Transfer shortstop Erik Parker 'psyched' to help lead turnaround at South Carolina

Erik Parker was used to being in the middle of the big moments, playing against strong competition on high-level stages. His freshman season at Georgia wasn’t quite the same.

It’s not that he didn’t enjoy his time with the Bulldogs — he certainly did. But with two-year starter Kolby Branch playing in all 60 games at shortstop this year, Parker didn’t see much action and only played sparingly with four at-bats.

“I love Athens. It’s such a great town, great community, and it was tough to leave,” Parker told GamecockCentral. “But I just thought it was best for me to go get my opportunities somewhere else and just grow as a player somewhere else and be like one of the guys and leaders at a high-level SEC school.”

Parker, who entered the transfer portal after Georgia’s season ended, craved an opportunity. Sitting on the bench only furthered his itch to be on the field. While the Suwanee native won’t get the chance to do so for his home state school, he will with his new team at South Carolina.

The 6-foot-3, 184-pound shortstop committed to the Gamecocks over the weekend. From his conversations with the coaching staff, he’ll be able to come in and compete to play right away. It comes at a time when South Carolina will be replacing both of its starting middle infielders.

“I was talking to them for a while, and they said they wanted to see me at short and kind of just be that guy for the team and be like one of the leaders to step up this upcoming year and change the team around to back where it was before,” he said. “And that’s something that I really wanted to do in my career. Just change the whole program around back to a winning team.”

Stay on top of all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer today!

This will be a reunion of sorts for both sides. In high school, Parker was committed to South Carolina, but that was under the previous coaching staff. He ultimately reopened his recruitment, which led him to Georgia.

While his sample size with the Bulldogs was minimal, it’s not indicative of the type of player he is. Before he hit campus in Athens, he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round of last year’s MLB Draft. He was the No. 135 draft prospect and also attended the Draft Combine in Arizona.

As a senior at North Gwinnett, Parker hit .333 with four home runs. The right-handed hitter also set a new school record with 28 stolen bases in a season. He got on base at a .544 clip and finished with a 1.132 OPS. He was the No. 6 shortstop and the No. 11 overall player in Georgia by Perfect Game.

“Some people say I don’t have that much power, but when I get hold of one, I’ve got power,” said Parker, who described himself as a patient hitter. “But that’s the main thing that I’ve been trying to get better on at Georgia, and they helped me really good at that, is just getting stronger. So I’ll say I’m also stronger at the plate than I was within the past two years or so.”

Defensively, Parker called himself a quick and agile player at shortstop. On the 20-80 baseball scouting scale, Baseball America graded his arm and fielding at 55, which is considered above average. But he feels confident in his abilities as a defender.

“I have a really good glove. I have a strong arm, and I’ve made all my throws with accuracy,” Parker said. “Everything I do is very smooth; I slow the game down. And to be honest, I already think I’m one of the best fielders in the country.”

Parker will have to earn a starting spot with the Gamecocks next season, which starts when the team begins fall workouts in the coming months. More than anything, though, he’s ready for a fresh start and to play for the school he originally committed to as a high schooler.

“I’m psyched,” Parker said. “… I think that’s like one thing that’s definitely going to get me going, just having that itch to play and just kind of feeling, that environment of SEC ball.”

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!