Former Airport High School and University of South Carolina baseball player Earl Bass is being inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame next year. 

The pitcher is one of 21 standouts who will be inducted as part of the 2026 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the College Baseball Foundation announced. Bass will be inducted posthumously on Feb. 11, 2027, in Overland Park, Kansas, the location of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Before arriving at South Carolina and making his name known, Bass got his start here in Lexington County. 

He attended Airport High School, playing baseball, basketball and football. In 1971, he was named the Outstanding Athlete of the Year by the area's local coaches. 

Bass also played American Legion Ball for the Cayce Post 130/Congaree 90 team. In 2025, he was inducted into that organization’s Hall of Fame. 

For the Gamecocks, Bass became one of the program's top pitchers. He put up a 34-3 career record and earned First-Team All-American selections in 1974 and 1975, going a combined 29-2 on the mound in those two seasons. His 23 consecutive wins over a two-season span were, at the time, a national record. 

Bass was a part of some of the earliest successful Gamecock baseball teams. In the 1975 season, the Gamecocks made it to the College World Series Championship, but fell one game short of claiming the title. 

After his final collegiate season, Bass was drafted by the Cardinals organization and had a short minor league career before injuries cut his time short. 

He played four seasons from 1975-78, appearing in the AA and AAA levels, but never reaching the Major Leagues. 

After his playing days were done, Bass was inducted into the South Carolina Letterman’s Hall of Fame in 1989 and was an SEC Legend at the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament.

He passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer. 

Bass became the first South Carolina baseball player to have his jersey retired by the program. He was remembered during a ceremony in May of 2019, with friends and family there in his honor.

With his selection into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, Bass will become the third Gamecock enshrined in the past two years, joining Ray Tanner and Kip Bouknight.

Bass spent his final years in Palm Beach, Florida, where he owned a restaurant.