The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team has been busy this offseason, especially when it comes to the transfer portal. Over the last few weeks, they've added 10 pitchers through transfers, including their most recent addion. The 10th new member of the pitching staff from the portal is right-handed pitcher Connor Chicoli from Georgia Tech.
Chicoli, a Ralegh, NC native, pitched in 28 innings for the Yellow Jackets in 2025 totaling 18 strikeouts and five walks. The 6-foot-3 upcoming sophomore had 14 appearances with five starts, going 1-1 with a 5.46 earned-run average (ERA). The game that really stoodout for the Raleigh native was a game on May 7 versus Mercer. Chicoli managed to pitch 7.2 innings of work, while striking out four and not allowing a walk. He only gave up two runs in the game for the Yellow Jackets.
Chicoli becomes the 18th transfer for the Gamecocks this offseason, which opened back on June 2, and is now closed. He becomes the 10th pitcher to join the Gamecocks pitching staff who looks to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season at Founders Park. After going 28-29 last season, with a 6-24 SEC record under first-year coach Paul Mainieri, the Gamecocks will take all the help they can get.
Go Cocks! @d1baseball @64Analytics @GamecockBSB @CoachTRooney @PMainieriSC10 @CoachMonteLee pic.twitter.com/6XjjHyuIUm
— Connor Chicoli (@ConnorChicoli) July 22, 2025
Chicoli announced on social media on Tuesday that he committed to the Gamecocks for the 2026 season and has three years of eligibility left. As a 2024 class product, he was the fourth-ranked right-hander to come out of North Carolina and the 10th overall within the state. It'll be interesting to see what he brings to the Gamecocks staff, who hope to bring back some tournament baseball to Founders Park, which has seen some special teams come through the gates at USC.
Only time will tell, but it's another exciting arm to keep an eye on, who looks to help for the upcoming 2026 baseball season for Carolina.