It's been one week since the 2023 Gamecock baseball season in the Gainesville Super Regional and as expected Mark Kingston and staff have been active in the transfer portal. The incoming recruiting class is ranked around 25th in the country and doesn't feature a lot of guys that are expected to key contributors in their freshman year. While his seat isn't as hot as it was last June, Kingston is well aware that another lackluster season in Columbia would likely be his last. It leaves Athletics Director Ray Tanner in a difficult spot, Kingston is currently one the SEC's lowest paid head coaches. He hasn't exactly earned a huge raise, but that is being used against Carolina in portal recruitment. The knock is that a change coming and the school won't commit this staff financially. Pitching coach Justin Parker currently has outstanding job offers from Mississippi State and LSU, both school are offering 75%-100% raises. Don't be surprised if this staff is all in line for a salary bump sometime this summer with Kingston getting an extension. Kingston's name is also being mentioned in connection with vacant Miami job, but he is believed to be a second tier candidate based on my intel. Parker will at least meet with the Bulldogs about their opening. It's not hard to tell that Parker's status has negatively impacted Carolina's pitching portal recruiting.

Coaching staff aside, here is a look at the roster movement thus far and what we expect to see happen this offseason.

Kevin Madden entered his name in the transfer portal back in April. Since the final out in Gainesville, Carolina has lost the services of Michael Braswell to LSU and Brett Thomas to the portal. Gavin Casas posted a cryptic Instagram post thanking the Gamecock fans, he didn't specify if he was leaving, but he did say that he doesn't know what the future holds. Could be he's leaving, could be nothing. Caleb Denny has also let the staff know that he has played his last baseball game and is going to get started on the rest of his life.

Braswell was good enough to play in the SEC. He was third on the team in average in conference games hitting .253. Braswell also played every infield position except first and catcher this season. He is not a player that I wanted to see leave, but his production can be replaced in the portal. I was surprised LSU was his ultimate destination, I had been told Georgia Tech was the most likely suitor. Thomas pitched two SEC-innings and only seven innings overall. The staff expected Casas back next season, and he still might be, he would have started next season at first or DH. Casas hit .259 with 19 home runs this season. His power numbers were down in conference play but his average dipped only slightly to .245. Denny struggled mightily down the stretch. He hit .207 with no home runs in conference play.

Out of Eligibility: Will McGillis, Nick Proctor, Wesley Sweatt

Expect South Carolina's starting rotation to be gutted by the MLB Draft. It's unusual that pitchers drafted in the first 10-12 rounds don't sign pro deals. I fully expect Jack Mahoney, Noah Hall, Will Sanders, and James Hicks to sign with the MLB organization that drafts them. Cade Austin is the only other pitcher that might have a shot as a low round pick, but at this point I'd go 85% or higher that he is back in Columbia next season. Hicks, Hall and Mahoney have all missed large chunks of a season with injuries. Sanders battled injuries this year as well. None of these guys are likely to improve their draft stock by returning to school. I don't see any other eligible pitchers being drafted.

As for position players, Casas was thought to be returning but with his brother playing for the Red Sox, Gavin could be feeling the itch to start his pro career after a nice end to the season. He was named as the Columbia regional MVP. Braylen Wimmer still has another season of eligibility left due to the Covid year. He was drafted in the 18th round last season by the Phillies. I'd place Wimmer's chances of returning to Columbia below 20% based on the feedback I've received.

There are three members of the 2023 recruiting class that could get their name called early enough to forgo college. Remember everyone in the class is eligible. No one expected Carolina commit Adam Serwinowski to hear his name called but the Reds nabbed him in the 15th round. The guys to watch from July 9-11th are George Wolkow, Lee Ellis, and Tyler Zedalis. (Brother of Zach Zedalis. Zedalis is the most likely to be in Columbia next season. I'd place Wolkow at about 55% to sign a pro deal and Ellis about 60% to school at this point. Wolkow is an OF, Ellis is an IF, and Zedalis is also an infielder. We will have more this week on the incoming class.

We are working on a full story regarding Carolina's portal recruiting board. There are a few names to get really excited about. The Gamecocks already have commitments from OF Austin Brinling (North Florida); RHP Tyler Dean (Virginia Tech); LHP Garrett Gainey (Liberty); OF Blake Jackson (Charlotte); INF Zac Morris (VMI); C Dalton Reeves (Presbyterian). We have full player profiles on each of these guys in the forthcoming portal story.

We expect Kingston to try to ink another 1-2 bats and another 2-3 pitches in this portal class.