South Carolina Baseball: Gamecocks put four on D1Baseball’s top transfers list
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina baseball had one of its best seasons in recent years in 2023. The Gamecocks went to a Super Regional for the first time since 2018 and hosted a Regional as a #1 seed for the first time since 2016.
As is the usual reality in collegiate athletics, the Gamecock baseball squad had a lot of contributors leave the program after the season.
Jack Mahoney, Will Sanders, Noah Hall, Braylen Wimmer, James Hicks, and Cade Austin were all drafted, while George Wolkow (high school), Raudi Rodriguez (high school), and Matt Duffy (transfer) were all drafted before ever arriving on campus. A handful of other players, including talented infielder Michael Braswell, left the program via the transfer portal.
To help stabilize the roster, Mark Kingston and the South Carolina baseball coaching staff supplemented the high school recruiting class with a large class of transfer portal players.
Four of the incoming transfer portal Gamecocks were selected this week as some of the top transfers in all of college baseball according to D1Baseball.com.
Kennedy Jones (UNC-Greensboro), Austin Brinling (North Florida), Ty Good (College of Charleston), and Parker Noland (Vanderbilt) all made the list.
Kennedy Jones is the highest-ranked of the selections. The #26-ranked transfer addition in the country was a big-time bat for UNCG last season, and he has a power-speed combination that could see him hit in any spot in the lineup. Most likely a starter in the outfield, he has played some corner infield in his career.
Austin Brinling is next up for the Gamecocks, checking in as the 64th transfer in the nation. The former North Florida center fielder played against USC this past season and was one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. He will battle for a starting role in the outfield and is a candidate to hit in the much-maligned South Carolina leadoff spot.
Ty Good is the only Gamecock pitcher who made D1Baseball’s list. Sitting at #108, Good was the Southern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and is expected to fight for a starting rotation spot in Columbia. If he does not end up as a weekend starter, Good could pitch the mid-week games for Carolina or serve in a high-leverage bullpen role.
Vanderbilt transfer Parker Noland is 110th on the list. The versatile infielder has started at all four infield spots in the past, and he is probably a candidate to get significant playing time regardless of where he plays, even if it is in a utility role.
No program in the country has more players on D1Baseball’s list than South Carolina baseball.
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