Mark Kingston shares first reaction to South Carolina hosting NCAA Tournament

After his team got bounced out early in the SEC championship tournament, South Carolina Gamecocks head baseball coach Mark Kingston could only sit and wait on the verdict on whether or not his team would be one of 16 host teams for the upcoming College World Series regional round. On Monday, Kingston no longer had to hold his breath after it was confirmed South Carolina would be one of a record eight SEC host teams.

Kingston was confident his Gamecocks would earn a host spot, but he still held his breath a bit. And following the announcement, he explained why.

“Sure, sure, ’cause you obviously can have an opinion on something. That doesn’t mean the committee will share the same opinions,” said Kingston. “But I think the more we looked into it and the more the dust settled on the season, and the committee considered the entire season, it was pretty clear that we were one of the best 16 teams that should host.”

As of May 29, the NCAA D1 college baseball rankings have yet to be updated; with the standings reflecting team’s rankings prior to their conference championship tournaments. In those standings, South Carolina was ranked outside the top 25. Following the SEC tourney, they have a 39-19 record.

Much can be said about the quality of the teams in their conference. In the East, South Carolina finished behind Florida who were co-champions of the regular season, Vanderbilt, champions of the SEC tournament, and half-game ahead of Tennessee. In fact, just in their division alone, five teams finished the year with less than 20 losses on the year.

Kingston impressed by James Hicks in SEC Tournament, will consider a starting role

South Carolina pitcher James Hicks was a weekend starter at the beginning of the 2022 season, before going down with an injury and missing most of the year.

Hicks is now healthy but has been used primarily out of the bullpen this season. However, that could be about to change.

The righty pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Georgia in the SEC Tournament, while making only his fourth start of the year. Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston was asked if he will consider Hicks’ start against Georgia when setting his pitching rotation for the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina was named one of 16 regional hosts Sunday night.

“Damn right. I mean you have to, right? You have to,” Kingston said. “You always have to be evaluating what is going on in the trends of your team. Yeah, absolutely we have to look at that. We have to evaluate it.”

The South Carolina pitching staff has been banged up for much of the year, and ace Will Sanders hasn’t pitched since May 5. The hope is that Sanders will be available this weekend, but it remains to be seen what his role will be.