South Carolina signs former Ohio State infielder Henry Kaczmar

Former State of Ohio Infielder Henry Kaczmar is moving from the Big Ten to the SEC. He has committed to the South Carolina Fighting Cocks on Tuesday evening, as the latest addition for new head coach Paul Mainieri.

Kaczmar is entering his third season of college baseball after starting his career in Columbus. The Ohio to South Carolina train continues with him, spending at least the next year in Columbia.

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“Let’s do it in garnet and black!” Kaczmar said in his Instagram post.

Kaczmar’s stats were quite impressive during the 2024 season, with a .322 average. He hit seven home runs, drove in 39 RBIs and had an OPS of .953. Both are improvements from his freshman season, showing solid progress.

Kaczmar also had a decent year on the field, with 87 putouts and 149 assists. However, he had 12 errors on his resume, something that happens when you get a lot of ground balls as a shortstop.

Regardless, he was named All-Big Ten second team for his performance in 2024. South Carolina should feel like there’s room for improvement in the fielding while he continues to make progress with the hitter in his junior year.

A nice addition for the Gamecocks in what will be the first season of a new era under Mainieri.

South Carolina loses pitcher to NCAA transfer portal

South Carolina Gamecocks right-handed pitcher Connor McCreery has entered the NCAA Transfer Portalaccording to On3’s Pete Nakos.

In two seasons with the Gamecocks, McCreery made 23 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He has a career ERA of 4.56 in 25.2 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts and 19 walks. He also has one save.

McCreery’s final game of his South Carolina career was on June 1 against NC stands. It was a tough performance for him, pitching just 0.1 inning and allowing a run to score. That game ended up being the first of two losses the Gamecocks suffered in the NCAA Regionals.

McCreery played summer ball in the Coastal Plain League for Lexington County, pitching nine innings with a 4.00 ERA in three appearances, all out of the bullpen.

In 2023, Connor McCreery was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.

Dan Morrison of On3 contributed to this report