As the South Carolina baseball team enters its third week of conference play in the Southeastern Conference, there have been some notable names who have helped contribute to the team’s 17-8 (1-5 SEC) record. The coaches prioritized the transfer portal in the offseason but also focused on the young freshmen players they had coming in as well.
Freshman infielder KJ Scobey has quickly become one of the team's leaders both offensively and defensively, which was no surprise to head coach Paul Mainieri.
Mainieri spoke about Scobey early in the year, naming him as the opening day starter at third base weeks before the first game of the season. Mainieri said the third base position is “the most underrated position on the field” and that having a solid third baseman is a position he does not take for granted.
“Scobey is a really good defensive player, and I think he is going to develop as a hitter, and I think he’s eventually going to be a superstar in the SEC,” Mainieri said.
Scobey came to South Carolina with much talent and accolades to prove his success. During his time in high school at McKeel Academy of Technology in Lakeland, FL, he hit .395 with 34 RBI and a .519 on-base percentage as a senior. Scobey was the No. 46 overall prospect in the class of 2024 by Perfect Game, a baseball scouting service used to promote high school and colligate players. He was also an All-State selection in 2023 and 2024.
Scobey made his collegiate debut on opening day and has been one of the team’s most consistent starters since then, making 24 starts so far. During his first series as a Gamecock, Scobey had two hits and drove in four runs for the Gamecocks in the series sweep against Scared Heart.
Scobey had his first collegiate home run in a midweek game against Gardner-Webb, where he contributed to the Gamecocks dominant 14-4 win.
“I just go out there and play, compete as best I can and whatever I could do to help this team win,” Scobey said.
On the defensive side of the ball, Scobey is fielding .940 and has only made three errors so far at third base this season. In addition to his stellar defensive plays, Scobey has continued to develop as a solid hitter at the plate. After starting the season batting .339 through eighteen starts in the seventh and eighth hole, his success has now led to his continued promotions in the batting order.
The Gamecocks opened SEC play at home against No.12 Oklahoma, and Scobey showed no signs of intimidation against the ranked opponent. Junior pitcher Kyson Witherspoon started on the mound for the Sooners for game one, and coming into the series, he was one of the top pitchers in the country and is expected to be a high draft pick in the upcoming MLB Draft according to Perfect Game. Prior to the series against the Gamecocks, Witherspoon had 40 strikeouts through 23 innings pitched. Overall, as a team the Sooners pitching staff had 170 strikeouts through 137 innings pitched before the contest.
In the series against the Gamecocks, the Sooners struck out 23 hitters overall and limited the offense to only 10 runs on 23 hits in the two losses handed to the Gamecocks.
Throughout the three-game series, Scobey had four hits including his third home run of the season and two RBI. Despite the Gamecocks dropping the opening series 2-1, Scobey said he is learning and growing every day.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable and comfortable every day, whether in practice or in games, it’s just getting better,” Scobey said.
Overall, the Gamecock offense has not been very consistent within the first month or so of play, but after losing the SEC opener against the Sooners, the Gamecock offense had its most efficient game of the season. Scobey got the offense started that day with a solo home run, helping lead the Gamecocks to a 14-hit game, scoring 11 runs in the win against the highly ranked Sooners.
In a recent episode of “A Whole Lotta Glove” with Grayson Greiner, an 1801 Media podcast, junior outfielder Nathan Hall spoke about the team's confidence in one another as they continue to compete against some of the top teams in the country. Hall led the team with a .419 batting average over the series. Junior outfielder Ethan Petry hit .379 and senior infielder Jordan Carrion hit .350 to round out the upperclassmen. Scobey started in all three games and finished his second conference series with a .315 batting average.
“Regardless of how this past weekend worked out, we know we’re a very talented team, and it’s just going to be a matter of time until we put it all together," Hall said. "We’re very confident in our abilities."
In the Gamecocks first away series of the season, Scobey started in all three games against No. 3 Arkansas over this past weekend. He stayed in the cleanup spot the first two games and moved up to third in the batting order for the series finale. Despite the Gamecocks getting swept in the series, Scobey hit .333 with four hits, including a double.
Even with the Gamecocks 1-5 start in conference play, the talents of the true freshman have continued to shine. Being a true freshman competing in the nation’s top conference is no easy task, with ten SEC players recently listed in the Perfect Game top 30 draft prospect list. Despite the competition, Scobey has made it clear that he intends to work hard and improve to help his team. Even with a long season still ahead, Scobey and the team know that the key to success is focusing on one play at a time.
“Our mindset’s kind of just win every inning, do the best we can against them, and just go out there and compete,” Scobey said.