Gamecocks add infielder to portal class
South Carolina added another hitter out of the transfer portal today.
The Gamecocks picked up former Southern Miss second baseman Will McGillis, who announced his decision via social media.
McGillis has a connection to South Carolina’s program in the form of recruiting coordinator and hitting coach Chad Caillet.
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Caillet recruited McGillis to Southern Miss and coached him for two years before taking a job at Texas A&M.
McGillis had a slow first few years in college but always had high on-base percentages. This year was the best of his college career.
The right-handed bat slashed .265/.394/.544 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI. He walked 32 times to 57 strikeouts in 287 plate appearances.
McGillis was a team captain this season in Hattiesburg and has hit 27 combined home runs over his last two seasons with almost 90 runs driven in also.
He’ll almost certainly compete for an opening day starting spot, likely at second base. The Gamecocks have a big slot to fill there. Braylen Wimmer has the chance to depart for professional baseball.
He’s the ninth pickup out of the portal for the Gamecocks, who are trying to revamp their roster after a 27-28 season in 2022.
McGillis joins Vanderbilt’s Gavin Casas, Jacob Compton from Memphis, Oral Roberts utility man Caleb Denny, Presbyterian’s Chris Veach and Dylan Brewer and Jonathan French from Clemson on the offensive side of the ball.
South Carolina also added two pitchers to date in Clemson’s Ricky Williams and Nick Proctor from Cal.
“Where we are right now, we might have to rely on it more than we will a year from now or two years from now. Where we are right now, we felt we needed to be very aggressive in the portal. You’re starting to see names out there,” Mark Kingston said recently.
“We’re signing really good names out of the portal that are really going to help us. They’re filling what our needs are. They’re filling what our wants are in terms of taking it to where we want it to be.”
The Gamecocks might not be done, potentially adding a piece or two more before the roster is finalized.
At this point, we’re in a position to go best player available. I feel good about the depth offensively and on the pitching side. So now it’s best player available and if it’s someone who moves the needle in terms of what we already have on the roster,” Kingston said.
“Is it a player who can help move the needle whether it’s at the high end of your roster, adding depth? I would say best player available at this point.”
