South Carolina will host the Salute the Troops baseball tournament from February 20 to 22 at Founders Park. The Gamecocks are scheduled to play against Army on Friday, Navy on Saturday, and Air Force on Sunday. The games will begin at 2 p.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m., respectively.
All matchups will be available for streaming via SEC Network Plus with Dave Weinstein and Grayson Greiner providing commentary. Radio broadcasts will also be available through the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield, featuring Derek Scott, Cade Crenshaw, and Stuart Lake across the three days.
Special parking instructions have been issued for attendees. Business lot passes will be honored in Lot 1 only for afternoon games on February 13, 18, and 20 based on availability. Parking in other business lots is allowed after 5 or 5:30 p.m., depending on location. All public game day lots are cashless, requiring debit or credit card payment upon entry.
The probable pitching rotation lists Riley Goodman as the starter for South Carolina on Friday, Amp Phillips on Saturday, and Brandon Stone on Sunday. Opposing pitchers include Trey Atas (Army), Matt Archibald (Navy), and Ethan Dillinger (Air Force).
Throughout the weekend, Founders Park will feature military-focused events honoring service members from various branches.
The full schedule includes additional games between Air Force and Navy (Friday), Air Force vs. Army West Point (Saturday), and Marshall vs. Navy (Sunday).
Army enters the tournament following three losses to Clemson but has seen strong performances from Carter Hewitt at bat and Andrew Berg as a pitcher. Head coach Chris Tracz is in his fourth season with Army.
Navy started its season with a 3-1 record, winning two of three against Queens and defeating Delaware State. Victor Izquierdo leads their offense early this year while Owen Phypers has performed well as a pitcher. Chuck Ristano serves as head coach in his third season.
Air Force has split its first four games of the year with wins over Penn State and Connecticut but losses to Iowa and Kansas State during an invitational in Arizona. Ben Niednagel leads offensively while Gaines Estridge contributed significantly as a pitcher in their win over Penn State. Mike Kazlausky continues his long tenure as head coach at Air Force.
South Carolina faces Army and Air Force for the first time in school history during this event; they last played Navy in 1920.
Upcoming non-conference games for South Carolina include a matchup against Wofford at Fifth Third Park—home of the Hub City Spartanburgers—and additional contests at minor league stadiums throughout the season.
Freshman Will Craddock made an impressive debut recently by reaching base five times against Gardner-Webb—an achievement last matched by Blake Jackson in 2024.
Junior outfielder Tyler Bak delivered key hits during a recent win over Northern Kentucky and hit his first home run as a Gamecock against Gardner-Webb.
Pitcher Josh Gunther earned Opening Day honors by striking out seven batters across nearly five innings of relief work; he was named to the NCBWA’s Stopper of the Year Watch List earlier this week.
Catcher Talmadge LeCroy returns for his fifth season after missing part of last year due to injury; he is approaching career milestones including total games played and walks drawn at South Carolina.
Sophomore KJ Scobey transitions from third base to shortstop this year after gaining experience with Team USA during summer training camp; he already recorded walk-off hits twice this season.
Following Salute the Troops weekend, South Carolina hosts Queens at Founders Park on February 25 with coverage again provided via SEC Network Plus.
