Evan Stone: 'It truly means a lot for me to be a senior' at South Carolina
It still hasn’t been a full calendar year since Paul Mainieri became the next baseball coach at South Carolina. In that time, he’s never met a “finer human being” than Evan Stone.
Stone, a fourth-year outfielder who’s played in 37 games for the Gamecocks this season, is far from the best overall player on the team. He’s only hitting .228 with four homers and 17 RBI in 76 at-bats. But his impact, especially on his teammates, goes far beyond what his stats say.
“He’s just the most optimistic, upbeat young man, and cares deeply about this school and this team,” Mainieri said. “The other day, when I was communicating with Ethan (Petry about his injury) while I was traveling, and he told me that he was going to give it a try, part of the reason he said he wanted to do it was because of Evan Stone.”
On Friday, Stone will be one of 10 seniors honored during the team’s senior night ceremony. He’ll be joined by the other seniors, including Matthew Becker, Jordan Carrion, Dylan Eskew, Blake Jackson, Caleb Jones, Kennedy Jones, Roman Kimball, Talmadge LeCroy, and Dalton Mashore.
“I’m going to miss them, and I’ll always remember them very fondly,” Mainieri said. “… And look, if they’re not good enough to hit .380 and hit 20 home runs or throw the ball 95 miles an hour, so be it. Somebody else recruited those kids, but I took over the program, and so they became my responsibility. My affection for them will always be there.”
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Stone and 14 other players from last year’s team decided to come back to South Carolina after Mainieri was hired. Broken down further, he’s one of the eight players still left from the team that went to a Super Regional in 2023. Going all the way back to 2022, he’s one of three players, along with Becker and LeCroy, who have been with the program for the last four seasons.
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“I grew up a Gamecock fan. I came to all the baseball and football games when I was a kid. It truly means a lot to me to be a senior here,” Stone said. “Just to have the day, the four years that we went through, all the hard work. We earned it and I’m excited.”
South Carolina has been some real lows throughout the last four years, including an under .500 season in 2022 and former head coach Mark Kingston being fired at the end of last season. This year hasn’t been great either, with the Gamecocks at the tail end of a challenging year in the SEC.
Despite all that, there isn’t anything Stone would do to change his experience as a player.
“How it is is how it’s supposed to be,” he said. “I believe the Lord has a plan, and I have full trust in Him and how it’s been, the ups and the downs. I don’t think everything’s going to be perfect, and obviously it hasn’t, but I love it all.”
Senior night festivities will begin at 6:25 p.m. on Friday at Founders Park. Then, about 35 minutes later, the Gamecocks will try and go for a series win over No. 1 LSU. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
