6/11/2023 baseball Edit

Infielder Michael Braswell enters transfer portal

Alan Cole • GamecockScoop

Staff Writer

South Carolina baseball has its first transfer portal entry less than 24 hours after its season ended with a 4-0 loss at Florida in game two of the Gainesville Super Regional.

Sophomore infielder Michael Braswell announced on his Twitter account Sunday night that he will be entering the transfer portal after spending both of his first two years of college baseball in Columbia.

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Braswell got off to an electric start to his career in 2022, earning a nod on the SEC All-Freshman Team for the season. He hit a home run in his first career game against UNC Greensboro and had at least one RBI in each of his first six career games while opening his collegiate career with a 17-game hitting streak.

He significantly cooled off down the stretch against SEC pitching though, with a 3-for-47 stretch dropping him into a funk he never quite recovered from. All of it led to him not being in the starting lineup when the 2023 season opened, with Braylen Wimmer playing shortstop and Will McGillis taking the role at second base.

He did get his chance to play after infield injuries plagued the roster, becoming a regular player starting with the series at Mississippi State after McGillis suffered a forearm injury. Braswell responded well and hit .255 for the season with a .372 on-base percentage. He popped his only home run of the season out in a Friday night win at Vanderbilt, and had 23 RBIs for the season.

Will Tippett is a likely candidate to take over at second base next season for the Gamecocks, but the options at shortstop are not as clear-cut with Braswell now out of the program and Wimmer just completing his senior campaign. South Carolina has already added an infielder in the transfer portal in VMI's Zac Morris, as well as North Florida outfielder Austin Brinling and Presbyterian pitcher Dalton Reeves.

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