All-Conference shortstop commits to South Carolina baseball out of transfer portal

It's no overstatement to say that new South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri and his assistant coaching staff of Monte Lee, Terry Rooney, and John Hendry have done a tremendous job in recruiting in their three weeks on the job.

The Gamecock staff have landed a commitment from a high school prospect, added some elite players from the junior college ranks, and secured many pledges from the transfer portal since starting in Columbia, and their best work so far has come from mining the portal for players from other Division-I programs.

Pitcher Caleb Jones (Winthrop Eagles) committed to the program before the staff was hired, but outfielder Dalton Mashore (St. Mary's Gaels), left-handed pitcher Wyatt Evans (Tennessee Volunteers), left-handed pitcher Ashton Crowther (Miami Hurricanes), utility player Nathan Hall (Clemson Tigers), left-handed pitcher Jarvis Evans (Georgia Bulldogs), and infielder Charlie Meglio (Campbell Fighting Camels) all have committed to the Gamecocks since the middle of June.

On Tuesday night, another big-time name from the transfer portal joined the fold as former Ohio State Buckeyes shortstop Henry Kaczmar announced on social media that he was joining the South Carolina baseball program.

Kaczmar is an athletic infielder who swings from the left side of the plate. He played shortstop for Ohio State the past two seasons and should be able to compete for the starting position with the Gamecocks. He is MLB Draft-eligible, so that is something to watch, but it seems unlikely that he would have committed to USC if he planned on making the jump to pro ball this summer.

Last year with the Buckeyes, Kaczmar was an All-Big 10 selection as he hit for a slash line of .320/.417/.476/.892. He is not a huge power threat (exactly 7 home runs and 10 doubles in both of his years wearing scarlet and gray), but he is a good on-base threat who knows how to handle the bat. He provides a little bit on the bases, and his 72 total hits were just one fewer than Cole Messina, the player who led Carolina in hits this season; Kaczmar, though, reached his total in four fewer games than Moose.

Kaczmar will battle with Will Tippett (who was much better after giving up switch-hitting) and Lee Ellis (who was a true freshman in 2024) for the starting job at shortstop. Even if he doesn't win that job, he will be a major factor at second and third as he has experience playing the keystone and has enough arm strength and quick reflexes to play the hot corner, too.

The addition of Henry Kaczmar should be considered a big deal for the 2025 version of the South Carolina baseball team, and Gamecock fans should be optimistic about his chances to be an important contributor for next year's team.