Examining the impact of South Carolina's portal transfers
Last season was the first year where players could transfer from Division I schools to Division I schools without penalty, and South Carolina certainly dipped its toe into the transfer portal with mixed results.
The Gamecocks brought in six transfers from either the portal or junior college ranks—Brandt Belk, Kevin Madden, Matt Hogan, Noah Hall, James Hicks and Michael Esposito—to help get the baseball program back to the postseason.
With the season now over, here’s how they performed.
Brandt Belk’s lone season with the Gamecocks couldn’t have gone any better. In 49 games, he batted a team-high .340 with six home runs and 38 RBI.
On the basepaths, he also proved to be a threat to run, swiping 11 bases in 16 attempts. Belk’s season highlight was a 24-game hitting streak from March 8 to April 22.
Transferring from Virginia Tech, Kevin Madden had an up and down season headlined late in the year with an elbow injury.
Madden slashed .224/.368/.314 with only 21 strikeouts in 201 at-bats. While he made eight errors, Madden finished with a .968 fielding percentage, the highest of his career.
After homering in his first at-bat as a Gamecock, things looked bright for Vanderbilt transfer Matt Hogan. Instead, he had a disappointing season and struggled finding consistent playing time. In addition, in 51 at-bats, he batted .137 with one home run and four RBI.
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Hogan entered the transfer portal after the team’s first round exit in the SEC Tournament.
At the beginning of the season, Noah Hall was mapped out to be a reliever in the Gamecock bullpen.
As fate would have it, injuries plagued the pitching staff, and the App State transfer became the Friday night starter. In 15 appearances (12 starts), he pitched to a 4.34 ERA and struck out 78 batters.
James Hicks slotted into the Saturday slot in South Carolina’s rotation, looking to prove he could pitch in the SEC. His season was short-lived, exiting his second outing with arm soreness only to subsequently learn he needed Tommy John surgery.
In a small sample size, Hicks pitched seven innings, allowing four runs and striking out seven. Head coach Mark Kingston said he expects Hicks to be ready for the 2023 season.
Despite being a successful JUCO pitcher, Michael Esposito’s stuff didn’t translate over to South Carolina. Esposito pitched 8.1 innings this season with a 9.42 ERA and a .342 opponent batting average.
After the season, South Carolina announced Esposito would no longer be with the team.
The Gamecocks finished the 2022 campaign 27-28 (13-17 SEC), missing the postseason for the second time under Kingston.
