Dynamic leadoff hitter picks South Carolina baseball out of transfer portal

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri has been on the job (officially) for just over 24 hours, but it took less than a day in garnet and black for the legendary head coach to pick up his first commitment as the leader of the Gamecocks.

On Wednesday, Carolina landed a dynamic transfer portal transfer in the form of Cayden Gaskin.

Gaskin is an athletic middle infielder/outfielder who originally was part of the high school class of 2022. Coming out of high school, he was a top-500 national prospect, and now, after two years in junior college, he is making the jump to big-time college ball with the South Carolina baseball program.

Gaskin was a middle infielder when he arrived at Northwest Florida State College, but he has played in the outfield, as well. He is an explosive athlete who can change the game on the basepaths.

After a promising freshman year, Gaskin was outstanding in his second year at Northwest Florida State. He posted an absurd slash line of .403/.510/.638/1.148 while stealing 41 bases, swatting 7 home runs, and logging 21 doubles. He also scored 73 runs and drove in 59 RBI in his 55 games.

A right-handed batter, Gaskin has the approach of a leadoff hitter, but he also has enough pop to hit a little more toward the middle of the order if needed, as well. If things go well for him as he transitions to Division-I ball, he could be a massive piece to the Gamecocks' success in 2025.

USC struggled in the middle infield for a good chunk of the 2024 season, though, sophomore Will Tippett had a strong finish to the year after giving up on switch-hitting. Third base also wasn't good enough for much of the year. Gaskin will have every opportunity to compete for a major role in Coach Mainieri's first year.