South Carolina Baseball Preview: New-look Gamecocks look to do some damage in 2022

South Carolina heads into the 2022 baseball season as an unranked team in both the D1Baseball and Baseball America preseason top 25 polls, but the Gamecocks have the talent — and the expectations — to go further in the postseason than last year. South Carolina finished the year with a a 34-23 (16-14 SEC) record in 2021, and they hosted a Regional despite being the No. 2 seed in the bracket. Still, the Gamecocks were unable to emerge as the victors in the regional, losing to Old Dominion and Virginia on their way out.

This new-look South Carolina team has a lot to prove, with several high-profile players leaving for the MLB Draft, but the Gamecocks seem ready for the task at hand. South Carolina’s season will kick off Friday, as it plays host to UNC Greensboro. Before the season begins, On3 spoke with Collyn Taylor to preview the 2022 season. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Collyn Taylor is a South Carolina beat writer for On3’s Gamecock Central. He can be reached on Twitter at @CollynTaylor.

What do you think South Carolina’s weekend rotation will look like this season, and who fits as a midweek starter?

The pitching rotation is a little in flux right now. Julian Bosnic is probably South Carolina’s projected Saturday starter, and he’s dealing with a sprain, so he’ll be out for a couple weeks. But when he’s healthy, it will more than likely be Will Sanders on Friday, Julian Bosnic on Saturday and James Hicks on Sunday.

South Carolina will probably go with Josiah Sightler in the midweek starts, but he’s going to be the Sunday guy until Bosnic comes back. For the other midweek starts, it could be anything from a freshman like Matthew Becker to an older guy like Parker Coyne.

Who do you think South Carolina will rely on out of the bullpen to start the season?

The bullpen could evolve over time. Noah Hall is a guy they are going to rely on pretty heavily. Michael Esposito, a lefty junior college transfer, is going to be someone they’re going to rely on pretty heavily on the backend. For Sightler, if he starts in the midweek, it won’t be for long, and they’ll use him in the bullpen. Becker is another guy that could very well be an option in the bullpen, provided that he isn’t starting every midweek game. Then Aidan Hunter and Cade Austin could be huge pieces of the bullpen. There are some arms. A lot of inexperience, sure, but there are some arms that they feel pretty good about.

What will South Carolina’s lineup look like to start the season, and who will the Gamecocks rely on most for production behind the plate?

A lot of the offense will go through Andrew Eyster. He’s going to be one of your big guys. He’s a sixth-year senior, came back for his COVID year and has some power in the outfield. Braylen Wimmer is going to be the anchor at second base, and he’s going to play a huge part in the lineup. They brought in a grad transfer in Brandt Belk, a 6-foot-5 outfielder and first baseman from Missouri. Belk’s playing time was limited at Missouri, but he shined in the 2020 COVID season, so I think he could play a role at South Carolina as well. Belk also doesn’t strike out a lot, which is important for this offense. Then, Colin Burgess will be there as almost an everyday catcher, and Michael Braswell will man short. He’s got really good bat-to-ball skills.

South Carolina has been really home run and extra-base dominant over the last couple seasons, but I think you’re going to see a more dynamic offense this year. It’s going to be more well-rounded. They’ll hit for a little more average, and I think they’ll get on base and move guys around more. They’ll mix in some steals and some hit and runs — it will be a little bit of a different look compared to what last season’s offense looked like. That lineup just had a lot more home run happy hitters.

Building on that last point — how is that approach going to change year-over-year?

They brought in a new hitting coach and recruiting coordinator in Chad Caillet, who is kind of the architect behind a lot of those really good Southern Miss offenses over the last decade or decade and a half. He was part of that Texas A&M staff that got fired, so he was looking for a job and South Carolina hired him. His mantra seems to be focused on waiting for the right pitch. They seem to be taking much better at bats in scrimmages and showing some solid situational hitting. South Carolina struggled a little bit with that last year, so I think the approach is going to be more like doing your job — get on base, move a runner over, get the ball to the outfield, or whatever it might be. And that’s compared to the past when it was get up there and see how many extra base hits you can get, or get up there and see if you can hit it 400 feet. Frankly, the smarter outlook is just a much better strategy for the way this offense is built.

What stood out as a weakness for South Carolina last season, and how will the Gamecocks address that issue?

The pitching staff was great last year, so there really wasn’t a weakness there. One of the biggest weaknesses was that they struck out way too much and didn’t get on base really at all compared to teams in the past. They really didn’t walk a ton, they struck out a lot and the results kind of followed from there offensively. I think Brandt Belk is going to be a big piece of that offensively. He is someone that has been in college forever and doesn’t strike out a ton. Kevin Madden is another transfer that they brought in that doesn’t strike out all that much. Then, you rely on the development of some guys, like Colin Burgess, who can hopefully keep those strikeout numbers decreasing. But Belk and Madden were two guys they brought in that don’t strike out a ton, and they should help the offense right away.

What’s the ceiling for this South Carolina team and where do you see them finishing in SEC play?

That’s a really good question because I don’t think the staff even knows what the ceiling is. There are 18 new guys on this roster, between freshmen, transfers and JUCO kids. Now, if all of the pieces come together and live up to their expectations — and there’s a chance — you’re talking about a team that could not only host a Regional, but also get to a Super and win a Super. If they don’t come together, then they could potentially miss the postseason altogether. So, it’s a wide array. Honestly, I think they probably will finish third or fourth in the East, just given all the pieces.

With so many new faces — freshmen, transfers and JUCO players — who would be your early picks for South Carolina’s newcomer of the year?

Newcomer of the year on the pitching side of things will probably be Noah Hall or James Hicks. Hicks has a chance to be a really legit starter in the SEC, and Hall is kind of the do-it-all guy. He can start for you if you wanted to, he can come in relief or close — they have some options. So, those two on the pitching side.

On the hitting side of things, you can really just take your pick. But I think right now, Brandt Belk is probably the guy you’re going to be talking about a lot. He might not hit for eye-popping average, but he gets on base, he doesn’t strike out. He’ll give you quality at bats from the left side, and he’s one who they’re going to have to rely on to potentially be a big piece of the offense.

Who would be your early pick for South Carolina’s MVP?

Will Sanders is going to be the team MVP on the pitching side. He’s a potential first-round guy, not this year but next draft. He was a Team USA pitcher going into the Cape this summer, and if you look up projectable in the dictionary, his name is next to it. He’s 6-foot-6 and weighs 215 pounds. Really long frame, and he can ratchet it up. Once he warms up and his arm gets in shape, you’re probably talking about a 97 or 98 mile per hour fastball. That’s a guy that has a chance to be a stud in the league and put together a potentially All-American season.

On the hitting side, I’d probably put Andrew Eyster. He led the team in average last year, but I’m not picking him because he does one thing elite — he just does a little bit of everything, and I think that’s a huge piece. If South Carolina has a good year offensively, it’ll be because Eyster has been the anchor of the middle of that order.