South Carolina loses starting infielder to transfer portal

South Carolina third baseman Dawson Harman is entering the transfer portal, he announced on social media on Friday afternoon.

“After a lot of prayer and reflection, I’ve made one of the hardest decisions of my baseball career,” Harman wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “With one year of eligibility remaining, and due to the recent coaching change, I have officially decided to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal to pursue a new opportunity and continue chasing my dreams.”

Harman also thanked South Carolina for “believing in me” and that he is looking forward to the next stop in his baseball career.

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Harman spent just one season with the Gamecocks in 2026. He started in 40 games as the everyday third baseman and hit .227 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 128 at-bats.

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The Lithia, Fla. native missed 13 straight games during the middle of the season after doctors diagnosed him with mononucleosis, an illness that can cause extreme fatigue, fever, a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes, among other symptoms.

The transfer portal will officially be open from June 1 to June 30 for all players to enter. Harman is now the second Gamecock to choose to hit the portal, joining right-handed pitcher Josh Gunther.

Dawson Harman’s bio from GamecocksOnline

PRIOR TO CAROLINA

• Attended the College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla., for the 2025 season
• Hit .370 with 24 home runs, 65 RBI, 20 doubles, 71 runs scored and a 1.336 OPS for the Patriots in 2025
• First Team Juco All-American (2025)
• Florida Juco Player of the Year (2025)
• Citrus Conference Player of the Year (2025)
• First Team All-Citrus Conference (2025)
• Attended High Point University in High Point, N.C., for his freshman season in 2024
• Had four home runs to go along with four doubles and 15 RBI in 40 games played with 19 starts for the Panthers
• Was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases and had a .472 slugging percentage in 2024
• Prepped at Bloomingdale High School in Lithia, Fla., where he was a first team All-Western Conference selection in 2022
• Helped Bloomingdale to a state championship in 2021
• All-813 Preps second team (2023)
• Ranked the No. 8 third baseman and No. 133 overall player in the state of Florida in the class of 2023 by Perfect Game
• Played travel baseball for Ostingers Baseball Academy
• Played in the summer of 2025 for the Sanford River Rats in the Florida League, hitting .347 with three triples, two home runs and 20 RBI

PERSONAL

• Born on April 12, 2005
• Son of Chuck and Denise Harman
• Brother, Drake, plays baseball at Georgia Southwestern
• Major is services management

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