The South Carolina baseball program is off to a great recruiting start under new head coach Kevin Schnall. Despite landing one of the best transfer portal classes this offseason, the Gamecocks' new head coach is not slowing down anytime soon.
The Gamecocks landed a verbal commitment from Beau Hite, who is a class of 2028 prospect out of Emerald High School in Greenwood, S.C. According to The Perfect Game, Hite is the No. 1 rated shortstop in his class, as well as being rated as one of South Carolina's top-rated infielders.
l am committed to the University of South Carolina #GoCocks
— Beau Hite (@beauhite4) August 14, 2026
Thank you to everybody who has supported me along this journey. Thank you Jesus! All the praise and glory goes to Him! #SpursUp #SchnallBall pic.twitter.com/BOCOCnqd21
Hite was reportedly being recruited by 16 other Division I schools, most of them in the college baseball powerhouse SEC. Hite also is a versatile athlete, playing both football—as a quarterback—and baseball for his high school program, the Vikings. He is even suiting up for Emerald this fall. His high school coach, Tad DuBose, is encouraging him to play both sports as long as he can.
"My philosophy is play as much as you can, as long as you can,” DuBose said via the Index Journal. “As you get to college, you’re going to have to decide. The sport will probably pick you."
He put up some impressive numbers on both the gridiron and baseball diamond. According to MaxPreps, he threw for 1,845 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year, adding 398 yards with four scores on the ground. For his baseball team, he finished last season with a .352 batting average, including nine RBI. In fact,
“Not everybody gets to be a dual-sport athlete in college anymore," DuBose added. "I encourage kids to play as much as they can for as long as they can because there’ll be a day where you don’t get to play.”
For now, it appears that Hite will choose to play baseball in college. Hite is South Carolina's first addition to its 2028 class. His 2027 class is headlined by the likes of right-handed pitcher Braden Richardson and utility player Joseph Rutledge. The Gamecocks had an impressive roster overhaul this offseason, featuring transfer portal stars like Bristol Carter from Auburn, Conner Shouse from Texas Tech and shortstop Ethan Bass from Wake Forest.
Schnall has spoken in the last about building an elite roster in Columbia being one of his biggest areas of focus.
“One-A is player acquisition," Schnall said in June of his biggest priorities as he takes over at South Carolina. "We have to retain the right players, and we have to acquire the right players. Players that obviously have the right skillset, but they have to have the right energy. They have to have the right makeup, and we have to have the right people.”
The Gamecocks landing one of the biggest names from the class of 2028 show he's fully committed to doing just that.
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