Gamecock baseball is gearing up for the season, and for all the upgrades that the team has made this offseason, there is one lingering concern for head coach Paul Mainieri: the catcher position. Even after an active summer on the recruiting trail, Mainieri's message has not changed much since he took the job. The Gamecocks are still searching for stability behind the plate.
New Faces, Familiar Problems
South Carolina baseball hit the portal hard this summer, landing Reese Moore from Iowa and Jake Randolph from Presbyterian, two experienced catchers expected to immediately compete for starting reps. But both newcomers have been sidelined early this fall. “Unfortunately, Reese Moore and Jake Randolph have a little bit of knee situations that we’re dealing with right now, so they’re actually not capable of practicing and haven’t been for about a week,” Mainieri said. “We’ll see what the tests show on them. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”
Moore's injury came during a throwing drill when he felt something in his knee, while Randolph is dealing with a hamstring issue that the staff hopes will heal within days. Still, for Mainieri, the timing is anything but ideal.
LeCroy and Braland Step Up Again
With Moore and Randolph sidelined, the Gamecocks are leaning once again on veterans Talmadge LeCroy and Gavin Braland, the same duo that held things together last spring when injuries derailed the position. LeCroy entered the 2025 season as the projected starter, but that was cut short with after just 17 games due to a hip injury. He batted .188 with nine hits in 48 at-bats before qualifying for a medical redshirt, returning now for his fifth and final season in Columbia.
“Thank goodness Talmadge LeCroy is back. We limited our recruiting because of him coming back,” Mainieri said. “Had he not come back, we’d probably have added another catcher. But Talmadge is looking fine.”
Braland, on the other hand, took over down the stretch, appearing in 28 games as a freshman but endured his own growing pains. He hit .198, allowing 45 stolen bases in 48 attempts. Mainieri says he has shown noticeable growth in the offseason, however. “Gavin has gotten a lot stronger. He’s a good receiver and a gritty kid,” Mainieri said. “He doesn’t hit for a lot of power, but he puts the bat on the ball.”
A Position That Stays on Mainieri's Mind
Mainieri knows the value of reliable catching better than most. The Hall of Fame coach has seen seasons swing on health and consistency of his backstops, and the 2025 Gamecocks are walking that same tightrope again. “I always tell people, when you’re old, there are advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages are obvious,” Mainieri joked. “The advantages are you’ve been through everything. One year, I remember we went through three catchers in a five-day period. So you can never have enough quality catching in my mind.”
Time Is Still on Their Side
The good news for Gamecock Nation is that it's still really early in the fall. With more than four months until Opening Day, there is time for both Moore and Randolph to recover and integrate into the rotation. But until they do, the responsibility and the pressure will fall squarely on the shoulders of LeCroy and Braland. For Mainieri, it is a familiar balancing act between development, durability, and depth, one that will define how far South Carolina can go in his second season at the helm.