With South Carolina preparing to begin defense of its back-to-back national championships, most of the talk surrounds several everyday newcomers trying to replace the core of those title teams.

But, as far as Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook is concerned, the most formidable task facing the Gamecocks could be replacing rubber-armed setup man John Taylor in the bullpen.

Taylor was brilliant in 2011, allowing just 45 hits and 12 runs in 71.1 innings over a school-record 50 appearances while striking out 63 en route to compiling an 8-1 record. His impressive ERA (1.14) was surpassed only by the incomparable Michael Roth, who was literally superman with a microscopic 1.06 ERA. Taylor's overwhelming success was a major reason Matt Price was able to accumulate 20 saves.

"I don't know if we have a John Taylor on our roster," Holbrook told Gamecock Central recently. "The kid could pitch every day. Replacing him is going to be a huge challenge, maybe even more so than our middle infield. You can make the case that John Taylor was the MVP of our team last year, that's how well he did. He was certainly the surprise MVP of our team."

Here is how USC's pitching shapes up for the 2012 season:

STARTERS: Opposing SEC coaches must have gasped last August when the deadline for signing June draftees passed and they realized USC's 2012 weekend rotation would be headlined by Roth and Price.

Individually, they are two of the top hurlers in college baseball. Together, they form arguably the top 1-2 combination in the country. Suddenly, the chances of an opponent prevailing on Friday and Saturday have diminished considerably.

"It doesn't guarantee us anything, but it makes us feel awfully good that we have the experience and success those two guys have had (in the rotation)," Holbrook said. "Arguably, no college pitchers have had the success those two guys have had at any point in time the way they have performed on the biggest stage.

"Michael and Matt are the backbone of our pitching staff, but this year is not going to be all about Michael and Matt. We have some guys that are talented and chomping at the bit."

Roth had one of the greatest seasons by any pitcher in USC history in 2011 with a filthy 14-3 record and 1.06 ERA in 145.0 IP. His earned run average was less than 1.00 at points during the season half of the season, a remarkable feat for a SEC pitcher. Obviously, the left-handed Roth faces a nearly impossible task of trying to duplicate his numbers from a year ago.

"I don't think you can judge him on that," Holbrook said. "We'll judge him on whether he wins on Friday night. What he did ERA-wise last year was something that might never be done again. And it's not like he did it pitching on Tuesday. He did on Friday nights in the SEC pitching against a bunch of first-rounders. But I think he thrives on that. We just want him to be himself and not try to pitch to what he did last year. We just want him to help us win."

Price (7-3, 1.83 ERA in 59.0 IP) spurned the chance to sign a pro contract after being selected in the sixth round of last June's draft. Instead, he leaped at the opportunity to return to USC and become a starter.

Holbrook doesn't feel the transition will be onerous for Price.

"He was a starter in high school and he's in good shape," Holbrook said. "He has four pitches and he has the stuff to be a really good starter. We're going to throw him out there and see what happens. We'll watch him closely to see how the adjustment is going. Right now, it's going extremely well and he'll be able to showcase some of his pitches as a starter that he didn't necessarily throw as a closer. He has a polished changeup, two different breaking pitches and he can drop down from time to time. He has quite an arsenal to throw at hitters."

With Roth and Price fixtures at the front of the weekend rotation, who will be the Sunday starter? Good question. Right now, the favorite is probably RHP Colby Holmes (7-3, 3.69 ERA in 85.1 IP, 13 starts), but the Conway, S.C. product, will encounter plenty of competition from lefthander Nolan Belcher, who returns after missing the entire 2011 season because of Tommy John surgery, lefthander Adam Westmoreland and possibly others.

"We think Colby is much improved," Holbrook said. "He is the leader right now (for the No. 3 weekend starter job) based on what he did last year. But we also have guys fighting for that spot."

Belcher was an emerging weekend starter as a true freshman for part of the 2009 season before struggling with his control the following season (18 walks and five WP in 29.2 IP in 2010).

"We hope Nolan returns to form and he looks very good in his early season workouts," Holbrook said. "We think he can return to the way he was in high school and even bits and pieces of what he did in his freshman year. That fall (2008), he was the best pitcher we had before his arm started to feel a little funny. He was impressive.

"We had (Blake) Cooper and (Sam) Dyson, and his fall was as good any anybody's. In fact, we came out of that fall saying he should be our No. 1 guy. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he stays healthy."

Westmoreland started seven games before the end of March last year, including an SEC game against Georgia. However, he made just four appearances in the final two months of the season. He enjoyed a fantastic fall and looks ready to regain his high school form.

"Adam was our pitcher of the fall," Holbrook said. "He had a great fall."

Pitching coach Jerry Meyers must also decide on multiple weeknight starters, though that decision doesn't have to be made until Feb. 28 when the Gamecocks host Presbyterian in the initial weeknight game of the season.

"The comforting thing for us is all of our guys are talented and most of them have experience," Holbrook said.

RELIEVERS: With Price moving into the starting rotation, who gets the task of taking over for one of the most dominant closers in college baseball last season? Sophomore RHP Forrest Koumas was given the first crack and the Lugoff-Elgin High product appears ready to assume that role. Showing few freshman jitters, Koumas made 19 appearances last season with 12 starts, compiling a record of 6-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 73.0 IP.

"If we were playing tomorrow, Forrest would probably be the closer, but that could change," Holbrook said. "Right now, I don't know if we have a guy we can say will be our closer."

Lefthander Tyler Webb (3-1, 3.00 ERA in 36.0 IP despite bone spurs in his elbow) has proven he is a better pitcher when coming out of the bullpen as opposed to starting. As a result, he will likely stay there for the foreseeable future. He enjoyed a solid fall as well.

"We think Tyler has been as good as he has ever been," Holbrook said. "He's finally healthy. He pitched last year even though he was hurt all year. I think you will see a different Tyler Webb. He is very comfortable back there. That's where he'll probably start the year, but things could change."

Ethan Carter, a 6-foot-4 RHP, is back after spending the 2011 season at Louisburg (N.C.) College following his dismissal from the Gamecock program last January.

"He pitched some big innings for us two years ago," Holbrook said. "He has pitched extremely well. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he is going to keep doing the right thing off the field. From a baseball standpoint, he has been very good. He had a great fall."

A year ago, junior RHP Patrick Sullivan appeared destined to spend the 2011 season sitting in the bullpen. But he ended up pitching 20.0 innings and allowing 14 hits with 21 strikeouts, playing a vital role along the way.

"He is going to get some innings for us," Holbrook said. "He has pitched well for us."

The list of incoming freshmen includes LHP Jordan Montgomery (Sumter, S.C.), one of the top pitchers in the Palmetto State last year, RHP Evan Beal (Fairfax Station, Va.), RHP Joel Seddon (St. Clair, Mich.) and Vince Fiori (Ramsey, N.J.).

"We like the depth of our pitching staff," Holbrook said. "If our pitchers stay healthy, we think we have a number of guys who are experienced and/or talented enough to pitch in our league."

LHP Logan Munson, a transfer from North Carolina, hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2011 season (0-0, 7.71 ERA, 4 HBP in 7.0 IP), while RHP Drake Thomason (Taylors, S.C.), a standout high school QB as well, redshirted last year as he recovered from an arm injury.

"These three weeks going into the season will be very important for Logan," Holbrook said. "We would like to have his experience out there and see if he can build on his fall. He does have a good enough arm to help us. But he has to be consistent and throw strikes. We have to feel comfortable that he's not going to walk two guys in an inning."

2012 PRE-SEASON PITCHING ROSTER:

Evan Beal (Fr., RHP)

Nolan Belcher (Jr., LHP)

Ethan Carter (Jr., RHP)

Vince Fiori (Fr., LHP)

Colby Holmes (Jr., RHP)

Forrest Koumas (So., RHP)

Jordan Montgomery (Fr., LHP)

Logan Munson (Sr, LHP)

Matt Price (RJr., RHP)

Hunter Privette (Jr., RHP)

Michael Roth (Sr., LHP)

Joel Seddon (Fr., RHP)

Patrick Sullivan (Jr., RHP)

Drake Thomason (RFr, RHP)

Tyler Webb (Jr., LHP)

Adam Westmoreland (Jr., LHP)

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D. McCallum