South Carolina Baseball: Gamecocks land another big-time commitment from the Upstate

South Carolina baseball secured a commitment over the weekend from an intriguing player in the class of 2025, Seth Manning from TL Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. Manning, a right-handed pitcher, is the 10th commitment in the class of 2025 for the Gamecocks, and he is the second current TL Hanna commit (class of 2026 left-handed pitcher Jackson Robinson).

On Monday, those numbers grew. A new commitment brought the count to eleven pledges in the class of 2025 and three from TL Hanna High School (from both the ’25 and ’26 classes).

The school, located less than 30 miles from Clemson University, appears to be turning into a Gamecock stronghold as elite class of 2025 infielder Will Craddock announced his pledge to the South Carolina baseball program in a live announcement with Prep Baseball Report and former Carolina assistant coach Sammy Esposito.

After the announcement, Craddock immediately turned to Twitter to make sure the rest of the world knew where he would be playing his college ball.

https://twitter.com/WillCraddock7/status/1696158237064597975?s=20

As a player, the 6’4″ Craddock primarily plays shortstop but has spent time all over the diamond during his prep career. His bat has elite power potential from the right side of the plate, and he has some nice physical tools (6’4″, almost 200 pounds, big power, strong arm) that could lead to a big-time collegiate career.

South Carolina does not have a clear heir apparent to the shortstop position after Braylen Wimmer’s graduation and selection by the Colorado Rockies in the 2023 MLB Draft and Michael Braswell’s decision to leave the program for LSU via the transfer portal.

Sophomore utility player Will Tippett, VMI transfer Zac Morris, and a handful of transfers seem to be the most likely candidates to battle for the spot next season. Craddock is one of three current South Carolina commitments who could play shortstop from the class of 2025.