South Carolina baseball: Gamecocks land a commitment, what's next after a dead period

It’s a frenzied few weeks for South Carolina with the Gamecocks trying to keep up in the portal, recruit the high school ranks and manage the MLB Draft as July hits.

It can be tough to keep up with some of it, so here’s a brief overview of the latest with South Carolina baseball.

Gamecocks pick up a commitment

The biggest news over the weekend wasn’t out of the transfer portal but an addition to the 2024 class in big-time prospect PJ Morlando. 

Morlando, who plays at Summerville (S.C.) High School recently decommitted from Mississippi State and ultimately landed at South Carolina. He tweeted his commitment late Tuesday night, becoming the highest-rated player in the Gamecocks’ 2024 class. 

[Get news from GamecockCentral via email]

He’s a left-handed bat and someone who, if he ever gets to campus, could be an instant impact kind of player for the Gamecocks for the 2025 season. 

Morlando is going to definitely have draft looks and could very well be a day one–first two rounds–pick not this year but next as he plays his senior season. 

But getting someone like him in the class certainly helps raise the profile of it and, if he does make it to campus, can fill a role almost immediately. 

With his commitment, South Carolina’s 2024 class ranks No. 20 nationally with three top 100 prospects and a few other high-level prospects. 

Recruiting, the portal

There’s a dead period currently in college baseball that ends Wednesday. Players were not able to take trips to schools nor schools go visit players from July 3 through July 5. 

The rest of July is a contact period where coaches can host players on visits while also going out and watching players play on the recruiting circuit. 

New assistant Joey Holcomb, who was made official Saturday, is able to go out on the road recruiting as well as head coach Mark Kingston and assistants Monte Lee and Matt Williams. 

A good chunk of that recruiting will be dedicated to evaluating high school players, but the rest will be on the transfer portal and rounding out the roster for 2024. 

The Gamecocks have most of their offensive class in the boat already and, while they could explore bringing in another piece in the field, the attention turns to the mound. Names will continue to pop up over the next few days as the dead period ends.

There are a trio of South Carolina targets who could be close to making announcements as early as this week. That includes left-handed pitcher Dominic Niman (Central Connecticut State), Mercer right-handed pitcher Josh Harlow and Clemson infielder Billy Amick. 

What’s next

Recruiting is the first and foremost priority right now with the draft out there. South Carolina can begin hosting prospects again this week starting Thursday and could very likely bring in a target or two over the course of the next few days. 

The other looming piece right now is the MLB Draft, which starts Sunday and runs through Tuesday. 

[Subscribe to GamecockCentral’s YouTube page]

South Carolina has a slew of draftable players, headlined by a quartet of pitchers and infielder Braylen Wimmer. Will Sanders and Jack Mahoney are top 200 prospects while Noah Hall and James Hicks turned down draft money last year to return for one more season. 

But there are a few other key pieces from 2023–Chris Veach, Cade Austin and Gavin Casas–who are also draftable. George Wolkow is the biggest threat in the 2023 class to sign a professional deal, a left-handed bat who plays third. 

Who South Carolina retains or loses in the draft could affect what happens next in the portal. Rounds one and two of the draft are Sunday night at 7 p.m. with Rounds 3-10 Monday starting at 2 p.m.

The draft wraps Tuesday with Rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m.

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!