Transfer infielder Charlie Meglio calls chance to play for South Carolina 'a blessing'
In the weeks after his team missed the postseason, Charlie Meglio had a plan in place. He was going to stay in Buies Creek to train at Campbell baseball’s facilities.
But that plan took a big hit not long after when he got some important news last Friday. His head coach, Justin Haire, was leaving for Ohio State. Later that afternoon, Meglio decided to change his summer plans entirely.
“I entered the portal that Friday afternoon. And then kind of got right into it with the schools and stuff,” Meglio told GamecockCentral.
Meglio said he had some interest from a few ACC schools. But on that Friday night, he got a text from Monte Lee at South Carolina. The two started texting back and forth, and as he described it, “It was just awesome.”
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Soon after, Meglio took a visit to Columbia to check out the baseball facilities and meet the new coaching staff. It didn’t take long for him to be impressed by everything he had seen. He was sold. He made his commitment to the Gamecocks official on Thursday.
“I loved everything about it,” Meglio said. “The biggest thing, obviously, is the baseball field. I mean, it’s beautiful. Just the facilities and everything, I feel like it was what’s best for me to develop and become the best person and player possible.
“The biggest thing was just the coaches. At Campbell, I mean, I loved every single one of those guys and everything and just having a family-like bond and the culture and all that. And then like when I started talking to all the coaches here and getting to meet some of the players, it kind of just felt right. And it just felt like my next home.”
For South Carolina, it will be getting a player with a lot of upside and potential. As a freshman this year, Meglio hit .275/.399/.475 with nine homers and 28 RBI in 160 at-bats. He played well enough to earn a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team.
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Defensively, the Gamecocks see him slotting in at third base, where he played in 31 games for Campbell. Though, he also can play shortstop, which is where he was for 15 games. He made six errors this season.
“I mean, I think I’m a pretty solid defender,” Meglio said. “The biggest thing for me was just making sure to make the routine plays, because I feel like at the end of the day, it’s kind of just make the routine plays and just do whatever I can. Whether that’s diving for a ball or doing whatever, I just think I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
But even then, those numbers aren’t good enough for him. Sure, he thought he had a “decent freshman year” but knows he can be so much better.
“I had nine home runs, I think that was pretty good. But I think I could definitely get more. And my average was okay, but I definitely need to get that up,” he said.
Ultimately, Meglio could prove to be a significant upgrade at third base for the Gamecocks in 2025 and beyond. He’ll join the program with three years of eligibility remaining.
“I’m ecstatic to get down there and just get started. Because obviously, every kid when they play baseball, they kind of dream of playing in the SEC,” Meglio said. “The fact that I get a chance and an opportunity to play for them and just try and do whatever I can to try and get South Carolina back to Omaha. … Getting the chance to play for (Paul Mainieri) and getting to play for South Carolina and represent them is just a blessing.”
