Kevin Schnall lands first wave of Coastal transfers for Gamecocks baseball
New South Carolina baseball coach Kevin Schnall landed several transfer portal commitments from his former program this week.
Coastal Carolina infielder Walker Mitchell and catcher Brice Estep along with pitchers Hayden Johnson, Colby Richardson and Daniel Parker are following Schnall to the Gamecocks. All five players posted the news on their Instagram pages Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, CCU 1B/P Jackson Winer and P Luke Jones announced they were committing to the Gamecocks.
Schnall’s first USC contract was approved by the USC Board of Trustees on Wednesday afternoon. He replaces Paul Mainieri, who the school parted ways with in March.
Mitchell is a former River Bluff High School standout and will have one year of eligibility left. He started every game for Coastal this season and hit .3313 batting with 68 hits, 45 runs scored, team-high 17 doubles, one home run and 54 RBIs.
Mitchell is the son of late South Carolina quarterback Allen Mitchell, USC’s starting QB for the majority of its 1984 “Black Magic” season when the team finished 10-2. Allen Mitchell also played baseball for the Gamecocks.
“God works in mysterious ways. I’m coming HOME!” Mitchell wrote. “Go Cocks.”
Johnson was the first to announce his commitment Thursday night and will have two years of eligibility left.
“Excited for this new chapter! Go Cocks,” Johnson wrote.
The players entered the portal with a “do-not-contact” tag Tuesday, which generally indicates a player has a specific destination in mind. There will likely be several more Coastal players headed to play for their former coach.
The 6-foot-5 Johnson missed the entire 2026 season with an elbow injury. As a sophomore, he had an impressive 2.28 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 24 appearances for Coastal’s 2025 CWS runner-up team.
Richardson will have three years of eligibility left and also is an in-state product, graduating from Pee Dee Academy in Mullins. This season, he had 4-1 record and a 5.10 ERA in 27 bullpen appearances.
Like Johnson and Richardson, Parker played his high school baseball in South Carolina at Hartsville High and at P27 Academy in Lexington. He will have three years of eligibility left.
Parker appeared in 19 games (two starts) and had a 3-0 record and a 4.76 ERA. He struck out 32 batters in 34 innings.
Winer, who played at Bishop England High School, will have three years of eligibility left. This season, he made 18 starts and played in 27 games for the Chanticleers and hit .241 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
Estep will have one season of eligibility left. The Kentucky native appeared in 43 games this season and started 33 at catcher, batting .232 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. He threw out 15 baserunners stealing, fourth most in the Sun Belt Conference.
Jones, who played at JL Mann High School in Greenville, will have two years of eligibility left and was the Chants’ Friday night starter this season. He started 15 games on the mound this year for Coastal and logged a team-high 79 innings pitched. The right-hander went 4-2 with a 4.44 ERA and had 67 strikeouts.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Kevin Schnall lands first wave of Coastal transfers for Gamecocks baseball."
