How Gamecocks are performing in summer baseball league action: July 19 update

In the month since the college baseball season ended, the focus has been on the summer, where many players have played in summer collegiate baseball leagues. For South Carolina, a handful of new players who have joined the team this offseason are continuing to play over the summer. However, the roster is not yet fully finalized, so more could be added to the list in future updates, depending on who else comes aboard. In this latest look at how things are going, we’re not going to include the players who were selected in the MLB Draft and aren’t expected to make it to campus this fall. Here’s how the rest of the players have performed so far this summer with their respective teams. Ryan Brennecke — Lakeshore Chinooks, Northwoods League Brennecke, a Wake Forest transfer who was once committed to the Gamecocks in high school, has pitched plenty better after getting off to a rocky start this summer. The left-hander twirled five innings of one-run ball on July 18 and struck out a season-high nine batters and walked two. In his last two starts, he’s allowed one run on five hits and struck out 14 batters over 10 innings. Brennecke owns a 5.63 ERA on the year, but he’s struck out 31 batters and walked 17 through 24 innings. Andrew Costello — Bourne Braves, Cape Cod League Costello, a Wake Forest transfer, has arguably been the top hitter in the Cape this summer, hitting .352 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 91 at-bats. He’s caught 11 games behind the plate and thrown out eight baserunners in 20 attempts, good for a 40 percent throw-out rate. He’s also played seven games in left field. Costello made the Cape League All-Star Game, where he represented the West team. However, the game, which was set for Saturday, was cancelled due to inclement weather. Luke Costello — Bourne Braves, Cape Cod League Costello, a Wake Forest transfer, is hitting .263 with no homers and 18 RBI in 76 at-bats. 10 of his 20 hits have been doubles. He’s seen time at both corner infield spots and 11 games out in right field. Costello joined his brother in the Cape League All-Star Game, where he also represented the West team. Questions about this story? Jack Veltri is discussing it with subscribers on The Insiders Forum. Brandon Cromer — Lexington County Blowfish, Coastal Plain League Cromer hasn’t hit much this summer, with one homer and four RBI over 20 at-bats. He’s pitched a lot more, giving up eight earned runs on 13 hits with 14 strikeouts and eight walks over 9.2 innings. Brice Estep — Bourne Braves, Cape Cod League Estep, a Coastal Carolina transfer, has struggled at the plate for almost the entire summer, hitting just .121 with one homer and three RBI in 33 at-bats. He’s struck out 18 times and walked six. Defensively, he’s been much better at catcher, throwing out 12 runners in 23 stolen base attempts, good for a 52 percent throw-out rate. Andrew Koshy — Wareham Gatemen, Cape Cod League Koshy, a Maryland transfer, is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in seven appearances. The right-hander has struck out 10 and walked four in 9.1 innings of relief. Miles Keogh — Anchorage Bucs, Alaska Baseball League Keogh, who flipped from Coastal Carolina to South Carolina as part of the Gamecocks’ 2026 high school recruiting class, is hitting .481 with 13 hits in 27 at-bats so far this summer. He’s driven in six runs and stolen six bases. He’s primarily played at second base for the Bucs. Garrett Michel — Bourne Braves, Cape Cod League Michel, who spent time at Virginia Tech and Arizona State before transferring to South Carolina, is hitting .196 with no homers and six RBI in 51 at-bats. He’s made 14 starts at first base with one error while fielding at a .990 clip. Connor Shouse — Chatham Anglers, Cape Cod League Shouse, the Gamecocks’ latest portal addition after he committed on July 4, is hitting .372 with no homers and nine RBI in 43 at-bats in the Cape. He’s gotten on base at a .440 clip with an overall .928 OPS. He’s also made one appearance on the mound, giving up one run on three hits in an inning of work. JD Stein — Orleans Firebirds, Cape Cod League/USA Collegiate National Team Stein, a Wake Forest transfer, played in eight games for the Firebirds and hit .240 with six hits and two RBI in 25 at-bats. He played five games at shortstop and one at second base, committing two errors. Stein made the USA Collegiate National Team, where he was a part of the roster that traveled to Taichung City, Taiwan but lost to Japan in extra innings in the gold medal game. He hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run for a 10-0 win over Korea to help USA advance to the gold medal game. Stein went 0-for-1 in the gold medal game on July 15. He played in eight games during training camp, hitting .357 with two RBI and a 1.038 OPS. He was 6-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Jordan Stephens — Wareham Gatemen, Cape Cod League Stephens, a Georgia transfer, has had a strong summer pitching in the Cape. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 1.29 ERA in five appearances with four starts. He’s struck out 24 batters and walked seven in 14 innings. Ethan Sutton — Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, Cape Cod League Sutton, a South Florida transfer, is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four appearances with the Red Sox in the Cape. He’s struck out 12 and walked five over nine innings of work this summer. What do you think? Join the discussion on The Insiders Forum.