Nothing is certain in college baseball, but Ethan Petry’s power feels close.

Through two seasons at South Carolina, Petry has hit 44 home runs and assuming he stays healthy, has an opportunity to break Justin Smoak’s all-time program home run record of 62.

“I feel great,” Petry said. “The work ethic on this team is second to none. I think it’s going to be a great year for the Gamecocks.”

But even with one of the greatest sluggers in school history in the heart of the lineup, South Carolina’s offense faces a troubling question heading into the 2025 season.

Who else will hit home runs?

The Gamecocks lost Cole Messina off last year’s team, Petry’s protection and the joint-leader on the team in 2024 with 21 home runs. Dalton Reeves and Gavin Casas were the only other members of last year’s squad to break double-digits, and both have moved on.

Overall, the Gamecocks only have 24 over their 80 (30 percent) non-Petry home runs returning to the lineup.

“Obviously Petry is the straw that stirs the drink for us,” Paul Mainieri said. “Kennedy Jones had a great fall; thank goodness he came back. I know he was disappointed he didn’t get drafted. I didn’t anticipate him being back, but I’m glad he is.”

Jones is the leading returning home run threat after Petry with nine on the season last year. He did have a strong fall with three home runs in just 37 scrimmage at-bats and popped two in January scrimmages. But nine home runs from the projected clean-up hitter is nowhere near enough, and any hope this team has of replacing Messina’s loss offensively starts with him.

Will Tippett had a strong end to the season from a power perspective with two home runs in the Raleigh Regional and is back for his junior season. Blake Jackson and Talmadge LeCroy with five and three home runs respectively are the only players back from the 2024 team who left the ballpark last year.

What about the transfer class?

Clemson transfer Nathan Hall is all but penciled into the lead-off spot right now. He has a very limited sample size of playing time with the Tigers, but has led off in every scrimmage and might be the type of under the radar candidate to provide some thump.

“Nathan hits the ball as hard as anybody and as far as anybody,” Mainieri said. “If he can put it all together, it’s a tremendous blend of power and speed and he’s really an outstanding center fielder as well. You hate to put numbers on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he contributes a significant amount.”

Dalton Mashore hit 13 home runs at St. Mary’s last season and popped one out in South Carolina’s fall exhibition against Air Force. Still, the jury is out on if he can translate his power to SEC pitching. The same is true for JUCO transfer Jase Woita, a traditional three true outcomes hitter who struggles to make contact at times, but hits the ball hard when he does.

Ohio State transfer Henry Kaczmar should be the beneficiary of some good pitches to hit as the guy projected to hit right in front of Petry, but projects more as a contact hitter than a true power threat. Even as the Buckeyes’ team leader in RBIs last season, he only hit seven round-trippers.

Messina’s 21 home runs are gone, but the hope will be Mashore, Kaczmar and Hall can add seven (or more) each as newcomers to offset that.

Unless someone takes a significant leap forward, this team does not have a true lineup-changing home run threat besides Petry. They will have to cobble it together with depth, and likely manufacture runs with some small ball.

“You’ve got to come through with clutch hits if it’s a matter of rallying from being down a run,” Mainieri said. “Those are the games that separate you, and you’ve got to find a way to win them.”

This is not an impossible situation for South Carolina, but it is a reality the team will battle all year.

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