Paul Mainieri finds answer to South Carolina’s starting catching situation

One of South Carolina’s priorities during the offseason was figuring out who the team’s new starting catcher would be. Trying to replace the production of All-American Cole Messina, who joined the Colorado Rockies organization via the 2024 MLB Draft, made an already tall task even taller.

Fast forward to Gamecock baseball’s media day on Jan. 24 – three weeks before the team’s season opener against Sacred Heart – and Paul Mainieri still had not found a clear-cut favorite to start behind the dish.

“Being very transparent, it’s the one area of the team that I’m most concerned about,” Mainieri said. “I don’t even know for sure what we’re going to do yet.”

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Two weeks of preseason scrimmages have appeared to change Mainieri’s mind. In a Feb. 5 episode of the “Inside The Gamecocks: The Morning Show,” he provided a succinct response to a question about whether Talmadge LeCroy would serve as South Carolina’s starting catcher to begin the campaign.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt about that,” Mainieri said.

In 2022, LeCroy began his college career behind the plate. Of the 37 games he appeared in during his freshman campaign, he caught 15 of them. He would later relinquish the starting job to Messina, who held the role in both 2023 and 2024.

That did not stop LeCroy from earning playing time, though. Listed as a “catcher/infielder” on South Carolina’s roster the past two seasons, he was the team’s starting third baseman for much of last year. But defensive mistakes at the hot corner led to a position change during the offseason.

LeCroy caught five games for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League during the summer. He also played primarily at catcher in the Gamecocks’ fall scrimmages, but those performances left much to be desired. 

“I love the way that Talmadge LeCroy put to the position this fall, but he needs to continue to improve,” Mainieri said at the team’s media day.

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And improve he did. Through South Carolina’s first two weeks of spring scrimmages, LeCroy possessed a .476 batting average – second behind only Nathan Hall (.480) – in addition to launching two home runs and contributing 7 RBI across 21 at-bats.

Those improved numbers, among other factors, helped LeCroy regain South Carolina’s starting catcher job. But Mainieri made it clear that competition for a backup role at the position still exists.

“I’m hoping that Talmadge can catch two games a weekend, and I’d like him to catch the first two games. And then, you’d like to have somebody be able to catch on Sunday,” Mainieri said. “The competition between Ryan Bakes and Max Kaufer is very intense.”

Bakes, like LeCroy, returned to Gamecock baseball after Mainieri’s coaching hire in June. Bakes appeared in 12 games last season, starting six of them. He went 4-for-19 with two doubles, five RBI and five walks while striking out six times in those appearances.

Kaufer, meanwhile, is a newcomer to the program this season. He previously plied his trade at Texas A&M, where he most recently served as a backup behind an All-SEC First Teamer in Jackson Appel. Kaufer is a career .194 hitter with the Aggies.

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Both players have excelled in different facets of the game during South Carolina’s preseason, Maineri said.

“Kaufer has come back and really swung the bat much better than he did in the fall. Bakes always has had that potential, but he’s probably caught a little bit better than Kaufer has,” Maineri said. “I thought Kaufer was going to be a defensive specialist when we recruited him. I wouldn’t call him a defensive specialist. But he has improved his hitting, or Bakes could be running away with the job.”

Gavin Braland, a true freshman, rounds out South Carolina’s catching room in 2025. He headed into the season as the No. 6 ranked catcher and No. 41 overall prospect in the state of Georgia in the class of 2024, according to Perfect Game. As things currently stand, he remains behind Bakes and Kaufer on the depth chart.

Maineri said he is unsure who will serve as LeCroy’s primary backup. The team’s final weekend of preseason scrimmage will make that picture much clearer, though.

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