ANALYSIS: What Will Matt Williams Bring To South Carolina?

New Gamecock pitching coach, Matt Williams is bringing in-state connections and a proven track record of development to South Carolina's Baseball program.

On Tuesday afternoon, South Carolina's baseball program announced that they had officially hired a new pitching coach in Matt Williams, to replace Justin Parker, who left the Gamecocks to take the same position at Mississippi State. Williams comes from Liberty University, where he helped guide the Flames to three straight NCAA Regional appearances, the first time such a feat had occurred in school history.

Along with his abundance of postseason experience, Williams offers plenty of promise regarding his local ties and what he's done at his previous stops.

*The following information was procured from Williams' profile on Liberty's website*

A Palmetto State Man

Matt Williams went to high school in the state of South Carolina, spending most of his teenage years at Lancaster High School before moving on to Spartanburg Methodist Junior College, where in his sophomore season, the Pioneers went onto the NJCAA College World Series.

Williams also got his coaching start in Spartanburg, where he helped his old college coach at Spartanburg Methodist College, Tim Wallace, coach the Spartanburg American Legion Post 28 team. Between 2006 and 2013, Matt served as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coordinator for Spartanburg Methodist, helping them make it to the NJCAA College World Series on four different occasions.

UNC-Wilmington (2014-18)

In William's first season with the Seahawks. he helped Ryan Foster lower his ERA from 9.64 to 3.47 in 48 and one-third more innings of action compared to the year before Matt's arrival. In 2015, Williams helped UNC-Wilmington break the school record for strikeouts in a season with 493 K's. Under his tutelage, senior Jordan Ramsey was recognized as a first-team All-American by the ABCA.

In 2018, the Seahawks would once again break the school record for strikeouts in a season with 541, which, combined with a staff ERA of 3.50, led to three pitchers being drafted in the first ten rounds of the MLB Draft and Matt securing some roles with the San Diego Padres for 2019.

Liberty (2020-23)

In the 2021 season, Matt Williams turned Liberty's pitching staff into one of the best in the entire country from a statistical standpoint, as the Flames ranked in the top fifteen in several categories; runs allowed per game, ERA, WHIP, and hits allowed per nine innings. Three of Williams' pupils were named All-Americans in his four seasons in Lynchburg. Trevor DeLaite was a National Pitcher of the Year finalist in 2021, and Trey Gibson and Garrett Horn were named freshmen All-Americans in 2021 and 2022.

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