From the beginning of the Columbia Blowfish in the summer of 2006, the South Carolina Gamecocks have had at least two members of their team suit up in the navy and white for all fifteen seasons. As the 2021 season gets set to begin on May 26th, that number will rise to 48!

Since that inaugural season for the Blowfish in 2006, both teams have won championships and brought wonderful memories to fans at Sarge Frye Field, Founders Park, Capital City Stadium and Lexington County Baseball Stadium.

In 2020, the Blowfish welcomed a record six Gamecocks to the roster. The leadership displayed by Wes Clarke, Brady Allen, and Brett Kerry along with the talent of Andrew Peters, Brennan Milone, and Will Sanders propelled the Blowfish to a winning season, a record for team home runs in a season and nearly a playoff appearance.

The litany of names associated with both programs, such as Adam and Andrew Crisp, Scott Wingo, Blake Cooper, Graham Saiko, DC Arendas, and DeAngelo Mack stirs the memories of Gamecocks and Blowfish alike.

For a number of years the Blowfish played a pre-season exhibition game vs the Gamecock Baseball Alumni, affectionately known as the “GameFish Cup” managed by Gamecock great Trey Dyson.

With the move of the Blowfish to Lexington County in 2015, the added distance between ball parks did not squelch the deep connection which was, at that point nearly a decade old. Since arriving in Lexington, the Blowfish have welcomed 21 Gamecocks to their roster.

It doesn’t end with players. The Blowfish have had 4 coaches tied to the Gamecock baseball program. Lee Gronkiewicz earned All-America honors in 2001 for the Gamecocks and later pitched in the major leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays. Gronkiewicz led the Columbia Blowfish from 2009-2011.

Brian Buscher followed Gronkiewicz in 2012 and led the Blowfish to their first and only Pettit Cup CPL Championship. Buscher appeared in the 2002 and 2003 College World Series as a player for the Gamecocks, played in the majors for the Minnesota Twins and returned to USC serving as an assistant for over five seasons, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship in 2011 as an undergraduate assistant.

Jon Coutlangus served as the Blowfish pitching coach during the 2012 season under Brian Buscher. Coutlangus played for the Gamecocks in the early 2000s, appearing in both the 2002 and 2003 College World Series. Coutlangus is currently the pitching coach at North Greenville University.

Finally, Parker Bangs was the pitching coach for the Blowfish in its inaugural season in Lexington County in 2015. Bangs played collegiately at South Carolina, taking home a National Championship in 2010 before continuing his career with three seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization. In his three years with the Gamecocks, Bangs compiled a 7-5 record, tallying nearly 100 strikeouts over 74.2 innings, and also spent time at the plate, posting a .301 career clip with 21 doubles, 10 home runs, and 60 RBI.

The Gamecock-Blowfish connection runs deep as we enter 2021. Three more Gamecocks are set to join the tradition; Cade Austin, Sam Swygert, and David Cromer.

See below for a full list of South Carolina Gamecocks who were also Lexington County or Columbia Blowfish.

* MLB Debut Made