Kingston breaks down outfield competition

Too much talent, especially in collegiate sports is never a bad thing, and the Gamecocks have options galore this year in the outfield.

Not only does South Carolina bring back all three of last year's starters, but inject a nice amount of new talent to compete for innings in the grass.

Figuring out a best three is what the Gamecocks are working on right now during fall practice, and it will continue into the spring.

The Gamecocks are returning all three of last year’s starters in Andrew Eyster, Noah Myers and Brady Allen while bringing in a few other talented newcomers.

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Allen—who’s playing primarily right field this fall—was off to a terrific start before the last season shut down, pacing the team with a .327 batting average and ending the season slashing .327/.459/.571 with eight RBI and three home runs.

Eyster is taking the majority of his reps this fall in right and left field and is coming off a .305/.400/.593 season last year in 16 games with 12 RBI and four homers.

Myers, a true centerfielder, didn’t break into the lineup until about six games into the season, finishing hitting .324/.510/.459 in 37 at-bats with a team-high seven stolen bases.

Their biggest competition right now comes from Brandon Fields and Joe Satterfield, two newcomers who have done well to start their Gamecock careers.

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Fields became one of the highest-rated recruits to enroll at South Carolina, opting to head to college after Coronavirus shrunk the draft. The former No. 31 prospect in the 2020 class has come in and played well in centerfield.

Satterfield, a graduate transfer, spent the majority of his career at Elon playing infield and still is taking reps at second and third this fall, but he’s doing a lot more work playing in left field as well.

During his all-conference career at Elon Satterfield hit .291/.387/.422 with 12 home runs and 97 career RBI. In 11 games last year he hit .343/.465/.486.

The Gamecocks also have two other players Kingston mentioned in top 500 prospect and legacy in-state prospect David Cromer.

Here’s what Kingston said about all of the candidates.

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Three returning outfielders: “Obviously we have the three incumbents in Eyster, Myers and Allen. Eyster has been unbelievably good this fall. Brady Allen’s been excellent as well. Noah’s been a little up and down but we know he’s a plus defender, can get on base and steal bases.”

Brandon Fields: “Fields has had a very, very good fall. He’s flashed some unbelievable highlight moments but he needs to make improvements in terms of consistent contact at the plate like most freshmen at this level. The strikeouts are a little high right now, and that’s something we’re working on.

Joe Satterfield: “You look at a guy like Joe Satterfield, who played infield at Elon, but we’ve been working him out in left field this fall and he’s more than held his own out there. He’s a very good left-handed hitter, which we don’t have enough of. He’s a guy who will be an option whether that’s in the outfield, at first base or at DH. Joe Satterfield has put himself in the mix to get at-bats pretty consistently come springtime.

Other candidates: “Then you factor in Josh Shuler, who’s a young, talented freshman. He has some improvement gains he needs to make but he’s a guy we like. Then David Cromer has worked really hard this fall as well.”