South Carolina baseball: Mark Kingston’s extension is a headscratcher

South Carolina baseball’s coach just signed an extension

The South Carolina baseball team posted a 30-win season in 2021, getting back to the postseason for the first time since 2018. The team finished seventh in the SEC standings, knocked off archrival Clemson, and hosted a regional in Founders Park to open the NCAA Tournament.

That success has led to head coach Mark Kingston signing a two-year contract extension that will keep him in the Gamecocks’ dugout through 2025. While there’s no salary increase, the terms to Kingston’s buyout have changed. The Gamecocks would now owe Kingston $2.2 million should they fire him next season. That number drops to $1.4 million, $800,000, and $400,000 in the ensuing years.

While this past season did see the Gamecocks get back on track in terms of making a regional, it seems a bit premature to increase the buyout by nearly $1 million, particularly with Kingston not having really proved anything over his four-year tenure thus far.

Since his hire, South Carolina has posted an overall record of 111-81 (57.8%), while making one regional and one super regional appearance. To put that in context, the Gamecocks fired Chad Holbrook after five seasons in which the program went 200-106 (65.3%), making two supers and one regional appearance. Holbrook led the team to three 40-win seasons, and in both super regional appearances, South Carolina fell just one win short of Omaha.

And Kingston has certainly got some concerns to clean up on the current roster. The Gamecocks finished with a league-low .228 batting average in SEC play while striking out over 300 times in its 30 league contests. Only Georgia struck out more as a team.

South Carolina did field a strong pitching staff, but the team figures to lose two or three starters from that dominant rotation in the upcoming MLB Draft.

The hitting woes need to be cleaned up, but many question whether Kingston will make the necessary adjustments next season. The Gamecocks have hit sub-.250 as a team with 500 or more strikeouts in two of Kingston’s three full seasons, and the same issues at the plate seem to arise year after year.

While Kingston’s buyout did increase, what he owes to the school also went up should he leave on his own accord. The head coach would now owe $1.4 million if he jumps ship for another job next season, a number much higher than the previous mark of $400,000. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though Kingston’s stock is rising, so this point is probably moot.