South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri and his Clemson counterpart Erik Bakich each said after their respective seasons concluded they would be shopping the Transfer Portal for power arms. And there’s nothing wrong with going to the Goodwill Store of athletes to find slightly used but high quality products.
The last time Upstate RHP Amp Phillips toed the rubber was at Doug Kingsmore Stadium last Friday in the Clemson Regional opener against the Tigers. He impressed all that night by holding Clemson to six hits and three runs over six innings while striking out nine.
The next time Phillips toes the rubber in a college game will be at Founders Park in Columbia, possibly as South Carolina’s Friday night starter. Wednesday Phillips announced he will transfer to the Gamecocks for the 2026 season.
Phillips is a product of Andrew Jackson High School who played two seasons at Spartanburg Methodist before transferring to Upstate. This season he was 7-2 with two saves and a 3.64 ERA. He struck out 81 and walked 29 in 84 innings.
South Carolina is also retaining the services of RHP Parker Marlatt. John Whittle of TheBigSpur reported Wednesday that Marlatt will be back for a third season with the Gamecocks. Marlatt has a 4-0 record with two saves and a 4.27 ERA. He has struck out 57 and walked 24 in 52.2 innings.
Bakich on Wednesday landed a transfer who likely will step into the closer’s role with the Tigers based on his history. Catawba transfer RHP Hayden Simmerson (6-3 185) announced his commitment to Clemson. He was the 2024 Freshman of the Year in the SAC and a D2 All-American this season. In his career at Catawba, he was 6-6 with 25 saves and a 3.69 ERA. He had 156 strikeouts in 136.1 innings. This season, he allowed only two home runs and walked just 19 in 64.1 innings pitched.
Clemson OF Tristan Bisetta is transferring. The JL Mann product spent three seasons with the Tigers. He was a career .266 hitter in 87 games with 10 homers and 51 RBIs.