The transfer portal has been friendly to the South Carolina baseball program this offseason. The Gamecocks have added young players and veterans from other teams, and the junior college players coming to Columbia could be major contributors next season.
The success in the portal continued on Thursday as USC added a Freshman All-Conference contributor to the fold.
Meglio had a good debut year with the Camels. He hit for a .275 batting average with a .399 on-base percentage and a .475 slugging percentage. His 9 home runs showed that he has some pop, and his 6'4", 215-pound frame indicates he could grow into more. He is a relatively low strikeout player, fanning in less than 20% of his plate appearances, and he accumulated just one more strikeout than free passes (walks plus hit-by-pitches).
Defensively, Meglio likely will be a third baseman for the Gamecocks, but he has had experience playing at shortstop, too. His glove is good, and his arm is strong. He only stole three bases for Campbell this spring, but he runs pretty well.
A good athlete, the New Jersey native is loaded with potential. Seeing a breakout as a sophomore is a realistic outcome for Meglio, and South Carolina baseball fans hope that is the case.
With several players underperforming in 2023 and a couple more moving on from the program (through graduation, the transfer portal, or retirement), the Gamecocks needed to find something new on the left side of the infield this offseason. Megio is a great start at improving those two positions, but he won't be USC's last position player commitment from the transfer portal this summer.