The 2026 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers couldn’t replicate that 2025 magic, falling in the Tallahassee Regional. That elimination proved to be the end of an era, as now-former head coach Kevin Schnall left CCU to take the same position at South Carolina. For 2027, Coastal Carolina, now led by former Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis, will have a very different feel.
A Look at the Returnees
Thanks to the expected losses of seniors, Cameron Flukey to the pros, and the transfer portal, this is nearly a completely different team. Just six players who were on the 2026 team are back for 2027.
The big returning name is Rex Watson, now a junior for the Chanticleers. Watson hit a team-high 12 home runs, batting .290. Watson did strike out a good number of times last season, with 52 strikeouts over 58 games. And in the Cape Cod League, his 36% Whiff% was one of the highest in the circuit.
Aside from him, Lukas Buckner, Cruz Harlan, and Domenico Tozzi are back. Harlan and Tozzi both saw limited time with Coastal Carolina last year. Buckner didn’t play at all in 2026 but has familiarity with Lemonis. The now-junior infielder played at Mississippi State during the 2025 season.
Case Bosch and Jackson Smallets are the returning pitchers.
Bosch pitched in 20 games last year for the Chanticleers, striking out 35 over 37 innings. He didn’t throw hard, only hitting into the high-80s. But there’s a big drop between that fastball and the high-70s changeup. Smallets, meanwhile, made 10 starts and struck out 26 over 35 innings.
A Look at the Newcomers
Again, a very new group for Coastal Carolina. Eight freshmen are on the roster, including Pennsylvania high schooler Ryder Olson, who boasted a mid-90s fastball in high school, Carson Ray, and States Farr.
Much of this new group is transfers.
Sophomore catcher Presley Courville batted .250 in 16 games with Texas, a small sample size but not a shock given that he was blocked in Austin. Fellow sophomore Tyler Cripe saw more time with Navy, batting .292 with five home runs as a regular for the Midshipmen.
Peter Mershon saw only 10 at-bats with Mississippi State as a freshman. He did bat .300 and drove in six.
Drew Freeman, a catcher, had three hits in eight games with Louisville.
Troy Carpenter adds some pop. Carpenter hit a team-high 16 home runs for Maine in 2026. There were a lot of strikeouts, though, as he was punched out 65 times over 56 games.
Coastal Carolina also poached three players from Houston, which did have their own coaching change. Infielder Jackson Lalima hit nine home runs for the Cougars last year. Max McCrary struck out 11 and posted a 2.79 ERA in limited action. Chris Perez didn’t pitch in 2026 but struck out 16 over 16 as a freshman two seasons ago.
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