A little over 24 hours before South Carolina will officially introduce Paul Mainieri as its new head baseball coach, the program already landed a player in the transfer portal.

JUCO infielder Cayden Gaskin is Columbia bound from Northwest Florida State, making him the second player South Carolina has gained in the transfer portal along with former Winthrop pitcher Ccaleb Jones.

Gaskin played 55 games last season and finished with a .403 batting average, seven home runs and 59 RBIs. He is a versatile player who could slot in several different positions on the infield and even played a little bit of outfield last year due to injuries on the roster, and stole 41 bases as well.

“It all lies in Monte Lee,” Gaskin told GamecockScoop about why he committed to South Carolina. “He’s a great guy. I trust him a lot. We built a connection over the year, and it just felt like home.”

Gaskin confirmed his interest in South Carolina stretched back further than just this commitment, but Mainieri’s decision to retain Lee on the coaching staff yesterday confirmed his commitment to join South Carolina

“He seems like he’s big on discipline,” Gaskin said about Mainieri. “I’ve heard great things about him. He’s a winning coach. I’m excited to play under coach Mainieri.”

Although he moved around, his primary position is second base, where the Gamecocks will have a hole going into next season with Parker Noland out of remaining eligibility.

“I’m coming to compete,” Gaskin said. “I’m going to grind and I’m coming to win some championships for Gamecock nation.”

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