2017 South Carolina Baseball Season Preview: Preseason Rankings and Expectations

Opening Day is Friday and the Gamecocks are in a completely different place than they were at this time last year, as they headed into the 2016 season with little recognition and low preseason rankings. South Carolina surprised everyone by bouncing back from a horrendous 2015 season with a 46-18 (20-9 SEC) record in 2016 and an SEC East Championship. The Gamecocks hosted a Super Regional as well, and though the season ended on a sour note as they were eliminated by Oklahoma State, it was a good year for the team.

After last year’s success, there’s a good bit of excitement around the Gamecock baseball team heading into the 2017 season. The Gamecocks were chosen by the SEC coaches to finish 2nd in the East behind Florida and they landed two players on the Preseason All-SEC Team. Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Johnson was selected to the first team, while fellow junior Alex Destino landed on the second team.

The Gamecocks have collected plenty of preseason honors for individual players. In addition to being recognized by the SEC coaches, Tyler Johnson was selected as a first-team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball, the NCBWA, and Perfect Game. Alex Destino also earned Preseason All-America honors in addition to his SEC recognition, as he was named to the second team by the NCBWA. Junior right-hander Clarke Schmidt was selected as a first-team Preseason All-American by the NCBWA. He was a second-team selection by Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball and Perfect Game. Senior lefty Josh Reagan received third-team Preseason All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball. Junior right-hander Wil Crowe, who is returning after missing the 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery, was named a third-team Preseason All-American by Baseball America.

In large part due to the strong pitching staff that is piling up preseason accolades, South Carolina is a consensus top-5 team across the major college baseball preseason polls. The Gamecocks also have several opponents that are ranked and expected to do well this year. Most notably, conference foes Florida, Vanderbilt, and LSU are all in the top ten in nearly every poll. That means that, as usual, there will be some very tough games on South Carolina’s schedule, but the Gamecocks are expected to be able to hold their own among the best teams in the country.

Check out the preseason polls below and stay tuned throughout the week as we preview South Carolina’s 2017 team!