South Carolina Baseball: Gamecocks pick up commitment from right out of Clemson’s backyard
By Kevin Miller
Mark Kingston’s South Carolina baseball program looks to be returning to its roots. The Gamecocks have had an increase in in-state recruiting activity since the return of Monte Lee as an assistant coach in Columbia, and those efforts have only grown since Matt Williams took over as the team’s pitching coach following the departure of Justin Parker earlier this summer.
In-state talents like PJ Morlando (top-ranked outfielder in the class of 2024 from Summerville High School), Jake McCoy (class of 2023 left-handed pitcher from Catawba Ridge High School in Fort Mill), and Cole Greer (class of 2024 right-handed pitcher from Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner) have all committed to South Carolina baseball since South Carolina natives Lee (Lugoff) and Williams (Lancaster) teamed up on Kingston’s staff.
Lee and Williams are known as relentless recruiters who love the state of South Carolina. With both of them now on the Carolina staff, it is no surprise that USC baseball has seen an uptick in positive recruiting momentum within the Palmetto State.
That in-state recruiting success continued over this past weekend as the Gamecocks picked up an intriguing pledge from another South Carolina native.
Seth Manning, a class of 2025 right-handed pitcher from TL Hanna High School in Anderson, committed to the South Carolina baseball program on Sunday. Manning is a rising junior and has already shown a fastball that reaches 90 miles per hour, and at 6’2 and just 165 pounds, he likely has more velocity in the tank as he grows and develops physically.
Manning also moonlights as a shortstop and sees some time in the outfield for TL Hanna, but his collegiate future seems, most likely, to be as a pitcher.
Manning is the tenth Gamecock commitment in the class of 2025. He joins fellow TL Hanna product Jackson Robinson (class of 2026 left-handed pitcher) with his South Carolina baseball pledge.