Typically, it’s easier for freshmen pitchers to adjust to college baseball more so than freshmen hitters.

Usually, a 94 miles per hour fastball paired with a good breaking ball is the same whether a pitcher is 18 or 21 compared to an 18 year old facing some of the SEC’s best pitching compared to a 22 year old doing it after three years in the league.

It’s tough for freshmen to catch on quickly, but Mark Kingston is inspired by what he’s seen from a young group of offensive players.

“This freshmen group of hitters has been pretty encouraging. They're talented guys, they have tools. What we did see is that they took really good, professional, mature at-bats. Sometimes you get that from freshmen, sometimes you don't,” he said.

“You can tell a lot about guys as freshmen with the quality of their at-bats, whether they get hits or not. How are they seeing the ball? Do they chase balls in the dirt? Can they lay off high fastballs? All the weapons that college pitchers have, do they have an answer for those?”

The Gamecocks had nine freshmen bats this fall in their first go-round against collegiate pitching with three more second-year players who didn’t get many consistent in-season plate appearances in 2021.

All the freshmen are part of a top 15 recruiting class headlined by a few instant impact hitters and six top 300 prospects on the offensive side of the ball: Michael Braswell, Thad Ector, Carson Hornung, Vito Valincius, Cole Messina and Elijah Lambros.

“This group showed a lot of good quality at- bats all fall. So that was very encouraging you don't always get that,” Kingston said. “With this group we saw the tools but we also saw the ability to take good, professional at-bats. At the end of the day, that’s what's most important.”

The freshmen are going to have to play a part in getting the Gamecocks’ offense finishing near the bottom in the SEC off the ground along with a handful of transfers brought in this offseason.

Two veteran hitters lead the team’s transfer class— Brandt Belk (Missouri) and Kevin Madden (Virginia Tech)—who hit no worse than .273 last season.

Belk slashed .273/.320/.416 last season while Madden ended at .313/.361/.418 and both will likely factor into an opening day lineup next season.

“Belk is going to be an elite hitter for us—a lifetime .300 hitter—and same with Madden…Both those guys are exactly what we needed: professional at-bats, don't strike out, get on base, clutch hitters with very simple swings and repeatable swings,” Kingston said. “So those guys will be really good for us. Hall, we didn't see much of him this fall. But what we did see we see a very talented, athletic, competitive kid.”

Pitcher Noah Hall (App State) didn’t thrower much over the fall but the Gamecocks saw an “athletic, competitive” pitcher. Hall wasn’t the only transfer to not play with Matt Hogan (Vanderbilt) having to miss time because of a wrist injury.

“It's unfortunate that he didn't get to play this fall for us because of because of the wrist injury. But I think he'll be fine come spring. He’s a he's a great guy in the clubhouse,” Kingston said. “He's a he's a ton of energy, great makeup, great teammate, bring speed to the table, brings another left-handed bat to the table. So he’ll obviously been a very, very serious option in centerfield for us come springtime.”

And the Gamecocks’ wealth of newcomers on the team as a whole—two junior college transfers, four out of the portal and 13 freshmen—speaks to a new day and age in college baseball and college sports in general.

South Carolina isn’t the only team who dove into the portal for players with Kingston saying the portal was “very good to us,” and it won’t stop anytime soon after each season.

“As we move forward—whether it's football, basketball, baseball or any other sport—it's a reality. It just is. There’s going to be players moving out that want more playing time elsewhere,” Kingston said. “There are going to be players moving in to think you're a better fit for them than what they had. So it's just going to be a reality moving forward. So just another piece of roster construction in 2021.”

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