The South Carolina baseball program has seen a handful of transfer portal announcements in recent days. Even before head coach Mark Kingston was fired, pitchers Jackson Phipps, Austin Williamson, and Jevarra Martin announced their intentions to leave the program. Then, in the immediate aftermath of Kingston's dismissal (whether related or not), Carson Hornung and Tristan Salinas entered the portal, bringing the total defection count to five.
According to a report from TheBigSpur's John Whittle, that number grew to six in recent days as freshman infielder Tyler Zedalis entered the transfer portal, as well.
Zedalis did not play much for the Gamecocks this season. In fact, after a few appearances early in non-conference play, he didn't see the field at all. He logged just two at-bats in three total game appearances this spring.
Zedalis, a high school shortstop who became a corner infielder with the Gamecocks, has a lot of pop in his bat, but he didn't get much of a chance to show it during his freshman campaign in Columbia. He still will have three years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at a new school.
For now, it is unclear if any other Gamecocks will join their former teammates by entering their names into the transfer portal. Much of those decision-making processes will require the players to know who the next head coach of the South Carolina baseball program is, and heading into the weekend, that information is still unknown. Speculation has abounded, but the list of candidates remains large.
In the meantime, interim head coach (and candidate for the full-time position) Monte Lee has been working to bring new players into the program. Transfer portal pitcher Caleb Jones (Winthrop Eagles) and class of 2025 right-handed pitcher Luke Roupe both pledged their services to the Gamecocks this week.