What Gamecock baseball recruits think of Kevin Schnall hire
While others in his recruiting class decided to look elsewhere after the South Carolina baseball coaching change, Walker Cox remained firm in his commitment.
Cox, the Easley High pitcher and USC Class of 2026 signee, was feeling relieved Tuesday as news of the Gamecocks hiring Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall started to become a reality.
The USC Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m. to publicly approve Schnall as the next Gamecock coach. He replaces Paul Mainieri, who the school parted ways with in March.
“It is a relief that a decision has been made, but I wasn’t pressing,” Cox said Tuesday before playing in the S.C. Baseball Coaches Association All-Star games at Blowfish Stadium. “South Carolina was going to hire a good coach regardless. And I am a South Carolina fan, so there is nowhere else I wanted to be.”
Schnall is expected to bring several members of his CCU coaching staff with him, including pitching coach Matt Williams. Cox said Williams called him Tuesday morning to let him know he was coming with Schnall. This will be Williams’ second stint as Gamecocks pitching coach. He was with USC for the 2024 season.
Cox got to know Williams during the recruiting process as the Chanticleers tried to sign him.
“I was excited to hear it honestly,” Cox said of Williams’ arrival. “Coach Schnall and Coach Williams have great resumes and are phenomenal coaches. I am excited to play for them and the Gamecocks.”
Cox was originally supposed to report to USC next week, but his arrival could be pushed back a few more weeks as Schnall and his staff try to fill out the roster, which had more than 20 players go into the transfer portal.
USC got its first commitments under Schnall when five former Coastal players announced Tuesday night they were going to be Gamecocks.
The 6-foot-6 Cox had a 2.02 ERA this season and had 48 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched. His fastball has touched in the mid-90s.
Cox is the only in-state signee in the Class of 2026, which includes high school players Brady Stewart of St. Thomas Aquinas (Kansas), Aaron Dierks of West Springfield (Virginia), Alain Gomez-Gudino of Saguaro (Arizona) and junior college signees Lance Hartley and Brock Clayton.
The Gamecocks had seven players from the 2026 class decommit after the coaching change.
“I’m personally really excited about getting the chance to play for a great coach like coach Schnall and a great program like South Carolina,” Dierks told The State. “I think it’s a perfect hire and I can’t wait to get to campus and start getting to work.”
The Gamecocks have just three commits left for Class of 2027 — Lexington’s Christian Spivey, Boiling Springs’ Gavin Henderson and Evan Dyett of New Smyrna (Florida). Spivey said Tuesday he is still committed.
“I think it is a big hire to bring in coach Schnall,” Spivey said.
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "What Gamecock baseball recruits think of Kevin Schnall hire."
