South Carolina adds Vanderbilt infielder out of the portal
South Carolina is continuing to add help at the plate through the transfer portal and got another pickup today in the form of Vanderbilt’s Parker Noland, he confirmed to GamecockCentral Friday.
The versatile infielder spent the last four seasons (2020-23) with the Commodores where he hit .269/.351/.423 over 790 career plate appearances with 22 career home runs and 119 RBI.
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Noland is coming off the best season of his collegiate career, hitting .277/.367/.455 this season with nine homers and 39 RBI. He walked 27 times to 57 strikeouts while also registering 12 doubles.
He scored 36 times for a Vanderbilt team that was a national seed in this year’s tournament.
Coming out of high school, Noland was the No. 489 overall prospect in the class. The Miami Marlins drafted him in the 31st round of the 2019 draft.
What Noland does is give South Carolina a player who can give the Gamecocks consistency at three infield positions–first, second and third–and another left-handed bat in the dugout.
He’s the third Vanderbilt player to come to South Carolina via the portal. Matt Hogan came in for the 2022 season and left the following offseason.
Gavin Casas also came in last offseason for the 2023 season and was an everyday starter for the Gamecocks.
Casas, another left-handed infield bat, hit .259 this season for South Carolina with a .976 OPS and 19 home runs.
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Noland joins a fairly stacked transfer portal class for South Carolina. That includes North Florida centerfielder Austin Brinling, UNC Greensboro outfielder Kennedy Jones and Charlotte outfielder Blake Jackson.
The Gamecocks are also bringing in Charleston right-handed pitcher Ty Good–the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year–along with lefty Garrett Gainey (Liberty) and Virginia Tech’s Tyler Dean.
South Carolina isn’t done yet, still battling for infielder Billy Amick. The staff is still looking to add pieces on the mound to round out the Gamecocks’ pitching staff.
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The Gamecocks are coming off a 42-21 season, the program’s first 40-win season since 2016. They earned a top 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that 2016 year.
South Carolina’s Super Regional appearance was the first for the program since 2018 when the Gamecocks were eliminated in three games by Arkansas.
Noland will join an offense, too, that is expected to return a good chunk of experience from last year’s team. Ethan Petry, Cole Messina, Talmadge LeCroy and Casas headline a group that took a relatively big step in 2023.
