South Carolina baseball team is currently off to a 9-3 start, and despite getting swept by its in-state rivals, several players for the Gamecocks have stood out in the young season.
Junior outfielder Nathan Hall has spent his first season as a Gamecock helping the team go 11-3. The recent Clemson transfer has been making waves during his first few outings.
In head coach Paul Mainieri’s first season, Hall made himself more than comfortable and looks to be a difference maker for the Gamecocks in his first season in Columbia.
Career as a Tiger
The junior outfielder grew up in Lexington, South Carolina, a short drive from Columbia, but took his first collegiate swings in Clemson orange. After two seasons of limited playing time with the Tigers, Hall entered the transfer portal, stayed in his home state as a Gamecock.
At Clemson, Hall appeared in 39 games his freshman year and 12 his sophomore year. Across the two seasons, he started 20 times, logged three doubles and a career-high home run in a win over Georgia State in 2023.
In his freshman season, Hall appeared in 39 games, averaged a .243 in 74 at-bats, had 12 RBI's and hit his first home run against Georgia State. However, as a sophomore, his playing time dropped. He was used more as a pinch hitter than a regular starter, getting only four starts his sophomore season while going just 3-22 from the plate to end the season with a .227 batting average.
Despite being South Carolina’s Class 5A Player of the Year in 2021, Hall would be unable to claim a consistent starting role with the Tigers and decided to transfer to the University of South Carolina.
Hall isn't the only former Tiger on the team as sophomore infielder Nolan Nawrocki also joined Mainieri’s roster for the 2024-2025 season.
Offensively, Hall wasn’t as productive at the plate as Nawrocki at Clemson. In 2023-2024, batting a .227 and slugging a .273. His real moments to shine were in the field.
Early success as a Gamecock
Hall has delivered early in the season, batting a .391 with 13 games played, and has already had several impressive performances including a three-run homer against Sacred Heart. He has also posted a slugging percentage over 1.000 in four games, twice against Sacred Heart, once against Queens and once against Gardner Webb.
Before heading into the Clemson series, Hall was able to hit .500 in a four-plate appearance game versus Gardner-Webb, where he was able to hit his second home run of the season in the sixth inning.
Thanks to his strong start at the plate and reliable defense, Hall has had 19 putouts in 13 games played. His contributions have helped secure key wins for the Gamecocks, now sitting at 9-3.
Hall spoke in a postgame press conference after their win over the Queens University Royals 7-2. His plan on continuing the season is to not focus on stats and do everything he can to help his team win.
"I mean, I'm just trying to keep the same thing the same thing go about my routine the right way, and you know, do everything I can to help my team win. Don't focus on the stats," Hall said.
Experiencing the rivalry from both sides
In his first season at Clemson, Hall faced South Carolina twice, batting a .250 in one game. The following season, he did not appear against the Gamecocks.
Before this year’s rivalry series, Hall told ABC Columbia he expected an “intense environment” but embraced the challenge, adding “bring it on.”
However, in his first rivalry series as a Gamecock, South Carolina was swept 3-0, with the Tigers largest win coming in the third game of the series on Sunday at Founders Park, winning 8-2.
Hall went up to bat four times each in all three games, averaging a .333 across the series and fielding in game one and three. During his three games in the outfield, he had two putouts in games one and two and one in game three, all with zero errors, giving three field percentages of 1.000.
Postgame, Mainieri reflected on the series.
"[I'm] trying to remember any other positives about the offense… Nathan Hall did some good things, again," Mainieri said. “You've got to get more than a third-year lineup performing."
What's next?
Hall and the Gamecocks will be back at Founders Park at Ray Tanner Field for its weekend series against Morehead State on March 7. Game one will start at 7:00 p.m. and be broadcast on SEC Network+.