Jack's Mailbag Ep. 32: Answering your preseason South Carolina baseball questions

One week to go. In seven days, the 2025 college baseball season officially begins for South Carolina.

As things start to ramp up, I’m bringing back a series I started around this time last year called Jack’s Mailbag. Every week, I’ll be answering questions from you, the fans. And for this first episode back, I’ll be replying to a handful of questions about what to expect from the Gamecocks going into the new season.

If you would like to have a question featured in the next episode, I’ll create a post on The Insiders Forum at the start of every week and you can ask your question there. Without further ado, let’s get into all the questions for this week.

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washington cock: Jack, we have been picked 14th in the conference. IYO, are we really going to struggle this much once conference play begins? This is rather alarming, I might add. 

I wouldn’t worry too much about preseason projections. It’s probably better that everyone is seemingly doubting South Carolina going into the season. The coaches and people voting in the rankings and polls haven’t seen what this team looks like up close and personal yet. There are probably some question marks about how Paul Mainieri will do in his first season back in the dugout, along with how the roster he put together pans out.

When you look at the other teams around the SEC, everything is a little more cut and drier. Some teams have already proven they can contend every year, like Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, Florida, etc. The Gamecocks are coming off what most consider to be a bad 2024 season. But also, the SEC is just a really good conference.

To answer the main question, I think they are going to do fine once league play starts. Even at 13-17 last year, that was still enough for the Gamecocks to make the NCAA Tournament. I expect them to be better than that record, which may turn out to be enough to host a regional. But things have to click into place for this group. If Mainieri can get the most out of his guys, I don’t see why they can’t compete.

AustinG_27: Do you think Eskew as the Friday night guy sticks? It feels like he gets the first crack because of experience, but I just don’t know that you can go into SEC play and have success with him as your Friday night guy. What say you?

You’re definitely right about the experience part. That’s one reason why Eskew will get the Opening Day nod next Friday. However, he’s also been solid when he’s taken the mound in the preseason. I know everyone hasn’t gotten a chance to watch him pitch since last season, but he’s looking like an improved pitcher. He’s gone from being a three-pitch pitcher to now having a five-pitch mix, including a cutter. He’s made some of South Carolina’s best hitters look silly swinging the bats, which gives me confidence he will do well.

Here’s the one thing with this year’s pitching staff. I don’t think they have that true dominant pitcher to carry them. But collectively, they have enough decent to good arms that can get the job done. And if guys like Eskew and Matthew Becker pitch like they have been, you’d feel good about your chances in a weekend series. We’ll see if Eskew sticks as the Friday night starter for the long haul. He made 15 starts last year and bounced around a little bit as the season wore on. I’d say it’s possible.

Gamecock14: Who will be coaching the bases this season?

Based on what I’ve seen in scrimmages, Monte Lee has been at third base and John Hendry has been at first base. I expect it to be that way when the regular season begins.

Win tickets to Sacred Heart Game 1: Season opener, Paul Mainieri’s debut

yo-mans: Who do you think will be the go-to as a closer?

That’s an interesting question. I think it’s something we’ll see be fully answered as the season moves along. Mainieri has alluded to using Brendan Sweeney late in games to let it rip with higher velocity. For closing duties, that would play well.

I like Tyler Pitzer as a possible candidate to fill that void. If he ends up starting games, that would change things. But he’s already proven he can be effective in the late innings. Go back to last year when he picked up his first career save in that wild 9-8 win over Florida in Gainesville. Pitzer is also an arm who can go multiple innings in a save situation. That’s something Mainieri might look for in his closer this year.

Jeff2001: Jack, a good friend of mine in high school is Kemper Nix’s dad. I haven’t talked to him in a long time is Kemper on the team?

Kemper Nix doesn’t appear on South Carolina’s 2025 roster.

GivEmDaSpurs: Jack – what will be the overall offensive approach? Are we going to continue to swing for the fences? More small ball? Definitely feels like a more concerted effort for stealing bases (unless that is just for our catchers to practice throwing down in live action) according to the practice reports. Also, do you think we take a step forward with fielding percentage? Seems like we had more than our share of errors last year.

With this year’s offense, I think you can expect to see less home run or strikeout and more putting the ball in play and moving the runners over to score runs. Like you said, small ball. Now, South Carolina will still hit some homers with guys like Ethan Petry and Kennedy Jones as the bigger threats in the middle of the order. But overall, this lineup will feature a lot of contact hitters, which I’ve always thought is what they’ve needed.

To answer the second part of your question, I would hope they are better defensively this season. South Carolina finished with a .971 fielding percentage in 2024, the second-worst in the SEC. The defense also committed the second-most errors in the conference with 64. So, the Gamecocks have no choice but to do better in 2025. Mainieri has made it clear if you want to play here, you must play great defense. It’s a prerequisite. It’s also a necessity to win games in this league. So, I think they will be better as a group.

Win tickets to Sacred Heart Game 2: Ray Tanner Field dedication ceremony

ATWILLIAMS35: What do you think the strengths of this team will be? What about the weaknesses?

The lineup from top to bottom can be a strength of this team. Again, I don’t expect this to be an offense that relies so much on the three-run homer to win games. But between good contact bats and some speed on the basepaths, that lends itself well to doing the little things right to plate runs.

Another strength will be the experience this coaching staff brings. Say what you will about Mainieri being out of the game for the last few years, the fact of the matter is that this guy is a winner. He’s going to give you the best chance to make a run and get to Omaha because he’s proven to do it before. But he also has great assistant coaches on his staff, including Lee, Hendry, and Terry Rooney. That’s going to serve him and the team well in the long run.

As for weaknesses, it’s not so much of a direct weakness yet, but I just wonder who’s going to get outs after the starting pitcher comes out of the game. We’ll have a more clear-cut answer when the season begins, but I do worry it could be a challenge at times to get from Point A to Point B.

I also think the defense could be a bit of a liability. Just from what I’ve seen watching the team play in the preseason, the defense hasn’t been flawless. There have been some errors made in scrimmages. Bad defense is what cost them games down the stretch last year, specifically in those SEC Tournament losses to LSU. Under Mainieri’s watch, I expect things to look sharper. But there are going to be errors. It’s just a matter of how impactful they are in determining the outcome of games.

Hampton Rhodes: Who are we looking at for middle relief and/or closer?

As I mentioned in an earlier question, I’d look at Pitzer as a potential closer option. For middle relief, Parker Marlatt and Ashton Crowther are some names that come to mind. I could also see some starting pitchers who don’t make the weekend rotation or pitch in midweek games filling those bullpen roles. So, whoever doesn’t start on the weekends or midweek, look to them as an option out of relief.

CJones22: Who is your dark horse for position player and pitching?

For a position player, I’m going to go with Talmadge LeCroy. I expect him to have a much better season after struggling so much in 2024. He’s been swinging a good bat ever since the start of the fall. He’s now moved from the infield to behind the plate and will be South Carolina’s starting catcher. We’ll see how he does defensively, but he feels like a player due to bounce back and be impactful.

For the pitching, I really like what I’ve been seeing from freshman right-hander Ryder Garino. He’s somebody that I anticipate either starting midweek games or pitching out of the bullpen. His stuff looked good in the fall and the same goes for the preseason. I mean, he was dealing against the middle of the order earlier this week in a scrimmage, striking out Henry Kaczmar, Ethan Petry, and Kennedy Jones in a row. Keep an eye on Garino.  

MC21: If Kennedy Jones is playing the field, who is looking like our top contender for DH?

Good question. I think you would see one of the other outfielders filling that DH role, like Blake Jackson or Dalton Mashore. It just depends on what the rest of the starting outfield looks like. What I think may end up happening is there won’t be one solidified DH this season.

Since Jones is the only player I would put at DH every game if he’s not playing the field, it could serve as a rotating spot to give different guys a little bit of rest. I’m sure Petry will DH some this year, along with other regulars in the lineup needing a half day off. So, I would say there isn’t one player in particular who would be the top contender. For one, there just isn’t that one hitter who I think checks that box to solely be a DH. There are a lot of guys who can hit and play their position well. But I see it as a place in the lineup for multiple players to rotate when they need a day.

MC21: Also, sorry if I missed this in a few of the scrimmage reports (or missed an injury occurrence at some point) but what’s the status on Brandon Stone?

Brandon Stone has been healthy and pitching in scrimmages. If you want to check out his stats from the first two weeks of the preseason, click here.

Imiraz1979 asks: Any ideas how the JUCO guys will fit in to the rotation, Soucie, Palmer, Stone? Ive heard Coach M is big on J Evans and Crowther for middle inning guys.

We’ll see who ends up getting that third weekend rotation spot. Me personally, I still think it’s going to go to Jake McCoy or Eli Jerzembeck. However, I really like what some of the JUCO guys have been doing. If McCoy or Jerzembeck start on the weekends, I would expect the other to start one midweek game. If there’s another game during the week, then it could go to a JUCO guy like Soucie or Stone. Soucie has probably pitched the best of the JUCO pitchers this preseason. Stone has been hit around a bit. I do agree on Evans and Crowther. Those guys are going to be nice out of the bullpen if that’s where they land, which I imagine they will.

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