Paul Mainieri assesses catcher position as fall ball comes to an end
Replacing Cole Messina? Difficulty level: impossible.
No matter what, finding South Carolina’s next catcher after Messina, a two-year starter who turned pro, was going to come with its challenges. But that’s what this fall was all about — starting to see who will fill those enormous shoes.
After South Carolina’s final fall ball scrimmage, a 12-11 loss to Charleston on Thursday, head coach Paul Mainieri isn’t going to be making any decisions on who starts anytime soon. But since the fall began over a month ago, he’s learned a lot about the options he has at his disposal.
“I think Talmadge (LeCroy) converting to catcher has done a really outstanding job this fall,” Mainieri said. “(Max) Kaufer is what he is. And I think there’s a good future for Gavin Braland. So, we’ll see how it all plays out when the spring rolls around.”
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Kaufer transferred to South Carolina after spending the last two years at Texas A&M. Based on the way he played in the fall, he’s much more of a defensive catcher without much pop in his bat. Meanwhile, Braland, an incoming freshman, showed some flashes from both sides. The Gamecocks also have returnee Ryan Bakes as an option, but he didn’t see a ton of action in scrimmages.
But it’s been LeCroy, the team’s regular starter at third base over the last two seasons, seeing the bulk of the reps behind the plate. When Mainieri was hired in the summer, he spoke to LeCroy and told him he wanted him to convert to catcher, a position he hadn’t played since 2023.
It wasn’t like this decision came out of left field, though. LeCroy was originally a catcher coming out of high school and caught 15 games as a freshman in 2022. And he caught some games in the Cape Cod League over the summer to get a head start on his transition.
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There was a lot to like about the way LeCroy had been playing, especially in the early parts of the fall. He was already up to a team-leading three homers within the first six scrimmages. But like all changes came some growing pains.
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In South Carolina’s final scrimmage in Charleston on Thursday, the Cougars stole five bases within the first three innings, showing they were ready to run from the jump. Most of those stolen bases came without a throw from LeCroy, who caught the entire game. But Mainieri insisted those were not LeCroy’s fault.
“They got excellent jumps on us, and we were a little bit slow to the plate,” he said. “… It was a little bit misleading because a couple times we were letting a guy steal on the first and third. I didn’t want to give them an easy run just on a first and third play.”
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LeCroy’s only other miscue came in the sixth when he had a pitch in the dirt to go by him for a passed ball and run. It didn’t take away from the good things he had done leading up to the fall finale. But it showed Mainieri there’s always more to work on.
“We need to get better back there. But I think we’ve got some guys that have played decent back there,” Mainieri said. “Talmadge didn’t do a bad job, really. He blocked some balls. So I’m not down on that.”
