Strong offseason positioning Gavin Casas for even-stronger year

Last year, South Carolina had a trio of players with draft prospects–Noah Hall, Braylen Wimmer and James Hicks–who opted to come back to school and improved their stock. Mark Kingston is hoping Gavin Casas is in the same boat.
Teams didn’t draft Casas. this offseason. The infielder pulled his name out of the pool before the draft started, but comes back to South Carolina with at least one more year of eligibility.
And he’ll try and give the Gamecocks even more of a boost this season.
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“It means a lot. It really does,” Kingston said. “We looked at last year and we had three guys drafted who decided to come back. They had such an impact on our success last year. I think Gavin’s going to be the same.”
Wimmer and Hicks were integral pieces for a South Carolina team that won 40 games and made it to a Super Regional. Hall was the Gamecocks’ Saturday starter and best statistical starter before a back injury sidelined him for most of the season.
Teams drafted all three higher than they did after the 2022 season. Casas could be in the same mold.
And it’ll give him a chance to try and get South Carolina even further in the postseason while trying to improve his professional prospects.
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“Gavin could have been drafted pretty decently and could’ve moved on to the next level,” Kingston sai.d “But he wanted to come back and have an even greater year. He wanted to leave a more lasting legacy than one year at South Carolina. He’s extremely happy here. He loves how we run things. He loves the growth he’s had here. Just wasn’t ready to leave.”
Casas–a Vanderbilt transfer who came in last season via the portal–played in 61 games and hit .259 with an OPS of .976. There were some rough patches–including a strikeout rate of 23.4 percent–but the left-handed bat hit 19 bombs with 56 RBI.
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In five NCAA Tournament games, Casas hit .429/.500/.571 with three doubles and seven RBI. He scored seven times.
It was a glimpse of what he could be coming back for another season.
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“I think it’ll be a great decision for him. Just like it was for last year’s draft picks who all went significantly higher than they did before,” Kingston said. “I think it’ll be great for us. We’re getting one of the best first basemen in the country…At the end of the day, we have a middle-of-the-order hitter who hit 19 homers for us back for us.”
This time last year the Gamecocks’ first baseman was coming off a major knee surgery. His body probably wasn’t in the best shape compared to where it needed to be.
Fast-forward a year after being relatively healthy and Casas has gotten in “much better physical shape,” Kingston said and could be an even more versatile piece defensively.
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“He looks great right now. He’s swinging the bat great. His defense is much improved,” Kingston said. “(Casas is) in such good shape right now that he’s actually taking ground ball at third base. He’s looked pretty good over there and much better than I would have ever imagined. He’s going to provide a lot of options for us.