While high school recruiting is still the lifeblood of college sports, adding a few pieces from the omnipresent NCAA Transfer Portal is critical to adding championships to the trophy case. Look no further than Portal/NIL U, LSU. The Tigers would have been a fringe Top 25 team without the additional of Angel Reese from the portal. Instead they nab Reese, and luck into a national title and now LSU is being treated like the "it" program. The College World Series is another example, where is LSU without Paul Skenes and Tommy "Tanks" White? The Tigers would have still been a talented club that would have contended for Omaha, but they wouldn't be one of the last two teams still standing.

Mark Kingston is well aware that the Gamecocks will need to dip into the portal to be successful. After a disastrous 2022 campaign, Kingston reached into the portal to land Gavin Casas, Dylan Brewer, Nick Proctor, Jonathan French, Will McGillis, Chris Veach, and Caleb Denny. Not all of those guys "hit," but it was an upgrade over the prior season's roster. Also from last year's class, Jacob Compton, Ricky Williams, and Roman Kimball all missed the 2023 season with injuries and will be back for 2024. Also, Casas posted a cryptic Instagram post two weeks ago thanking the fans. It read like a goodbye post, but we know believe Casas is more likely than not to be back next season, unless he is drafted earlier than expected.

Thus far only Michael Braswell, Brett Thomas, and Trey Wheeler have entered the portal or are expected to. There were rumors about Eli Jones possibly looking around, but our source says Jones will stay a Gamecock in 2024. Caleb Denny is hanging up cleats and going professional in something other than baseball.

Kingston and Monte Lee have already pulled in eight players from the portal and have their sights set on two to three more additions. One big name that the Gamecocks were after was Colby Shelton, a Freshman All-American shortstop transferring from Alabama. The Gamecocks had some factors working for them as his sister is committed to Bev Smith’s softball program and his parents have relocated to Lexington, SC. Nonetheless, here are some other names we can confirm Carolina recruiting and a recap of the eight that have already committed. Notre Damn transfer reliever Will Mercer also committed to Texas over South Carolina and a few others.

Dalton Reeves - Catcher - PC: Reeves is going to be used as a backup catcher that can spell Messina during the middle of the week. He hit .241 with 12 home runs. Behind the plate he threw out 17 would be base stealers but he did allow eight passed balls.

Zac Morris - IF - VMI: Morris is a middle infielder that could play second or short for the Gamecocks. He is also draft eligible. Morris will be a fifth-year senior with four years of college baseball experience. He had a strong season for the Keydets hitting .317 and stealing 25 bases. Morris has some pop in his bat as well hitting 10 home runs last season. Morris held his own in games against SEC and ACC competition in 2023.

Kennedy Jones - OF - UNC Greensboro: Jones is biggest piece added thus far in the portal. He went 5-for-14 and knocked in three runs across the weekend at Founders Park and never looked back, hitting .367 in his inagural campaign with 11 home runs and 73 runs knocked in. He helped the Spartans reach the NCAA Tournament, where they were the No. 4 seed in the Statesboro Regional after winning their second conference tournament championship in program history. He followed that up by adding more power in his sophomore season, clubbing 14 home runs in 59 games. The Norfolk native did it all while maintaining that red hot batting average, hitting .355 and recording at least one hit in 47 of those games. Jones will be occupying left or center field on opening day in 2024.

Blake Jackson - OF - Charlotte: Jackson played against the Gamecocks twice in 2023, going 5-11 with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored. On the 2023 season, Jackson hit .277 but logged a very-impressive .433 on-base percentage. He hit five home runs, drove in 28 and scored 46 runs. He also went 10-14 on stolen base attempts. Jackson will compete with Evan Stone and Dylan Brewer for time in the outfield.

Austin Brinling -UTL - North Florida: Brinling was once a member of the Florida Gators roster before spending two seasons at junior college and one at North Florida. He led the Ospreys in hitting at .388. He also boasts an impressive OPS of 1.040 and was successful on 20 of 22 stolen base attempts. Brinling struck out less than one time per ten plate appearances which helped contribute to his .500 on base percentage. He went 6-15 against FSU, Florida, and South Carolina last season. Brinling could play in the outfield or at second base.

Tyler Dean - RHP - Virginia Tech: Dean was a highly recruited prospect who hasn't put it all together in two season in Blacksburg. For the 2022 class, No. 10 incoming ACC freshman by Perfect Game and the No. 51 among Perfect Game's top 500 incoming NCAA Division I freshmen. Dean threw only 12 innings last season and allowed nine runs and 12 walks. The 6'3 righty needed a change of scenery. He will be a power arm in the bullpen for Carolina next season. Regaining his control will be vital.

Ty Good - RHP - College of Charleston: Good is seventh in College of Charleston history in strikeouts per nine innings, an electric arm that helped him win CAA Pitcher of the Year in 2023. He threw 82 1/3 innings in each of the last two seasons, striking out 93 and 88 batters respectively. Walks have been a concern for him though, with a total of 82 free passes issued in the last two campaigns. Good is a senior and will have one season to play assuming that he does not sign professionally. Good should lock down a spot in the weekend rotation along with Eli Jones and most likely Matthew Becker, unless another starter is added.

Garrett Gainey - LHP - Liberty: Gainey's stats at Liberty and Winthrop don't exactly scream SEC ready. Gainey is a native of Hartsville and he's left-handed. The Gamecocks sorely needed a few more left handed arms in their bullpen. Gainey fits the bill. He is also most likely going to be a walk-on so there is virtually no risk including Gainey on the roster.

The big name on the transfer portal board is Billy Amick. Amick might have been the most improved player in the country in his second season at Clemson, the first under coach Erik Bakich. He hit .105 with a run scored in nine appearances as a freshman in 2022. In 2023 he exploded, hitting .413 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. He was also a First-Team All-ACC selection and an All-American selection by Collegiate Baseball. Amick was recruited and signed with Carolina hitting coach Monte Lee when Lee was at the helm in Clemson. Amick is likely the most sought-after player that is in the portal. It sounds like the Gamecocks are competing with Florida and Tennessee for Amick's services. Amick is a native of Batesburg, SC. Securing a commitment from Amick would turn the Gamecocks into one of the most dangerous lineups in the SEC with Kennedy Jones, Cole Messina, Talmadge LeCroy, Austin Brinling, and Ethan Petry. Our sources has indicated that if Amick commits to the Gamecocks, they are probably done recruiting position players unless someone too good to pass up enters the portal and expresses interest. This one is too close to call but at this point, we are comfortable saying South Carolina has as good a chance as anyone to land the talented infielder.

Amick, who grew up a Clemson fan, was on campus this past weekend. We've heard nothing but good returns from that visit.

Pitching wise, the Gamecocks are in the market for an experienced starter as they are projected to lose Will Sanders, Jack Mahoney, James Hicks, and Noah Hall. A familiar name to our readers is Dominic Niman. We sang Niman's praises before, during, and after the Columbia regional. Niman went 12-2 with a 2.77 ERA for Central Connecticut State in 2023. The left-hander pitcher 6.1 innings against a red-hot Campbell lineup and allowed only two runs on four hits. We know that Kingston and Lee have met with Niman, but we don't expect an announcement from the Connecticut native until later this summer. Niman is draft eligible and would have one year of eligibility remaining.

Amick and Niman are the two primary targets left, that's not to say that Carolina won't end up taking another player if one of these two land elsewhere or that new pitching coach Matt Williams may not have his eye on another pitcher.