Last offseason, South Carolina brought in a consensus top 10 recruiting class headlined by high-level pitching, and the pitchers for the most part—Will Sanders and Jack Mahoney—made a big impact.

But, one of the biggest pieces from a position player perspective wasn’t able to play this year.

Alek Boychuk missed all of the 2021 season after procedures on both feet sidelined him, but Mark Kingston gave an encouraging update while wrapping up the season this week.

“I think he’ll be back to full strength pretty early in the fall. It’s like he’s a member of this new recruiting class since he didn’t get to do anything for us this year,” he said. “That’s just another bonus in looking at him as a new member of this team in this recruiting class cause he didn’t get to play last year.”

Boychuk came to campus the No. 90 prospect in the 2020 class and the eighth-best catcher, according to PerfectGame, and the second-highest rated offensive player in the group.

He had a solid fall scrimmage slate, chiseling out a role in the Gamecocks’ catching rotation and in the lineup, before learning he’ll have to miss the entirety of the season.

Boychuk was around the team last year—obviously not on the active roster—but will rejoin them on the field this fall and try to get the offense on track after a 2021 season marred by struggles at the plate.

The Gamecocks could lose a lot of veteran pieces both at the plate and on the mound next season but Kingston said a handful of seniors have expressed to him the want to use their extra year of eligibility.

Those seniors who haven’t exhausted their eligibility yet include John Gilreath, Parker Coyne, Cam Tringali and Andrew Eyster.

“We’ve had those conversations and at this point they’re all planning on coming back,” he said. “Things could change, but at this point they all have expressed an interest in continuing to play.”