Gamecocks pitcher Hudson Lee continues Clemson-to-South Carolina transfer route
South Carolina left-handed pitcher Hudson Lee knows plenty about allegiances in this state.
He grew up in Spartanburg and, like many in the Upstate, spent his fall Saturdays watching Clemson football inside Memorial Stadium with his family.
“My grandpa’s probably had Clemson football tickets for 50 years,” said Lee. “He’s put a lot of money into Clemson football.”
And, well, he’s been put in a tough spot over the past few years because two of his grandkids decided to suit up for the Gamecocks.
A few years ago, Hudson’s older brother, Hayden was a quarterback in search of a new home. He transferred from north Greenville to South Carolina in 2022 as a preferred walk-on before ending his football career and finishing his degree at, yep, Clemson.
A few years later, his brother did the inverse.
This offseason, after one year of pitching for Clemson, Lee entered the transfer portal and ended up a Gamecock.
“(They had) a need for left-handed pitching, just pitching overall,” Lee said. “I thought it would be a great opportunity. I love Carolina, and I’ve heard only good things about coach (Paul) Maineri and (pitching coach Terry) Rooney.”
Sure. But what about the fact that he just flip-flopped sides in the most-fearsome rivalry in this state?
“Oh, I’ve heard all about it,” Lee said with a smile.
The thing is, Lee is simply following a trend. Since 2023, six Clemson baseball players have transferred to South Carolina.
The Palmetto Series flips began after the 2022 season, when three players — Dylan Brewer, Jonathan French and Ricky Williams — followed Monte Lee to Carolina after the fired Clemson head coach took over as the Gamecocks’ hitting coach.
Then last season, Nathan Hall and Nolan Nawrocki both traded orange for garnet.
And, now, in comes Lee.
A Dorman grad who earned all-state honors in both baseball and football, Lee began his collegiate baseball career at Wake Forest. He missed year one because of Tommy John surgery and hardly saw the field in year two as he dealt with a nerve issue in his shoulder.
A reliever for Clemson last season, Lee made 15 appearances, posting a sub-6.00 ERA while striking out 19 batters.
A few months later, he became one of 13 pitchers that South Carolina grabbed from the transfer portal. The Gamecocks, which had the second-highest ERA in the SEC last season (6.41), essentially flipped their entire pitching staff.
Where Lee fits into that is still unknown. Optimism that he can be a key piece of the Gamecocks pitching staff lies in the work he did this summer.
After his setbacks at Wake Forest, he decided he needed to drop his arm slot to ease the injury risk. Last year at Clemson was spent getting used to being a side-arm pitcher and his entire summer was devoted to getting more comfortable with his throwing motion.
“I was just trying to get as many reps as I could throwing sidearm,” Lee said. “It’s ended up working out pretty good for me in the fall (at South Carolina).
“You don’t have to throw as hard,” he added. “You kind of try to miss bats instead of throwing it through them.”
Lee will get to showcase that for South Carolina this season and, if all goes right, he’ll get to step on the mound next month and do it against Clemson.
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
