As South Carolina begins its 2026 season, many new faces have entered the program. Experienced South Carolina players have also returned to the team, including sophomore first baseman Beau Hollins.
In his debut season, Beau Hollins started 42 games with a .308 batting average and 28 runs scored, six home runs and 24 RBIs.
Despite his promising numbers, the team finished 28-29 and 6-24 in conference play. Beau Hollins said last year's turnout has fueled him for this season.
“Obviously, we didn't have the year we wanted to, and when we built a team around hard work and discipline this year, it's exciting,” Beau Hollins said. “With the guys we have on the team this year, it gives me fuel to want to go out there and play, and not like I didn't have it last year, but these guys want it, and it's nice to be around that.”
Beau Hollins spoke about the flip and improvement from his freshman to sophomore season.
“As a freshman last year, I was just getting my feet wet and learning how things were in college baseball,” Beau Hollins said in a University of South Carolina Athletics article. “I worked hard all summer to get stronger, faster, bigger and better. I came in expecting to win that first base job and play because I have high expectations for myself.”
Not just in the summer, but Beau Hollins spent his winter break at the South Carolina facility working with three-time Gold Glove winner and Gamecock baseball alum Christian Walker.
Walker was a part of the South Carolina back-to-back National Championship teams in 2010 and 2011 before he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB draft to the Baltimore Orioles. He is now at the Houston Astros playing first baseman. Beau Hollins said they spent time working on everything, including defensive work, hitting, fielding and overall getting stronger and more power.
Head coach Paul Mainieri said he wants to see more out of Beau Hollins, urging pressure on him.
“I think Beau, in order to take it to the next level, has to be more than a five or six home run a year guy. If he can get, and I hate to put a number on him, but into the double digits, then he's going to be more of a run producer for us,” Mainieri said. “He's got to just be more consistent and do it on a more regular basis. He hit .300 last year, so he's got the talent to put the bat on the ball.”
Beau Hollins said he enjoys having that kind of pressure on him, without focusing on personal numbers. He said he wants to go out on the field and do what he can do to get a win for him and his team.
His mentality and efforts are part of his family dynamic and their athleticism. His three sisters played tennis at the collegiate level, his brother played professional baseball for the Miami Marlins, and his father and uncle have family ties to the South Carolina program.
While his uncle played for South Carolina from 1978-81, his father Dave Hollins made his stamp in the major leagues after playing for the Gamecocks as well. Dave Hollins played in the MLB for 12 years, logging time with the Philadelphia Phillies as a third baseman and earned an All-Star honor in 1993.
The Lexington, South Carolina, native said his father was a big role model in his life growing up, on and off the field. With his father and brother having major baseball experience, Beau Hollins said he was able to see the game a different way than both of them.
“I learned to take what some people call pressure and turn it into fun,” said Beau Hollins in a University of South Carolina Athletics article. "Everybody knows how hard the game is. My dad told me he was always hard on himself, and he told me to be the opposite and to have fun and enjoy the game. It’s a blast.”
What’s next?
South Carolina will take on Queens at Founders Park on Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.