He pitched for the Gamecocks. Now he’s part of Kevin Schnall’s plan for turnaround
Dylan Eskew suited up for game days in Founders Park from 2023 to 2025 as a pitcher for the South Carolina baseball team.
Next season he’ll be suiting up as an assistant coach for the Gamecocks.
New South Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall is bringing several of his former Coastal Carolina assistants along with him to Columbia. Among those is Eskew, who served as Coastal’s director of pitching development in 2026 and will be in the same role with the Gamecocks.
The news that he’d be returning to his alma mater didn’t really hit Eskew until USC’s director of operations asked what number he wanted on his coach’s jersey.
“I didn’t know I was getting a number. I didn’t have a number at Coastal,” Eskew told The State. “I was like, ‘Can I get my old number back?’ I said, if any recruit wants No. 16, don’t come back to me and ask me — they got it. I don’t need it, they can have it. But that’s kind of when I thought about it, I was like, ‘Wow, I really am gonna get to put the garnet and black back on.’”
A return to Columbia
It’s fitting that baseball has brought Eskew back to Columbia. It seems like it’s where he’s meant to be.
The Tampa, Florida native initially considered playing for the Gamecocks out of high school in 2019 but ultimately bypassed a late MLB draft selection and enrolled at his dream school, the University of Miami.
Eskew didn’t end up playing for the Gamecocks until 2023 after a one-semester stint at Miami followed by three seasons (marred by COVID and an injury) at the JUCO level with Chipola College.
Eskew made 34 appearances in three years as a Gamecock. He started 24 games and compiled a 5.02 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 107.2 total innings. In those three seasons, Eskew got to witness a super regional run but also back-to-back missed NCAA Tournaments under Mark Kingston and Paul Mainieri.
“I’ve seen the highs, and I’ve seen the lows,” Eskew said of USC. ”But to be a part of the rebuild and to see this place packed again — I get goosebumps thinking about it every time.”
Coaching gives Eskew another chance
Eskew, like most baseball players, had dreams of playing in the pros. But he quickly realized by the time he was a junior in the classroom and had zero playing experience because of COVID and an injury, that MLB likely wouldn’t be for him.
Luckily, he knew from a young age he wanted to coach.
“Going through the high school draft process, a ton of scouts are coming for in-home visits, and they all ask you what would you do if you weren’t playing,” Eskew recalled. “… My answer always was, I want to stay in the game. I want to get into coaching, maybe front office.”
Eskew didn’t have to wait long for his first coaching offer. After his final season as a player, Matt Williams, who was Eskew’s pitching coach at USC in 2024 and was hired by Schnall in the same role at Coastal in 2025, called him up and offered him a job.
“We had a great relationship when I was a player and he was a coach,” Eskew said. “I would always kind of mess with them, ‘Whenever I’m done playing, hire me one day.’ Sure enough, after they finished their Omaha run, they had a position open up on the pitching side, and luckily I was his first call. … How much luckier can I get? This team was just in the national championship, and they’re offering me a job, so it was a no-brainer.”
In Eskew’s first year at Coastal, he did his best to supplement Williams’ coaching, whether it was by simple motivation or doing YouTube deep dives on pitch grips.
The highlight of Year 1 was when he served as pitching coach for a game against North Carolina after Williams was suspended for having been ejected in the prior game. Coastal’s pitchers held UNC to six hits in the game and the Chanticleers won 12-2.
“I didn’t get much sleep going into that game,” Eskew joked.
Eskew will be tasked with doing the same at South Carolina. He’ll be assisting Williams and will be running the bullpen for the Gamecocks. Eskew has also already taken on an increased role in recruiting at South Carolina.
He hopes to be a key cog in restoring his alma mater to its former glory.
“I’m so lucky and blessed to be able to be a part of it,” Eskew said. “I think I would almost do this for free, just because I care about this place. I think Coach Schnall is gonna bring it back to where it needs to be.”
