What Matt Williams said about evaluating pitchers, recruiting out of the portal

Matt Williams took over as the South Carolina pitching coach, he inherited a good core of players from last year’s staff but there is still work to do. 

The Gamecocks will have to replace a lot from one of the better pitching staffs in the league statistically with Williams now having an eye to the portal to help build out his staff. 

And it’s something he’s tried to hit the ground running with so he can fill out a staff capable of contending in the SEC. 

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“It’s looking at things. Maybe there are some characteristics on a certain pitch to fit in our bullpen. Maybe their fastball has some outlier characteristics. Or their breaking pitch is very good and we can see them in a role,” Williams said. 

“It’s just watching them and seeing what the metrics say and envisioning something down the road and making a decision. The biggest thing is getting to know the kid and having conversations with them. The more conversations you have with them the more you get to know them and if they’re the right fit.”

Williams has been on the road a ton over the last few weeks since taking the job. He mentioned heading to Alabama and Atlanta to recruit high school players. He’s also been on the summer ball circuit watching guys play and evaluating them. 

He knows what he’s looking for in pitchers while setting his sights high on bringing in some quality arms through the portal. 

“I think the biggest thing is attacking the plate. In this league, if your stuff doesn’t play over the plate it’s going to be tough for you here. I want to make sure we’re attacking the plate and being aggressive,” Williams said.

“Our approach is going to be aggressive. If your stuff isn’t playing then we have to look at making some changes and adjustments. Finding the right stuff that can play over the plate is going to be the big thing for me.”

The Gamecocks have three portal commitments on the mound in the 2023 class. Ty Good (Charleston), Tyler Dean (Virginia Tech) and Garrett Gainey (Liberty) are already on board for next season.

There are a few other pitchers choosing between South Carolina and other schools, most notably Central Connecticut State’s Dominic Niman and Mercer’s Josh Harlow. 

Both have had plenty of success during their careers at the mid-major level. Niman was the NEC pitcher of the year while Harlow dealt with injuries but was pitching at an all-conference level when healthy.

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“When you recruit kids you want guys that come from winning programs. If they come from winning programs it makes it easy to come in and they expect to win. A lot of times when you show up expecting to win good things happen.”

Williams and the rest of the South Carolina staff have about a month and a half to put the finishing touches on the roster before the semester starts. 

Then, once the middle of August hits, it’s working towards developing a staff that can help the Gamecocks compete for a College World Series berth. 

“The biggest thing for me is the relationship to start with. If I don’t have a good relationship with the guys then it’s not going to end up very well,” Williams said. “From there, it’s getting to know the individual and how they learn. Some guys learn in the weight room, some guys learn just talking mechanics and some guys learn in the bullpen. Some guys can learn with metrics. It’s a different deal getting to know each individual guy.” 

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