weren’t booking trips to Omaha, they were at least checking the dates.
“We were a national championship contender,” Kingston said Wednesday.
Then injuries tore through the clubhouse like a swirling tornado.
Senior pitcher Noah Hall went down midway through the year. Towering righty Will Sanders missed most of May with an ailment. Freshman reliever Eli Jerzembeck suffered a season-ending injury in May that will keep him out for 2024 as well. A broken arm kept second baseman Will McGinnis sidelined for two-dozen games. And hamstring injuries claimed both catcher Talmadge LeCroy and shortstop Braylen Wimmer for stretches.
The Gamecocks lost 10 of their final 14 regular-season games. They were the No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament and dominated the Columbia Regional, outscoring their three opponents by a combined 30 runs.
But they ran into the fate that awaits most schools that have to travel for the super regionals — a quick exit. Playing in Gainesville, South Carolina lost both games to Florida in the super regional round and was denied a trip to Omaha.
So Kingston’s goal this year — aside from the obvious of hoisting a trophy: host a super regional. Since 1999, almost 56% of the top-8 seeds have advanced to the College World Series.
In other words, if South Carolina sets itself up to play a super regional at Founders Park, it has better odds than a coin flip to return to Omaha for the first time since 2012.
“The great majority of teams that get to Omaha hosted their super regional,” Kingston said. “In my time here, we were on the verge of Omaha twice but we had to go on the road (and play) teams that ended up playing for the national championship (Arkansas in 2018 and Florida last season).
Kingston continued: “If you want to give yourself the best chance to get to Omaha, you need to host not only the regional, but then the super regional. … Doesn’t mean you can’t make it (to the College World Series) but, obviously, baseball is a game of odds.”
And right now, the odds suggest the current college baseball rankings will be disproven in time. In the preseason DI Baseball poll, a half-dozen SEC teams cracked the top-10. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks just snuck in at No. 25.
Last season, South Carolina entered the year at No. 23.
“And we far exceeded that,” Kingston said. “I would expect us to far exceed the 25 (ranking) from this year. … Nobody anticipated we’d work our way into the No. (3) spot in the poll — and it turned out that didn’t mean much either.”
But the experience of last season helped validate Kingston’s vision and perhaps set the stage for a College World Series run in 2024.
“Last year was a good year for us to show that we’re getting this thing exactly where we want to be,” he said. “We’ve built on the momentum in the transfer portal. We’ve built on the momentum in recruiting the younger high school guys. And the returning guys know what we’re capable of.”
The question mark, though, will be on the mound. The Gamecocks pitching staff was decimated this offseason. All three weekend starters — Hall, Sanders and Jack Mahoney — were all drafted. Veteran James Hicks, who started two NCAA Tournament games, is also off to professional baseball. Also gone are relievers Nick Proctor, Cade Austin, Wesley Sweatt.
“I think our pitching has a chance to respond just the way our offense did last year,” Kingston said. “But I think it’s pretty safe to say our offense is going to be really good and I think that’s probably why we’re ranked where we are.”
South Carolina returns its top two sluggers from last season. Batting cleanup will be All-American catcher Cole Messina (.307, 17 HRs, 65 RBI), a Summerville High alum. And returning from a sensational freshman season is Ethan Petry (.376, 23 HRs, 75 RBI), who led the Gamecocks in nearly every category and was named a third-team All-American.
“Believe it or not,” Kingston said, “there are places where he can get better.”
FIRST GAMES FOR USC
A look at the early-season schedule for the Gamecocks.
- Feb. 16-18, vs. Miami (Ohio)
- Feb. 20, vs. Winthrop
- Feb. 21, vs. Queens
- Feb. 23-25, vs. Belmont
- Feb. 27, vs. Garner-Webb
- March 1, vs. Clemson
- March 2, vs. Clemson (at Segra Park)
- March 3, at Clemson
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 8:10 AM.
