Catcher Jonathan French Makes It Official

Clemson Catcher Jonathan French who entered the transfer portal earlier this month has announced he is transferring to South Carolina. He joins fellow former Clemson player, OF Dylan Brewer in becoming the second Tiger to make the in-state switch following the 2022 season.

"Frenchie" hit .217 last season, with a .333 OBP and a .428 Slugging %. The Sophomore bated in 22 runs and hit 8 HRs in 44 games played. This move was hinted at last week on the Insider's Forum when Catcher Colin Burgess entered the portal for the Gamecocks. French missed the entire Covid season with a broken leg, but split time with Adam Hackenberg in 2021, playing in 25 games, before playing in 44 games last season while putting up decent offensive stats and looking very solid behind the plate for the Tigers on defense.

The Lilburn, Georgia native was ranked as high as the #56 player in the country out of high school in the 2019 recruiting class. From a defensive standpoint, French is not much of a drop-off from Burgess. French has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He should be in the mix for the starting catcher position.

French is Mark Kingston's fourth transfer portal pickup since the end of the season, including the aforementioned Brewer, Cal pitcher Nick Proctor, and Presbyterian Utility player Chris Veach.