James Hicks ready to embrace whatever role needed for South Carolina

It was Sunday night. South Carolina had wrapped up its one of its first practices since getting sent home from the SEC Tournament just a few days earlier and James Hicks was nestled into his Columbia house for the big announcement.

In about 30 minutes, he and the Gamecocks would learn if it would be hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.

Many players stuck around in the locker room to wait and hear the news, while others went home. Hicks was one of those who had already left, opting to following along with his roommates Noah Hall and Nick Proctor.

The three went back home to hang out and see what their team’s fate would be. Hall and Proctor tasked Hicks with constantly checking Twitter.

Then chaos ensued.

“I was on the wrong account, so I just saw the whole group chat blow up and I missed the whole thing,” Hicks said. “But once I saw it, I mean, we all went crazy in the living room for a little bit. We all got really excited and we’re just pumped.”

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Twitter went into a frenzy. The Gamecocks were going to be playing postseason baseball at Founders Park. It was just the news Hicks and his teammates were hoping to hear.

“It helps so much playing in front of our fans at our park. You can’t beat it,” Hicks said. “I mean, it’s impossible to play bad when we’re playing in front of a packed out Founders.”

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It’s been a peculiar year for Hicks after making his return from Tommy John surgery. He was initially a starter when he first came to South Carolina but was asked to take on a relief role in 2023. So he obliged and did his part to help the pitching staff.

But then the Gamecocks called on him to start the opening game of the SEC Tournament. It was his audition to show what he could do in a meaningful game. And he delivered.

Hicks, facing a power-happy Georgia lineup, worked his way into the seventh inning and didn’t allow a run and struck out six. He exceeded expectations as South Carolina went on to win 9-0.

Heading into the regional this weekend, it’ll be all hands on deck for the pitching staff. And Hicks could, once again, play a vital role.

“It’d be awesome. It’d be a dream come true. But any chance I get to pitch I’m grateful for it,” he said. “So I’m excited for however it goes.”

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As of right now, it’s unclear when Hicks will pitch. The Gamecocks haven’t announced their pitching plans yet. They’re still figuring out who could matchup best against each team in their regional.

“You’ve got to make educated decisions, you’re going to have to take some risks at times and decide how much risk you’re willing to take,” Mark Kingston said. “We have to dig in there on Central Connecticut State and see exactly what they’re about, what their strengths and weaknesses are…Again, we’re going to make decisions that we think help us win the regional, not just one game.”

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South Carolina has plenty of pitching options outside of Hicks to choose from. Kingston said he expects Will Sanders to be available to pitch at some point this weekend. That will likely be out of the bullpen. But it’s another piece to the puzzle of getting the staff back to full strength.

“We’re going to set our cards up to win a regional as best we can, not just the next game,” Kingston said. “If you’re trying to get to Omaha you have to make decisions to try and win the regional as a whole. That’s how we’ll approach it.”

But whenever Hicks pitches, he knows he’ll be ready to roll.

“After this year, not knowing which role I’d be in week to week, I try not to do too much extra stuff. Because in case I’m coming out of the bullpen and can’t do stuff, I don’t want that to affect me. So I try to keep it pretty simple and prepare pretty much the same way,” Hicks said.

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