Four South Carolina portal pickups land on D1 Baseball impact transfer list

South Carolina spent this offseason trying to retool and upgrade parts of its baseball roster through the transfer portal, and a few of the guys are starting to get some recognition. 

D1Baseball released its top 130 impact transfers for the 2024 season with South Carolina players dotting the list. 

South Carolina finished with four players inside the top 130, three of those position players expected to be day-one starters in the lineup. 

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The Gamecocks are tied with Florida State, TCU, Texas and Vanderbilt for the most top 130 prospects. 

Arkansas and Texas A&M each have seven; Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss have six apiece while Auburn, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wake Forest each have five. 

The highest-ranked player was Kennedy Jones, who checks in at No. 26 in the rankings with Austin Brinling coming in at No. 64. 

College of Charleston transfer pitcher Ty Good comes in at No. 108 while infielder Parker Noland comes in at No. 110. 

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Jones was the highest-profile transfer at the time of his commitment after a few stellar years at UNC Greensboro. The right-handed bat hit ..357 with a 1.042 OPS and a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .391. 

He hit 14 home runs with 43 RBI and 46 runs scored last season for the Spartans. 

Brinling was the first commitment out of the portal for South Carolina, coming over from North Florida. The left-handed outfielder hit .386/.500/.540 with three homers and 31 RBI last season for the Osprey. 

He walked (36) more times than he struck out (20) last season. 

Good is the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year, finishing last season with a 4.26 ERA in over 82 innings pitched. Good had a 1.32 WHIP with a 12.1 walk rate and a 25.5 strikeout rate. 

Teams it .212/.327/.304 against him last season. 

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Noland is a do-it-all, left-handed bat and infielder who started his career at Vanderbilt. He brings a veteran bat to the Gamecocks lineup next season. 

Last year for the Commodores he hit .277 with an .823 OPS and a .333 BABIP. He struck out in 10.1 percent of at-bats while striking out in 21.3 percent.

Noland played and started at three positions on the infield during his career at Vanderbilt and can settle anywhere South Carolina needs this season. 

Jones (right field) and Brinling (centerfielder) should compete immediately for starter at-bats while Good should factor into the Gamecocks’ pitching staff as a starter or reliever. 

The Gamecocks had three other transfer portal position players–all left-handed bats–come in this offseason, and here are their stats:

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C Dalton Reeves, Presbyterian: .241/.313/.529 (.842 OPS), 12 HR, 48 RBI, 31 R .229 BABIP, 10.0 BB rate, 18.4 K rate

OF Blake Jackson, Charlotte: .277/.433/.413 (.846 OPS), 5 HR, 28 RBI, 46 R, .354 BABIP, 14.7 BB rate, 20.3 K rate

INF Tyler Causey, North Carolina: Did not play in 2023 due to injuries

There are also four other pitchers coming in with this transfer class with these stats:

LHP Garrett Gainey, Liberty: 47 IP, 7.28 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 2.77 oBA, 8.4 BB rate, 20.6 K rate

RHP Tyler Dean, Virginia Tech: 12 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, .320 oBA, 21.2 BB rate, 22.7 K rate

RHP Michael Polk, Georgia: Did not pitch in 2023 (Tommy John)

RHP Drake Quinn, Marist: 50.1 IP, 8.70 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, .272 oBA, 16.1 BB rate, 27.3 K rate

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