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South Carolina losing/replacing its Pitching Coach

Justin Parker is expected to accept the same position at Mississippi State. That is troublesome because Chris Lemonis is currently on the hot seat in Starkville after missing the last two postseasons. (Despite a National Championship in 2020). The Bulldogs just bought a baseball coach from Carolina. Which on paper doesn't look good, but I personally think they over paid.

Mark Kingston, expecting this, has reportedly already found Parker's replacement in Liberty Pitching Coach Matt Williams. Williams was actually a candidate when Parker was hired last go around.

Williams began his tenure at Liberty prior to begin the 2020 season. In his first full season leading the staff in 2021, the Flames finished in the top 15 nationally in runs per game (5th), WHIP (9th), ERA (12th) and hits allowed per nine innings (13th). In the 2022 season, Liberty set a school record in total strikeouts, were 15th nationally in strikeouts per game, and 19th in the country in strikeout to walk ratio. The Liberty staff had an ERA that was 32nd nationally. Liberty had a bad season in 2023 and Williams' staff finished 125th nationally in ERA.

Williams is native of Lancaster and played at Spartanburg Methodist. He was also previously a minor league coach for the Padres and the pitching coach at UNC Wilmington.

I think this is essentially a wash. I was never terribly impressed with Parker's development of the staff, especially the younger pitchers like Cade Austin and Matthew Becker. Williams doesn't have the most sterling resume, but he did some good work at Liberty and UNCW.

Nugget from head coach of high-priority Dante Reno 2025 teammate WR David Rodriguez

2025 ATH David Rodriguez, a former high school teammate of 2024 PRO Dante Reno at Loomis-Chaffee School in 2022 trimmed his list of over 20 offers to a Top 5 on April 25, which included South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, and Penn State for the high-value prospect from Providence, Rhode Island.

Here were some thoughts on the athlete from his head coach:

"David is a dynamic playmaker. Very smooth and twitchy. Hard to get your hands on him in a phone booth type of guy. On the field he brings leadership in practice as well as games. His demeanor and ability help to raise the confidence of those in the huddle with him and his personality is great to be around. Off the field he’s highly motivated. Always working on his craft and his development as an athlete as well as a young man," Mount Pleasant High School (Providence, Rhode Island) head coach Jay Addison recently told me.
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