Coach vows to get Gamecocks back in NCAA baseball tourney

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina baseball coach Chad Holbrook promised an offseason like no other so the Gamecocks would not endure another season like this one.

South Carolina, which three years ago played for a third-straight national championship, missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years. A team that started 17-3 after sweeping Kentucky to start Southeastern Conference play went 15-22 to finish at 32-25 and in the very unfamiliar spot — outside the national tournament.

Holbrook says he’s spent the past week or so searching for reasons why things went so wrong. He took responsibility for the team failures and says he, his coaches and players would carry a sense of urgency to improve into the summer and fall to prepare for next spring.