Baseball Announces Newcomers for 2026 Season – University of South Carolina Athletics

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…