South Carolina Baseball: New coaching hire made official

South Carolina baseball has been in the coaching hire news a lot over the past two weeks.

Former pitching coach Justin Parker left the Gamecock program to take the same job at Mississippi State (for a substantial raise). Within an hour, reports had surfaced that the Gamecocks had found Parker’s replacement in Liberty pitching coach and South Carolina native Matt Williams. The hire was officially announced the next day.

Then, with the newly NCAA-allowed addition of a 3rd full-time assistant coach set to come into play on July 1st, South Carolina baseball popped up in the college baseball news feed once again. Top Campbell University assistant Joey Holcomb was being tabbed for the Gamecocks’ third assistant job alongside associate head coach Monte Lee and the newly hired Williams.

Holcomb was officially announced by the University of South Carolina on Saturday.

During his two-year run as the hitting coach with the Fighting Camels of Campbell, Holcomb led one of the country’s best offenses. The Buiey’s Creek squad had two All-American offensive players and hit for an OPS of .980. That number is significantly higher than the Carolina output from 2023 despite the Gamecocks also being one of the best offenses in the country this season.

Holcomb had worked previously at UNC-Greensboro and NC State, primarily coaching hitters and working with recruiting.

For South Carolina baseball, Holcomb is expected to have similar duties. Head coach Mark Kingston and assistant coach Monte Lee both work with the offense, as well, and Lee and new assistant Matt Williams are expected to also play prominent roles in recruiting, especially within the borders of the state of South Carolina.

As of now, it is unclear what the Holcomb hire means for volunteer assistant coach (and for National Championship-winning player) Scott Wingo. Wingo will not have a job as a full-time assistant with the team in 2024 but could remain on staff in a different role.