Mainieri envisions two freshmen making an early impact this season

Paul Mainieri believes he has the “guts of a burglar” when it comes to playing freshmen. He may not pull the trigger right away, but as the season wears on, he’s going to play the best players, regardless of status.

Take 2009 as a prime example of this. When LSU rolled out its Opening Day lineup, there were no freshmen as part of the starting nine. But when the Tigers won the College World Series a few months later, three freshmen made a sizable impact. Two of them were in the starting lineup when they defeated Texas in the clinching game in Omaha.

Those players were Mikie Mahtook, Austin Nola and Tyler Hanover, who each started in at least 36 games that season. Hanover went on to have a great four-year career at LSU. Mahtook and Nola played multiple seasons in the MLB.

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When Mainieri initially decided to not put them in the starting lineup, he had his reasonings. But eventually, there was one thing that led him to making the drastic change.

“They were really good defensive players but weren’t quite ready to break through the wall and be starters at the beginning of the year,” he said. “But because they were such good defensive players, I never hesitated to put them into games. And by the 20th game of the year, one of those guys became a starter. By the 30th game, another one became a starter. By the 40th game, the third guy became a starter.”

Now as Mainieri begins his first season at South Carolina in 2025, he could see a similar situation happening for some of his freshmen players, including first baseman Beau Hollins. He comes in as a highly talented player with family members who played for the Gamecocks. But the team already has a solidified option at the position.

“We have a kid named (Ethan) Petry that’s not bad and he might end up playing first base,” Mainieri joked.

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While Hollins might not start right now, that doesn’t mean Mainieri won’t have any use for him. Much like Mahtook, Nola and Hanover from his LSU days, he could use Hollins in a similar way.

“Because Beau Hollins is such a premier, elite defensive first baseman,” Mainieri said, “I’m not going to hesitate to use Beau in late inning situations.”

One freshman that will be in the Opening Day lineup, though, is third baseman KJ Scobey. After missing the first three scrimmages of the preseason with a twisted ankle, Scobey returned to action on Monday. Mainieri already felt comfortable enough committing to him starting at the hot corner.

“Scobey is uniquely talented as a third baseman. I’ve always said that third base is the most underrated position on the field,” Mainieri said. “You don’t realize that you don’t have a good third baseman until you don’t have a good third baseman. You take it for granted. And I’ve had a couple of seasons in my coaching career, quite frankly, where they were ruined because we could not find a quality third baseman and the ball just always seems to find that guy.”

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As a senior at McKeel Academy (FL), Scobey hit .395 with 34 RBI and a .519 on-base percentage, earning an All-State selection in 2023 and 2024.

“Scobey is a really good defensive player, and I think he’s going to develop as a hitter, and I think eventually he’s going to be a superstar in the SEC,” Mainieri said. “But he’s going to have to go through some of that that adjustment time, of course, but he would probably be the only freshman that’s going to start for us in the everyday lineup.”

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