SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL

South Carolina’s season is officially over, which means the Gamecocks are saying goodbye to three seniors that have had pretty good careers in Columbia.

With the season ending, it means Chris Cullen, TJ Hopkins and Jacob Olson’s careers are over and with it three or four years in Columbia where they played in two super regionals and finished one win away from Omaha in 2018.

The three seniors talked with GamecockCentral recapping their careers and sharing some of their favorite moments, teammates and pitchers they have no interest in facing again.

Favorite memory

Cullen: “My first career game on Friday night against No. 1 ranked Florida when we were No. 2. That’s a big memory for me. Winning a regional here and going to play in a Super Regional my freshman year was huge, then winning a regional and going to play in a Super Regional last year was awesome. Really it’s just every single year the group of guys I’ve been able to play with; it’s four different teams, completely different players I’ve played with. I have a bunch of different experiences and it’s been awesome.”

Also see: Gamecocks set to host huge five star linebacker

Olson: “There’s been so many, that I just can’t.”

Hopkins: “A specific moment that sticks out to me was when Hunter Taylor hit the double against Duke—the one that popped up off the third base bag—I’ll never forget that. I think I was in the hole. Me and Hunter are best friends. He got the chance to play and went in there and when he got that hit, that’s probably one of the happiest I’ve been to a teammate.”

Pitcher you’re glad you don’t have to face anymore

Cullen: “This year, it’s got to be one of those Georgia boys. Emerson Hancock, Cole Wilcox or one of them just pumping upper-90s. it’s just not a good recipe. Competing against them was awesome. I might not miss facing that 100 miles per hour though.”

Olson: “Every Friday night there’s someone. It’d be hard to stack up as far as who’s better. It’s the SEC, everyone’s going to be like that.”

Also see: Luke Doty taking serious recruiting role for South Carolina

Hopkins: “Clarke Schmidt. He’s mean. He would have been a top 10, top five pick if he didn’t have Tommy John. AJ Puk was really good against me but he was a junior and I was a freshman. Sheffield, the righty from Vanderbilt, those are the main ones that stick out to me.”

Favorite teammate

Cullen: “I’ve enjoyed my time around everyone I’ve been around but these two guys—TJ and Olson—are the two guys I’ve been with the longest. Olson’s been here three years, TJ and I came in the summer of our freshman year so we’ve been together four years. I’ve been with them pretty much every single day since the summer of 2015. I’ve built a pretty strong relationship with them, had some great memories with them and we’ve shared awesome experiences on the field together.

Hopkins: “Hunter Taylor, he’s just a different cat. He’s a workaholic. He’s a great dude, great teammate, great player. We have the same interests. Off the field we like to hang out so we have a lot in common.”

Also see: What Paul Mainieri said about South Carolina

Cullen and Hopkins were almost everyday contributors as freshmen on South Carolina's 2016 Super Regional team that lost to Oklahoma State while all three were on last year's 2018 team that went on their amazing run the back half of last year and into a Super Regional against Arkansas.

They've seen the highs and lows of the program over four years for Cullen and Hopkins and three for Olson, who transferred in from West Georgia Tech before the 2017 season.