Now on other side as Gamecocks, Hall and Nawrocki eager to face Clemson: 'Bring it on'

Nathan Hall had seen this situation happen once before. Entering his freshman year at Clemson, his never-to-be coach and teammates were on the other team, or in this case, playing for the hated rival.

Ahead of the 2023 season, South Carolina landed three players directly from Clemson — Jonathan French, Dylan Brewer, and Ricky Williams — out of the transfer portal. The Gamecocks also hired Monte Lee as their associate head coach after spending seven seasons as the head coach at, you guessed it, Clemson.

So when Hall played against South Carolina for the first time in the rivalry series, it was probably a little jarring to see some former players, along with the man who had recruited him, all wearing garnet and black.

“At that time, I saw them over there and I was just like it’s cool, you know, interesting,” Hall said. “I’m sure whatever happened for them to be over there, it was a reasonable thing for them to be on South Carolina’s side.”

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Ironically enough, Hall now finds himself in those exact same shoes going into this weekend. Just like those players and Lee, Hall will return to Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday but as the starting centerfielder for South Carolina. But he’s not alone, though. Hall, who transferred from Clemson in the offseason, was joined by his former Tiger teammate Nolan Nawrocki.

“It’s awesome that both of us are going to be out there,” Hall said on getting to go through this experience with Nawrocki. “And we know we’re going to hear it. But yeah, the fact that we’ve got each other, and you know, we’ve been on that other side, it’s pretty cool.”

Hall and Nawrocki played together in the Upstate for two seasons. Nawrocki redshirted as a freshman and then earned a starting spot as Clemson’s third baseman in 2024, where he hit .264 with four home runs and 24 RBI in 36 games.

“I had a great two years there,” Nawrocki said. “I have a ton of respect for their program, their coaches, their players. A lot of great friends as well. I think that pretty much sums it up. But I’m in the garnet and black now.”

Hall also enjoyed his years at Clemson, but he didn’t play as much as Nawrocki did by his second season. He played in 51 games with 20 starters over two seasons. But he only 96 career at-bats in a Tigers uniform. He hit .235 with one homer and 15 RBI.

“Nothing against the coaches there or the players. It just ultimately didn’t work out for me there,” Hall said on leaving Clemson. “Again, I’ll forever be grateful for my time there. But I wanted to play. I wanted to play baseball. And it was ultimately like, I might have to go somewhere else to do that, and it just so happens to be here.”

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In their early weeks since making their South Carolina debuts, both Hall and Nawrocki have done nothing but hit. Hall is hitting .433 with two homers and 10 RBI. Nawrocki, the team’s starting second baseman, has hit .350 with a homer and six RBI.

When they hit for the first time on Friday, they expect a “warm” welcome from the Clemson faithful.

“Probably a good bit of boos, I would expect,” Nawrocki said. “But yeah, we’ll see. Probably will tune all that out and I’ll have a lot of emotions for sure. But should be fun.”

Hall felt the same way, understanding this is a rivalry at the end of the day and he’s now on the other side of it. But as head coach Paul Mainieri has told him and the other players, they’ll have a lot of tough roadtrips this year. Clemson just happens to be the first big one this season.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a hostile environment. But, you know, bring it on,” Hall said. “Been preparing. I’m ready.”

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