South Carolina at Morgantown with a stop in Cape Cod: Jace Rinehart set to finish his college career at WVU

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia. — After three successful seasons at USC-Upstate, Jace Rinehart wasn’t looking to leave the South Carolina school for his final season of college eligibility. However, plans changed for the 2021 North Marion High School graduate when Upstate head coach Mike McGuire left for Winthrop.

“I wasn’t planning on transferring this year. But when my head coach left, I decided to do it and I had the opportunity to go back to West Virginia,” Rinehart said. “And I decided it was the right place for me.”

Rinehart announced his decision Friday to transfer to West Virginia for his senior season and play for first-year head coach Steve Sabins.

“I think the best part was rekindling a relationship that had been established in the past. (Sabins) knew who I was and we had already talked after high school. I think just coming back and getting to know him again was really good.

“I really loved the blue collar mentality, hard work and work ethic of the entire team. You can just say the players work hard and the coaches work hard.

Rinehart is a two-time All-Big South Conference selection as an outfielder. He played in all 60 games this season for Upstate (36-24). The junior outfielder hit .366 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs. His batting average was third best in the Deep South. Rinehart also led the conference in hits (94), doubles (22) and total bases (173).

“It was last summer that I really understood that I could compete at this level. I always knew I was capable of it and that I was constantly progressing. But it wasn’t until last summer that things really took shape. »

Rinehart led North Marion to unprecedented success in the 2021 season. The Huskies advanced to the state championship game for the first time in school history.

“The memories that stick out the most for me are just the friendships and the relationship with Coach (Vic) Seccuro, being able to play for my dad as a coach. These memories last a lifetime.

As with most high-level college baseball players, Rinehart’s offseason was short. He competes in the Cape Cod League, a 10-team league in eastern Massachusetts that hosts some of the nation’s top pro prospects each year. Rinehart plays for the Wareham Gatemen.

“It’s awesome. We play every day. It’s just a bunch of guys showing up. I keep telling people these are the best players in the country and they’re coming, having a good time time and play baseball. Everyone here makes it look easy. So it’s really fun.

“There are fans for us who will travel for every game we play across Cape Town and follow us. There are people with baseball cards with my picture on them that say “Cape Cod League.” They made them themselves.

Entering Wednesday’s game, Wareham sits in first place in the Western Cape Cod Division with a 7-2 record. Rinehart is hitting .300 with five runs scored in eight games. At Upstate, Rinehart played in all 60 games for his team in 2024.

“It’s one of my goals to play every match possible. Even here in Cape Town, I only played one match, which is quite rare. It’s important for me to play as many matches as possible.

“I have a little bracelet on my wrist that says, ‘Opening Day is every day.’ I take that to heart.

His future WVU teammate, Sam White, is also on Wareham’s roster. White joined the team Tuesday and hit a home run in his first game.

“It’s great to get to know someone a little bit earlier that I’m going to play with next year and get a feel for the team dynamic and him as a person.” We’ve really gotten to know each other quite well over the last few days. »

Cape Cod League teams typically get one or two days off per week. So far, Rinehart’s only day off has been time well spent.

“The only day off I had, I went to a Boston Red Sox game. They left and it was really cool. We had seats in the center of the field and were able to watch a very good match.