The transfer portal continues to be kind to new South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri, thanks largely to the efforts of his new staff of assistant coaches. Monte Lee (assistant head coach/hitting coach), Terry Rooney (pitching coach/recruiting coordinator) and John Hendry (assistant coach/assistant pitching coach/assistant recruiting coordinator) have done a great job attacking the portal during the offseason.

A somewhat surprising source of transfer talent for the Gamecocks has been the rival Clemson Tigers. Last week, Carolina brought in former Tiger all-arounder Nathan Hall (a native of Lexington, South Carolina), and on Wednesday they added another player who wore the orange and white for two years.

According to his social media accounts, former Clemson infielder Nolan Nawrocki is joining the South Carolina baseball program through the transfer portal. During his two years at Upstate, Nawrocki was undrafted in 2023 and was a part-time starter as a designated hitter and third baseman in 2024. He has a background as a shortstop but has struggled at third base this season.

In his redshirt freshman season, Nawrocki hit .264/.352/.400/.752 and added 4 home runs, 5 doubles and 11 stolen bases (he wasn't caught stealing all year). He scored 28 runs and had 24 RBIs. One of his 4 home runs this season came against the Gamecocks, and overall he had a good series against USC as Clemson won both games.

Originally from upstate New York, Nawrocki was a top-300 prospect in the country coming out of high school. If he can continue to develop, Nawrocki is an intriguing blend of power and speed and could play a role in the battles for the third baseman and designated hitter positions for the 2025 version of the South Carolina baseball team. He will give the Gamecocks some infield depth, good hitting skills, and good speed on the bases.