Palmetto State Baseball Podcast, Jan. 24

Here's the first Palmetto State Baseball podcast of the season. I hope you enjoy it.

News digest Jan. 24

Clemson changes stadium look

Friend and former co-worker David Hood of Tigernet.com reports some cosmetic changes at Clemson's Doug Kingsmore Stadium. There is artificial turf in foul territory with a script Clemson in orange behind home plate. Also, the visiting bullpen has been moved from a fenced area to foul territory down the third-base line, opening up room in the former bullpen area for a beer garden. Hood reports the area will be ready for this season. Clemson coach Erik Bakich and players met with the media Thursday afternoon.

Cougars getting notice

Baseball America rates Chad Holbrook's College of Charleston squad as one of 10 teams with the potential to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament field after being snubbed last season.
Cougars

State's opening game pushed back

Weather conditions have prompted USC Salkehatchie to delay its season-opening series - the first regular season games in South Carolina this season - by a day. The Indians will now play Walters State at 2 p.m. Saturday in Allendale, followed by a noon doubleheader on Sunday. Walters State was 17th in the NJCAA preseason rankings announced earlier this week.

Gamecocks tweak weekend schedule

South Carolina has adjusted its scrimmage schedule for the weekend. The Gamecocks will a 6-inning working workout at 4:30 p.m. Friday, an 8 1/2 inning game at 3:45 p.m. Saturday and a 6-inning game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The workouts are at Founders Park and are open to the puiblic.

Preseason rankings

Conference Carolinas
* Coaches poll: 1. North Greenville. T7. Francis Marion. 9. Erskine. 12. Southern Wesleyan.

CC

Peach Belt Conference

* Coaches poll: 1. Georgia College. 2. Lander. 8. USC Aiken. 9. USC Beaufort. 10.

* Preseason all-conference: C - Capers Molinari, USC Aiken. DH - Connor Droze, Lander. OF - Josh Sharp, USC Aiken. RP - Tyler Overholt, Lander.

PBC

News digest, Jan. 23

Gamecocks offer season preview

USC has posted its self-produced preview of the season under  new coach Paul Mainieri. The team has scrimmages at 4:15 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Founders Park. The Gamecocks open their season at home against Sacred Heart Feb. 14.

Gamecocks

Tigers team with Absolutely Ridiculous

Clemson has announced a partnership with Absolutely Ridiculous, a creative brand using - as the release says - "functional art to instill confidence and foster self-expression in athletes." The brand will provide gloves and sliding mitts for the program.
Ridiculous 

Clemson sets this weekend's schedule

Clemson has announced its scrimmage schedule for this weekend. Each day will consist of seven innings. Workouts are at 4 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

NAIA season opens

Regular season play for NAIA teams begins today, but none of the five games is in the Eastern or Central time zones.

News digest, Jan. 22

Upstate, Wofford christen new stadium

The April 1 meeting between USC Upstate and Wofford will be played at Fifth Third Park in downtown Spartanburg. The stadium was built to host the minor league Hub City Spartanburgers, who will begin their inaugural season April 15.

The Upstate-Wofford game will be the first baseball game at the facility, located between West Henry and West Main Streets downtown. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Wofford and Upstate are playing three games this season after a two-year hiatus in the rivalry.  The series will open with a March 19 game at Fluor Field in Greenville and ends with an April 15 meetings at Russell C. King Field on the Wofford campus. The teams last played three times in a season in 2017.

Fifth Third

Clemson begins preseason work

Preseason practice for Clemson's third season under coach  Erik Bakich begins this weekend. The Tigers have won 44 games each of the last two seasons and are ranked in the several preseason polls. Outfielder Cam Cannarella and pitcher Aidan Knaak are rated among the best in the country at their positions. The season begins at the Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, Feb. 14-16.

Tigers

Gamecocks set scrimmages

Weather permitting, South Carolina is holding six-inning scrimmages Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Founders Park. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Gamecocks

Spartans begin work

USC Upstate has posted a season overview of its first year with Kane Sweeney as head coach. He was promoted to replace  Mike McGuire, who left to coach at Winthrop.

Spartans

Ex-Gamecocks assistant dies

Johnny Hunton, an assistant coach on South Carolina's first five College World Series teams, died Sunday at the age of 97.
Hunton

Preseason rankings/honors

* Big South

Coaches poll: 1. High Point. 2. USC Upstate. 3. Gardner-Webb. 4. Presbyterian. 5. Charleston Southern. 6. Winthrop. 7. UNC Asheville. 8. Radford.  9. Longwood.

All-conference: OF - Koby Kropf, Winthrop. IF - Chandler Tuopo, Charleston Southern; Trey Fenderson, Presbyterian. C - Jackson Hugus, Presbyterian. DH - Jake Randolph, Presbyterian. SP - Owen Sarna, Winthrop; Nick Timpanelli, Charleston Southern. RP - Cooper Ellingsworth, USC Upstate; Sean Hollister, Presbyterian; Braden Consaul, USC Upstate.

Player of the year: Koby Kropf, Winthrop.

Big South

News digest, Jan. 21

Bruins release schedule

Bob Jones posted its 2025 schedule on its Website today. The schedule includes 13 games at Conestee Park, a visit to Spartanburg Methodist (in its first season of four-year play) and a three-game series with Alice Lloyd at the Red Owens Complex in Easley.

Kyle Morrison is in his first year as head coach after serving as an assistant coach under Brent Casteel for the first four seasons of the program.

Schedule release
Schedule

Preseason rankings/honors

* D1Baseball.com preseason all-American
First team: OF - Cam Cannarella, Clemson; SP - Aidan Knaak, Clemson.

Second team: C - Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina; OF - Ethan Petry, South Carolina.
D1AA

* South Atlantic Conference coaches poll: 1. Catawba. 4. Coker. 6. Newberry. 9. Anderson. 10. Limestone.

*Preseason all-SAC
First team:  1B - Gray Wells, Anderson.
Second team: OF - Luke Compton, Newberry; Kade Faircloth, Newberry. C - Jaylen Mack, Coker; SP - Aaron Diaz, Coker; RP - Tyler Satterley, Coker.
SAC

* BlackCollegeNines.com SIAC prediction: 1. Edward Waters. 9. Benedict.
SIAC

* BlackCollegeNines.com preseason rankings.
Large school: 1. Grambling
Small school: 1. Talladega

HBCU

* NJCAA preseason rankings

Division I: 1. Blinn. 8. Florence-Darlington Tech. 14. Gaston College.
DI
Division II: 1 Brunswick CC (coached by former Clemson player Robert Allen).

DII

News digest, Jan. 20

NCAA tables vote on expanding fall exhibitions

The NCAA Division I Council last week tabled a vote on expanding the allowable number of exhibition games in the fall. If the vote had been allowed and approved, teams would have been allowed to play up to four exhibitions games during fall practice. The current limit is two.

Michigan State coach's wife passes

Michigan State makes yearly visits to the Upstate to play early season games at Fluor Field in Greenville and there are eight MSU games scheduled there this season. Spartans coach Jake Boss posted on X Sunday that his wife of 56 years, Joanne, died on Friday. I'm guessing some of my readers have had interactions with the Spartans traveling party. 

Boss

Rankings

DIIBaseball.com preseason: 1.Tampa. 3.Catawba. 11. UNC Pembroke. 13. North Greenville. 14. Georgia College. 15. Young Harris.
Rankings

BlackCollegeNines.com HBCU preseason
Large schools: 1. Grambling.

Small schools: 1. Talladega.

HBCU

State schedule, Jan. 20-26

USC Salkehatchie gets a head start on the state's other 32 college baseball programs when it begins its season next weekend. The Indians play a three-game home series with Tennessee power Walters State Friday (2 p.m.)  and Saturday (DH, noon) in Allendale.

Walters State had a 44-14 record and finished 20th in the final NJCAA Division I rankings last season. Salkehatchie has won four games each of the last three seasons.

Most of the state's remaining teams not in NCAA Division I begin play Jan. 31.

Friday, Jan. 24

Walters State at USC Salkehatchie, 2 p.m.

Saturday,  Jan. 25

Walters State at USC Salkehatchie, DH, noon

News digest, Jan. 18

Redshirt rules for first-year Division II players to change 

At a meeting this week, NCAA Division II approved a rule change regarding redshirts for first-year players. Under the new  guidelines, which take effect Aug. 1, a player in his first year of eligibility can play up to 30 percent of his team's games and not lose a year's eligibility.  Currently, any playing time in the first season would cost a year. Questions and explanations regarding the change are on pages 10-13 of the document at the link below. 

Legislation

Tigers seventh in College Baseball Central rankings

1. Texas A&M. 7. Clemson.

CBC

Baseball America tabs Cannarella for ACC honor

Clemson outfielder Cam Cannarella is Baseball America's choice to be the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in 2025. The junior from Hartsville has a .363 career batting  average. He is also No. 4 on the Website's Top 100 college players eligible for the 2025 MLB draft.

ACC POY

Perfect Game preseason honors

* Second team all-American: Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina; Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson; Ethan Petry, DH, South Carolina; Aidan Knaak, SP, Clemson
* All-ACC: Aidan Knaak, SP, Clemson; Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson
* All-SEC: Ethan Petry, OF, South Carolina

Spartans get radio coverage again

According to the schedule on USC Upstate's Website, 39 Spartans baseball games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio Spartanburg  (AM-1400/FM-98.3). The games also will stream on the station's Website.