COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina baseball team is welcoming its newcomers for the 2026 season on the first day of classes (Aug. 19) at USC. The 27 newcomers include a portal class which was ranked No. 4 in the country by 64 Analytics.
Here is a list of newcomers in alphabetical order
#17 Tyler Bak – OF – Jr. – Sugar Hill, Ga./Wofford
Played two seasons at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where he made 88 games with 70 starts in the outfield
Hit .325 with 10 doubles, 20 RBI, 15 stolen bases and a .427 on-base percentage in 2025.
Helped the Terriers to the Chapel Hill Regional in 2024 after winning the Southern Conference Tournament championship
Was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team in 2024 after driving in 19 runs and stealing 10 bases.
#45 Connor Chicoli – RHP – So. – Raleigh, N.C./Georgia Tech
Played one season at Georgia Tech, where he was 1-1 on the mound in 14 appearances and five starts
Struck out 18 batters for the Yellow Jackets and earned the win at Mercer, pitching 7.2 innings with four punchouts on May 7, 2025
Attended Pro5 Baseball Academy, where he was a Preseason All-Atlantic Region first team member in 2024 by Perfect Game
#9 Will Craddock – INF – Fr. – Anderson, S.C./T.L. Hanna HS
Attended T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, S.C., where he was the Region 5A-Division 2 Player of the Year as a senior
Hit 10 home runs as a senior for the Yellow Jackets
Was a Perfect Game Preseason All-Atlantic Region second team as a senior in 2025
#2 Brandon Cromer – OF/LHP – Fr. – Lexington, S.C./Lexington HS
Attended Lexington High School in Lexington, S.C., where he helped the Wildcats to the state title in 2024
Hit .308 with 20 stolen bases and 27 RBI as a junior at Lexington
Was ranked the No. 2 LHP in the state of South Carolina in the class of 2025 by Diamond Prospects
Cousin, David, played for USC from 2021-24. Uncles Tripp, DT and Burke all played for the Gamecocks
#16 Patrick Dudley – LHP – Fr. – Virginia Beach, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian HS
Attended Atlantic Shores Christian High School in Virginia Beach, Va., lettering for four years.
Had 85 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched to go along with a 2.00 ERA as a senior
The Virginian-Pilot All-Tidewater team (2024, ’25)
VISAA All-State Division II first team (2025)
#3 Patrick Evans – INF – Jr. – Lexington, S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech
Attended Florence-Darlington Tech in Florence, S.C., for two years, where he hit .453 with 10 home runs and 75 RBI in 54 games for the Stingers in 2025
Helped the Stingers to a NJCAA World Series appearance and was named an NJCAA First Team All-American in 2025
Region 10 Player of the Year (2025)
Hit .373 as a freshman at Florence-Darlington Tech with 17 RBI
Went to Lexington High School in Lexington, S.C., where he was a Perfect Game All-Atlantic honorable mention in 2023
#20 Elijah Foster – RHP – Jr. – Plainfield, N.J./Sacred Heart
Attended Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., for two years, where he was an All-Northeast Conference second team selection in 2024
Had 10 career wins for the Pioneers in 30 starts with 156 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched
Had a career high 10 strikeouts in a start vs. Norfolk State on April 28, 2024
Went to high school at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J.
#47 Josh Gregoire – RHP – Jr. – Baton Rouge, La./ULM
Attended Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, La., in 2025, where he was 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 23 appearances with five saves
Held opponents to a .197 batting average and had 40 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched
Started his college career at LSU Eunice, where he had 23 strikeouts in 14.1 innings
Was a first team All-District selection at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, La.
#24 Josh Gunther – RHP – Jr. – Fairhope, Ala./Wake Forest
Attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., for two years, where he had a 3.41 ERA and six saves in 26 appearances for the Demon Deacons
Struck out 47 batters in 29 innings pitched in 2025, helping Wake to the NCAA Tournament and the NCAA Knoxville Regional
Made 28 appearances out of the bullpen in 2024, striking out 38 batters in 31.1 innings
Was the Alabama Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Year in 2023 at Bayside Academy in Daphne, Ala.
#30 Dawson Harmon – INF – Jr. – Lithia, Fla./College of Central Florida
Attended the College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla., for the 2025 season, where he hit .370 with 24 home runs and 65 RBI for the Patriots.
Was a First Team All-NJCAA honoree in 2025
Started his collegiate career at High Point in 2024, belting four home runs along with 15 RBI in 40 games and 19 starts
Helped Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Fla., to a state championship in 2021 and was an all-conference selection in 2022
#6 Bradley Hodges – LHP – Jr. – Fleming Island, Fla./Virginia
Attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., for three years, where he made 28 appearances with nine starts and four career wins
Was 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA in eight starts in 2025
Struck out seven and allowed just one run in seven innings in a win at Georgia Tech (April 26, 2025)
Missed the 2024 season due to injury and has two years of eligibility at Carolina
Went to high school at St Johns Country Day School in Orange Park, Fla., where he was the 2022 Florida Class 2A Player of the Year
#14 Caleb Hoover – OF/1B – So. – Heath, Texas/Grayson College
Attended Grayson College in Denison, Texas, last season, where he hit .339 with 16 home runs and 49 RBI in 41 games played
Went to high school at Rockwell-Heath in Heath, Texas, where he was a Perfect Game All-Texas Region first team selection in 2024
Originally enrolled at Oklahoma State, where he went through fall practice in 2024
#29 Cullen Horowicz – RHP – Sr. – Shepherdstown, W. Va./Samford
Attended Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., for two years, where he struck out 16 batters in 7.2 innings pitched in 2025
Hit .270 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 2024 for the Bulldogs
Started his collegiate career at Army, where he saw action in 11 games for the Black Knights in 2022
Went to San Jacinto College-North in Houston, Texas, in 2023, where he had 16 RBI and 14 walks
#18 Aaron Jamison – OF – Jr. – Morgantown, W. Va./Fort Scott CC
Attended Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kan., for the 2025 season, where he hit .392 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 52 games played
Spent his freshman season at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W. Va., where he played in 44 games with three home runs and 16 RBI
Was a first team All-West Virginia selection and ranked the No. 1 player in the state of West Virginia by Perfect Game at Morgantown High School in 2023
#28 Hudson Lee – LHP – Jr. – Roebuck, S.C./Clemson
Comes to Carolina from Clemson University, where he made 15 appearances for the Tigers in 2025
Had 19 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched for Clemson
Went to Wake Forest University for two seasons, making two appearances for the Demon Deacons in 2024
Was an all-state selection in both baseball and football at Dorman High School in Roebuck, S.C.
#12 Ethan Lizama – OF – Sr. – Asan Heights, Guam/Western Kentucky
Comes to Carolina after playing two seasons at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky., where he earned Conference USA Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2025
Hit .336 with 15 home runs, 18 doubles, 60 RBI and 56 runs scored as a redshirt junior in 2025
Hit .389 and had seven RBI in the 2025 Conference USA Tournament
Had nine home runs and a .309 average for the Hilltoppers in 2024
Spent two seasons at Gulf Coast State, driving in 96 runs in his career
Went to high school at Eastlake in Chula Vista, Calif., where he was a first team all-conference selection
#22 Reese Moore – C – Jr. – Van Meter, Iowa/Iowa
Attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, for three years, where he was an All-Big Ten first team selection in 2025
Hit .304 with nine home runs and 45 RBI as a redshirt sophomore in 2025
Was named to the All-Big Ten third team and the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024, hitting .298 with 32 RBI
Prepped at Van Meter High School his senior season, helping the Bulldogs to an undefeated season and state championship in 2022
#37 Bryce Navarre – LHP – So. – Montgomery, Texas/Texas
Spent his freshman season at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, where he went 1-0 with six strikeouts in six appearances on the mound
Played at Montgomery High School in Montgomery, Texas, and was ranked the No. 3 LHP and No. 15 overall player in the State of Texas by Perfect Game
Was a Preseason All-Texas Region first team by Perfect Game in 2024
#4 Erik Parker – INF – So. – Atlanta, Ga./Georgia
Attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., for the 2025 season
Made 16 appearances for the Bulldogs and hit .250 with a pair of walks
Was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round of the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft
Went to North Gwinnett High School, where he hit .333 with 28 stolen bases as a senior
#13 Amp Phillips – RHP – Jr. – Lancaster, S.C./USC Upstate
Attended USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., in 2025, where he was 7-2 with a 3.64 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched
Struck out nine in six innings in a start against Clemson in the 2025 Clemson Regional
Went to Spartanburg Methodist for his first two seasons of college, where he struck out 51 batters in 45.2 innings as a freshman
Went to high school at Andrew Jackson in Kershaw, S.C.
#11 Alex Philpott – RHP – Jr. – Tampa, Fla./Florida
Attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., for two seasons, where he had three wins and 44 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched in 2025
As a freshman, went 2-2 with 28 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched
Prepped at Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Fla., where he struck out 102 batters in 58 innings pitched in his final two seasons
Was a Perfect Game Preseason All-Florida Region first team selection in 2022 and 2023
#35 Logan Prisco – LHP – So. – Selden, N.Y./Florence-Darlington Tech
Attended Florence-Darlington Tech in Florence, S.C., for two seasons, where he won 11 games in 16 appearances for the Stingers in 2025
Had 87 strikeouts in 69.2 innings pitched in 2025
Went to high school at Newfield High School in Centereach, N.Y., where he was the No. 22 LHP in the State of New York in the 2023 class
#21 Jake Randolph – C – Sr. – Vero Beach, Fla./Presbyterian
Attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., for three years, where he hit. 329 with 32 RBI in 2025
Was a Second Team All-Big South selection in 2024
Had six hits in a game vs. Longwood on March 4, 2025
Went to Vero Beach High School in Vero Beach, Fla., helping the Fighting Indians to four district titles
#8 Jack Reynolds – INF – Jr. – Columbia, S.C./Gulf Coast State College
Attended Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla., for two years, where he hit .369 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 2024
Played in 17 games in 2025, hitting .283 with four home runs
Started his career at Clemson, where he redshirted in 2023
Was a four-year letterwinner at P27 Academy in Lexington, S.C.
Was the No. 1 shortstop and No. 4 overall player in the State of South Carolina in the class of 2022 by Perfect Game
#0 Logan Sutter – INF – Sr. – Loomis, Calif./Purdue
Comes to Carolina from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., where he was an All-Big Ten second team selection in 2025
Hit .367 with a 1.180 OPS and set a Purdue record with 22 doubles in 2025
Led the team with 16 doubles in 2024 and was recognized as Purdue’s Offensive Player of the Year
Started his collegiate career at Folsom Lake College in Folsom, Calif., where he hit .390 and was a JuCo All-American in 2023
Went to Del Oro High School in Loomis, Calif., hitting .429 as a senior
#7 Alex Valentin – LHP – Jr. – Hollywood, Fla./Texas State
Attended Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, for the 2025 season, going 5-5 with 58 strikeouts in 16 games and 11 starts
Was the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week on March 4, 2025, after striking out six in 6.1 innings in a win over Grand Canyon on March 2
Went to Nova Southeastern in 2024, going 3-3 with 58 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched
Graduate high school from ESB Academy in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
#34 Luke Yuhasz – OF – Sr. – Moss Bluff, La./Louisiana-Lafayette
Attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for three seasons, where he hit .320 with six home runs and 26 RBI in 2025
Had 14 career home runs and 53 career RBI for the Ragin’ Cajuns
Went to Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff, La., helping the Broncos to a 5A state semifinal appearance in 2021
Was the No. 2 outfielder and No. 8 overall prospect in the State of Louisiana by Perfect Game in 2022