There are a lot of fresh faces around South Carolina baseball this year, not just on the roster but as part of the team's coaching staff with Chad Caillet being one of them.
Caillet, who had previous stints at Southern Miss and most recently Texas A&M, as the Gamecocks new recruiting coordinator and assistant coach in charge of helping the Gamecocks recruiting efforts and molding the offense.
Caillet recently spoke with GamecockCentral in a one-on-one interview where he talked about his transition, recruiting and what he saw from the hitters in the fall as the season looms a little over a month away.
Q: What's the transition been like coming from Texas A&M to South Carolina?
CC: “Obviously coming from another SEC school I’m familiar with the league, not as familiar with this particular region as far as the state of South Carolina high school baseball or select baseball. That was the learning curve for me. This is my 25th year doing this. The respect I have for this program, coach Kingston, coach (Ray) Tanner and the guys before them and what they built this place to be is remarkable.
"That was a big attraction for me coming and being a part of this culture and tradition. Me personally it was about getting acclimated to this state. I’m still working towards it. I haven’t been here long enough to really put my footprint on all of it but excited to learn more about this particular region and not just this state as I learn what it takes to get South Carolina back in Omaha through the recruitment process.”
Q: What has it been like getting on the recruiting trail?
CC: “It’s been going great. Walking into the program, we inherited a lot of commitments from the previous coaches. The impact of my blueprint on this incoming class isn’t necessarily going to be there. We did get the opportunity to add a few pieces but more so moving forward in the 23, 24 and 25 classes you’ll see much more of my label.”
Q: What do you look for on the recruiting trail?
CC: “For me personally, we’re looking for high character, tough kids and the South Carolina type of kids as far as the way they’re brought up. A dual sport athlete who brings a lot to the table character-wise and competition level to be ready to compete in this conference at the level we’re trying to get to. That’s very important.
"We’re always looking for tools. What’s been at about this place, the more I’ve learned about the Scott Wingos, the Christian Walkers, they were all great players but give coach Tanner and his staff credit that they got the right kid in here. This place is built on those character kids. They’re not only great talents but the right kids. That’s no secret that’s the blueprint to championship play.”
Q: How have you seen the current guys on the roster adapt to you and your coaching?
CC: “I got to give these guys a lot of credit. I’m not here to talk about any past coaches but they’ve embraced me. From the offensive side they’ve been great. I’ve been a little bit of a different type of energy than maybe the past staff and it’s been nothing but positive. These guys have been working hard and been working hard the past four months to get themselves ready and give ourselves an identity of what we’re going to be offensively.
"Some of these guys had to make a few adjustments, and they have. It’s been great so far. I’m real, real excited about this group. It’s not just the older guys but also some of these young freshmen. They did a nice job of bringing some pieces in from the offensive side of it. The left-handed bats they brought in from the freshman class and even the transfers have been great additions and have been a great compliment to the older guys here.”
Q: What is that offensive identity you want to have?
CC: “The secret to success offensively in this league is to have the type of lineup where one through nine can be difficult outs. Obviously this is a very heavy pitching league, so the experiences I had is offensive teams have holes. They had holes in the lineups where offensive rhythm stalls out. Consistency in offense and have that rhythm and have tough, hard-nosed outs. Bat-to-ball skills are a big piece of that.
"That’s where you’ll see the immediate impact not only from the recruits but also from my philosophy than maybe what we were in years past. We will not strikeout nearly as much as maybe they did last year. That’s a big piece of what I believe. The home runs will still come from that but we definitely need to move the ball more and create some pressure on the base paths a little bit better.”
Q: How do you go about reinforcing that identity and system?
CC: “It’s a little bit of everything. It’s who I am, and it starts with me. Obviously it’s preached every day in the drills we do from the way we attack intrasquad (scrimmages). It’s a little bit of everything.”
Q: Did you see the progress you wanted to in the fall?
CC: “I really did. A big piece of that is getting these guys to really buy into their own identity and make some adjustments to their swing to allow the success we’re looking for and for them to find a role in the lineup, which is the most important piece.”
Q: What did you see from this group of freshmen hitters in the fall?
CC: “I’m really excited about the freshmen. We have a terrific combination of left and right bats with some speed to go with it. It’s a great compliment to the older crew that’s been here. The most impressive piece is the willingness to learn and adapt and adjust and trust they were great players in high school but they want to get to the next level and they want to help the program get to the next level as well, which is Omaha. They’ve been very coachable and I’ve been nothing but pleased.”
Q: What's the next step for these hitters as you get into preseason scrimmages?
CC: “Buying into the lineup and understanding how to play offense and not play hitter. That’s the number one goal of mine. That’s the biggest mistake I see in college baseball. It’s about offense. It’s not about getting runs then getting to your 3-4-5 hitters again. It’s about creating that. The only way to have consistency in this league is to have offense. Where we need to continue to grow is have the buy in to the philosophies of the lineup and understanding roles of each individual in the lineup and to understand how to make the offense go. If we can get to that point, which we’re not there yet, that’s when we can become a dangerous piece."
Q: Ideally, how many viable options offensively would you like to have?
CC: “I would probably say 10 to 12. To have the ability to pull a left-handed hitter or right-handed hitter off the bench and play a match up is what the great teams always have the luxury to do. To have the replacements and have a truly complete offense and defensive roster, you want that luxury. Every head coach or assistant coach would love to have that luxury. I feel like we have some of those pieces in place to be that type of complete offensive and defensive position player team. Time will tell. I’m learning these guys each day as well as the rest of the staff."
Q: How nice is it to walk in with a foundation made up of some returning starters and a good group of transfers like Andrew Eyster, Kevin Madden, Brandt Belk and Matt Hogan?
CC: “Their experience is priceless. Those are great guys who have over 200-plus at-bats at the Power 5 level, two of which were in the SEC. That’s huge. It gives those young guys a chance to get adapted and learn and not be thrown into situations where they have to execute jobs that maybe they’re not ready for. To have that type of core from the older bunch is very, very crucial to our success.”
Q: You inked most of the 2022 class recently, what are your thoughts on some of the position players who signed?
CC: "We answered some pitching depth issues in this class we’re excited about. We answered some infield depth we most desperately needed for the 2023 season we’ll need. We answered some question marks we felt like we had not just from a starting piece but also from the depth side of it. We have a chance to lose a lot of guys either from graduation or the draft from this team. A lot of question marks when it comes to those position players we signed to fill those gaps."
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