An update on how former South Carolina baseball players are performing at their new schools

South Carolina’s season ended at the SEC Tournament on Tuesday, but for some college baseball programs, their seasons will continue as the NCAA Tournament gets underway next weekend.

Some postseason teams will feature a few former Gamecocks, who left the program after the 2025 season and have done well at their new schools. Others didn’t have as much success, though.

During this past offseason, the Gamecocks flipped their roster with 18 players from last year’s team departing to play elsewhere. With the regular season in the books and the NCAA Tournament around the corner, let’s take a look at how those players have performed this season.

Roman Kimball, RHP: At the halfway point of the season, Kimball, who transferred to UCF for his fifth and final season, was going through a horrendous year with a 13.50 ERA. But since then, he’s turned things around to the point where he’s having his best season in college. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA in 14 appearances with five starts for the Knights, recording 29 strikeouts and 15 walks over 29.1 innings.

Jarvis Evans, LHP: Evans, who spent his career in the SEC with Georgia and South Carolina, is now in the Big Ten at Purdue. He was a weekend starter for the Boilermakers, but since April 18, he’s only been pitching out of the bullpen. He’s 4-3 with a 6.11 ERA, striking out 37 and walking 20 over 45.2 innings.

Henry Kaczmar, INF: After a year away, Kaczmar returned to his home state and previous school to play for Ohio State. In his second stint with the Buckeyes, he’s hitting .316 with a career-high 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 225 at-bats. He’s been OSU’s everyday shortstop but also played some at second base for a stretch. He’s posted a .962 fielding percentage with nine errors in 55 games.

Nolan Nawrocki, INF: After injuries plagued his one-year stay in Columbia, Nawrocki transferred to Tulane, marking his third and final stop in college baseball. The Rockville Centre, N.Y. native never put it together with the Green Wave, hitting just .203 with two homers and 13 RBI in 25 games.

Cayden Gaskin, INF: Gaskin struggled at the end of the regular season but has picked up five hits in his last 11 at-bats as UCF is in a great position to make the NCAA Tournament. He’s earned far more playing time than he did at South Carolina, now hitting .282 with no homers and 10 RBI in 37 games (26 starts).

Aydin Palmer, LHP: Palmer has gotten his chance to show what he can do while pitching at Francis Marion this season. The left-hander is 10-2 with a 5.43 ERA across 12 starts and has also recorded one save. He’s struck out 74 batters and walked 35 over 66.1 innings of work. Francis Marion eliminated No. 2 North Greenville from the NCAA Regional but came up short against No. 7 Catawba in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Southeast Super Regional.

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Will Tippett, INF: Tippett wrapped up his senior season at Charleston, putting together a much more respectable season in the back half. He hit .259 with nine homers and 30 RBI in 159 at-bats. He homered five times in the final month of the season. Tippett made his return to Founders Park on April 7 and went 1-for-4 as the Cougars pulled off a midweek upset against the Gamecocks.

Max Kaufer, C: Kaufer was having himself a career year in his senior season at Wichita State, but a shoulder injury that has sidelined him since March 17 will put him out for the rest of the season. He hit .440 with 11 homers, 27 RBI and a ridiculous 1.747 OPS in 50 at-bats.

Ryan Bakes, C: Bakes, who spent two years at South Carolina, transferred back home to play for Illinois State. Starting in 49 games, he hit .251 with 11 homers and 34 RBI in 183 at-bats while also slugging .503. He made five errors and fielded at a .981 clip behind the plate.

Tyler June, OF: June redshirted at South Carolina last year and played in 31 games at Florida SouthWestern State, a JUCO program located in Cypress Lake, Fla. He hit .403 with no homers and six RBI in 67 at-bats. He stole 14 bases in 15 tries and had a 1.019 OPS in limited action this season.

Eddie Copper, RHP: Copper was having tremendous success through the first half of the year at Charlotte. However, he struggled some over the final month and a half of the season, finishing the year with a 4-5 record and 5.63 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out 58 batters and walked 37 in 56 innings of work.

Tyler Pitzer, RHP: The 2025 Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year has been effective primarily out of the bullpen for Brian O’Connor at Mississippi State. Pitzer is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA across 25.2 innings for the Bulldogs, recording 34 strikeouts and 13 walks while holding opponents to a .194 batting average. Pitzer had a 6.59 ERA in SEC regular-season games over 13.2 innings with 19 strikeouts against seven walks.

Ashton Crowther, LHP: In his third collegiate stop, Crowther has flourished while pitching out of relief for the Alabama Crimson Tide. The left-hander is 2-2 on the year with a 2.90 ERA over 16 appearances. He’s struck out 21 and walked eight across 31 innings. Crowther made his return to Founders Park on May 10 and gave up four runs on two hits over two innings of work.

Ryder Garino, RHP: Garino transferred to NC State and has had a rough go of it pitching in a relief role for the Wolfpack this season. He’s 2-5 with a 7.09 ERA, striking out 47 and walking 15 while holding opponents to a .238 batting average in 33 innings of work.

Jackson Soucie, LHP: The Ontario native transferred to Kentucky and has posted a 3.24 ERA over 21 relief appearances this season. While he’s logged just 16.2 innings for the Wildcats, he’s recorded 15 strikeouts and 10 walks. Soucie returned to Founders Park when Kentucky traveled to South Carolina for a three-game series from April 24-26 and made two appearances, walking two over 0.1 innings of work.

Wyatt Evans, LHP: Evans spent this season playing for former Gamecock catcher and North Greenville head coach Landon Powell. Across 15 appearances, the left-hander had a 2.77 ERA and struck out 10 with 13 walks over 13 innings of work.

Jase Woita, INF/OF: Woita had a solid year at Missouri in 2026. The left-handed slugger hit .287 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI and a .927 OPS, nearly doubling all of his numbers from last year at South Carolina.

Brendan Sweeney, RHP: South Carolina’s saves leader in 2025 is now at Mississippi State alongside Pitzer. Sweeney has made 13 appearances, including two starts, and recorded a save while posting a 5.85 ERA with 22 strikeouts and six walks.

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