South Carolina Baseball: Long-time Gamecock commitment backs off USC pledge

There has been a lot of turnover for the South Carolina baseball program in the last couple of weeks.

As things didn't go well on the field toward the end of the season (and rumors about a coaching change ran rampant), the Gamecocks were hit with a decommitment from in-state class of 2024 pitcher Peyton Rogers. Then, several players (pitchers Jackson Phipps, Austin Williamson, and Jevarra Martin) announced their intentions to leave the program in the transfer portal before the season ended.

Mark Kingston was fired after the Gamecocks' exit in the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament, and several more transfer portal defections followed (infielders Tristan Salinas, Tyler Zedalis, and Carson Hornung). The Gamecocks also added a transfer portal commitment from pitcher Caleb Jones (Winthrop Eagles) and flipped high school pitcher Luke Roupe from Vanderbilt.

On Saturday, another South Carolina baseball commitment elected to back off from his pledge to the Gamecocks. In a social media announcement, JL Mann High School pitcher Teddy Garner revealed he was looking to find a different opportunity and that he was decommitting from USC.

Garner has been ranked in the top-5 in the Palmetto State in the class of 2025 for much of his recruitment. Even with Garner's absence from the class, Carolina has 3 of the current top-5 in-state players still committed as Peter Mershon, Roupe, and Daniel Parker all remain parts of the '25 class for the Gamecocks.

Because the South Carolina baseball program is in the middle of a coaching change, there likely will be even more changes to the future roster. A few more names could hit the transfer portal, there might be another recruit or two who jump ship, and there certainly will be new commitments to the Gamecocks both from the portal and from the high school ranks.