South Carolina baseball veteran pitcher heading to NCAA transfer portal

South Carolina baseball pitcher Roman Kimball will enter the transfer portal. He announced the move on social media on Monday.

In his post, Kimball reflected positively on his time in Columbia and revealed his intention of entering the portal on June 2nd when it officially opens. He also addressed a since-deleted social media post from his father that spoke critically of the current Gamecock coaching staff. The younger Kimball apologized for the post and said that he has “nothing but respect for the entire coaching staff at South Carolina” and that the post “was not a reflection of [his] character and [his] views of the coaching staff and program at South Carolina.”

Kimball was a redshirt junior this season. He logged a 2-2 record with a 6.32 ERA in 2024 and a 16.50 ERA in 2025. He had strikeout stuff that always seemed to indicate better results were possible. However, he didn’t get much work this spring, limiting his opportunity to improve those numbers.

Kimball helped make USC history last year when he pitched in a combined no-hitter against Miami (OH).

Kimball will have one more year of eligibility remaining at his last collegiate stop, but first, he will spend the summer playing with the State College Spikes of the MLB Draft League.

Wyatt Evans, Tyler June, Cayden Gaskin, and Ryan Bakes also have announced their transfer intentions.

South Carolina baseball transfer portal resources:

• On3 National Transfer Portal Tracker
• Get news notifications via the On3 app
• Subscribe to GamecockCentral for just $1 for 7 days!

Roman Kimball South Carolina Baseball Bio on GamecocksOnline

AWARDS

• SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll (2024)
• SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll (2023)

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE (2024)

• Made 15 appearances with eight starts in 2024
• Was 2-2 with 42 strikeouts in 31.1 innings pitched
• Held opponents to a .211 batting average
• Combined on a no-hitter in a win over Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 18
• Struck out five in two innings in the win over the Redhawks
• Picked up the win at Florida (April 13), striking out a pair in three innings
• Struck out five in 2.2 innings of relief in a win over North Carolina (April 9)
• Had five strikeouts in 3.1 innings at Clemson (March 3)
• Did not allow a run with four strikeouts in 2.1 innings against Arkansas (April 19)
• Allowed two hits and a run with four strikeouts in a win over Kentucky (April 26)
• Against Belmont (Feb. 25), struck out four and allowed two hits and a run in four innings
• Had four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of relief vs. Texas A&M (April 5)

SOPHOMORE (2023)

• Injured and did not see game action in 2023

PRIOR TO CAROLINA

• Played one season at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where he was a perfect 4-0 with 32 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched in 2022
• Helped the Fighting Irish to the 2022 College World Series after a three-game series win in the NCAA Knoxville Super Regional over Tennessee
• Set a career high with four innings pitched and five strikeouts against Valpo (March 29, 2022)
• Eight of his 17 appearances went longer than an inning of work
• Earned his first collegiate win against Northern Illinois (March 29, 2022)
• Played in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2022, going 2-0 with 28 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched for the Chatham Anglers
• Attended P27 Academy in Lexington, S.C., where he was 4-3 with a 2.50 ERA and 84 strikeouts his senior season
• Ranked the top right-handed pitcher in the state of New York and the No. 55 overall recruit via Perfect Game in 2021
• 2021 Perfect Game Preseason All-American – Northeast All-Region First Team
• 2020 Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American – Northeast All-Region Second Team
• 2020 Perfect Game 18U Northeast Fall World Series champion
• 2020 16U Northeast World Series Most Valuable Player
• 2019 Perfect Game 17U Northeast World Series All-Tournament team

PERSONAL

• Born on September 21, 2003
• Son of Jeff and Elly Kimball
• Major is visual communications

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!