Austin Brinling shares outlook on South Carolina's outfield competition
The South Carolina baseball team has plenty of outfield options heading into the 2024 season.
Some of these players have already been with the Gamecocks for at least one year. Ethan Petry, who was recently named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team, returns to South Carolina as one of the top freshmen in college baseball last season. He slashed .376/.471/.733 on his way to being named an All-American by numerous media outlets.
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Evan Stone, who spent much of last year as the team’s starting center fielder, and Dylan Brewer are in the outfield rotation as well.
The Gamecocks added a number of outfield via the transfer portal this offseason, too. Kennedy Jones, a transfer from UNC Greensboro, is career .361 hitter and could slide into left field for South Carolina.
South Carolina also earned a commitment from Austin Brinling, a junior who spent last season at North Florida. During his sophomore campaign, Brinling hit .386 with three home runs and 31 RBIs and made the All-ASUN First Team.
Those numbers generated significant interest in the transfer portal, Brinling said. And with that interest came opportunities to earn guaranteed playing time at another program.
“But at the end of the day, that wasn’t what I was looking for,” Brinling said.
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Brinling said he found exactly what he was looking for at South Carolina, which is looking to advance past the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012.
“Obviously, we all want to play, and we want to get our moment of fame,” Brinling said. “I really just want to compete and become the best player that I can be. And I felt like this was the place to be for that.”
Brinling knows that playing time may be hard to come by in South Carolina’s deep outfield. In the case he does not earn a starting role, he said he will do what he can to benefit the team overall.
“If my best isn’t enough, or someone is doing a lot better than me, then it’s my job to push them and make them a better player,” Brinling said. “It goes both ways. I know my teammates would push me the same way as I would push them. If I’m doing great, I know they have my back. And if they’re doing great, they know I have their back.”
