COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – South Carolina baseball’s recruiting class has been ranked No. 10 in the nation as announced by D1Baseball on Thursday afternoon. This year’s class features 16 newcomers.
It is the fourth consecutive year the Gamecocks have put together a class ranked among the Top 10 in the nation. Baseball America ranked the 2013 class No. 3 in the nation, the 2014 class No. 5 in the country and Collegiate Baseball ranked last year’s class No. 2 in the country.
2016 RECRUITING CLASS
Wilson Beattie – RHP – Summerville, S.C. (Summerville HS)
– Rated No. 27 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– Named 2016 Scholar-Athlete of the Year by Diamond Prospects
– As a senior in 2016, compiled a 5-3 record – Helped lead Summerville HS to 2016 AAAA state championship
Sawyer Bridges – RHP – Summerville, S.C. (Summerville HS)
– Rated No. 403 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 3 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– Rated No. 5 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Baseball America and Perfect Game
– Top rated high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– 2016 South Carolina AAAA All-State honors
– Helped lead Summerville HS to 2016 AAAA state championship, pitched complete game six-hitter in title game
– Named Co-4A Player of the Year by the High School Sports Report
– As a senior in 2016, compiled an 8-1 record
– Also lettered at Summerville HS in football, was team’s starting quarterback
– Played for Evoshield Canes AAU team
– AAU team won 2015 WWBA World Championship
Carlos Cortes – INF/OF – Oviedo, Fla. (Lake Howell HS)
– 2016 MLB Draft selection (20th round/New York Mets)
– Rated No. 93 best overall prospect for the 2016 MLB Draft by D1Baseball
– Rated No. 111 best overall prospect for the 2016 MLB Draft by MLB.com
– Rated No. 128 best overall prospect for 2016 MLB Draft by Baseball America
– Rated No. 18 best high school prospect in the nation by D1Baseball
– Rated No. 27 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 31 best high school prospect in the nation by Baseball America
– Rated No. 2 best high school prospect in the state of Florida by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 8 best high school prospect in the state of Florida by Baseball America
– 2016 Orlando Sentinel All-Area team
– As a senior in 2016, hit .395 with 19 runs scored and 17 RBI. Also had three saves
– Played in 2015 Perfect Game All-American Classic
– Helped lead Oviedo HS to 2015 high school state championship
– Played for Orlando Scorpions Prime AAU team
– AAU team finished runner-up at 2014 WWBA World Championship
– Named to 2014 National Underclass Showcase All-Prospect team
– An ambidextrous thrower, throws with his right hand when he plays infield and throws with his left hand when he pitches and plays outfield
Chase DeMars – INF – Overland Park, Kan. (Harford CC (Md.))
– Helped lead Harford CC to 2016 NJCAA World Series
– As a sophomore in 2016, hit .358 (78-for-218) with 12 homers, 22 doubles, six triples, 48 RBI and 72 runs scored
– As a freshman in 2015, hit .474 (27-for-57) with 20 runs scored and 15 RBI
– Played summer ball with the New Market Rebels and played in 2016 Valley Baseball League All-Star Game before moving up to the Cape Cod Leauge with the Bourne Braves
– Prepped at C. Milton Wright HS
Christian Flint – INF – Delray Beach, Fla. (Boca Raton Community HS)
– 2016 honorable mention All-Broward County for Class 9A-8A-7A
– Played for SBA Canes AAU team
Josh Gregory – LHP/OF – Gaffney, S.C. (Gaffney HS)
– Rated No. 322 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 4 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects and Perfect Game
– Top rated high school left-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects and Perfect Game
– Played for Upstate Mavericks Scout AAU team
Rian Haire – LHP – Hudson, N.C. (South Caldwell HS)
– Rated No. 180 best overall prospect for 2016 MLB Draft by Baseball America
– Rated No. 2 best high school prospect in the state of North Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 3 best high school prospect in the state of North Carolina by Baseball America
– Rated No. 51 best high school prospect in the nation by D1Baseball
– Rated No. 106 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 18 best high school left-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game
– Earned 2016 first-team HS All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball
– Played in 2015 Under Armour High School All-America Game
– Played for Evoshield Canes AAU team
– AAU team won 2015 WWBA World Championship
– 2014 4A NCBCA All-State honors
Riley Hogan – INF – Orlando, Fla. (TNXL Academy)
– Rated No. 397 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 66 best high school prospect in the state of Florida by Perfect Game
– Named to 2015 Florida League High School Invitational All-Tournament team
– Prepped at Edgewater HS before attending TNXL Academy his senior year
– Played for Orlando Scorpions AAU team
Jonathan Jahn – LHP – Augusta, Ga. (Westside HS)
– Rated No. 342 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 23 best high school prospect in the state of Georgia by Baseball America
– Rated No. 40 best high school prospect in the state of Georgia by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 43 best high school left-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game
– Played for Team Elite AAU team
Graham Lawson – RHP – Woodruff, S.C. (Spartanburg Methodist JC)
– As a freshman at SMC in 2016, he struck out 31 batters in 27.0 innings pitched
– Prepped at Woodruff HS
– Rated No. 261 best high school prospect in the nation in 2015 by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 5 best overall high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 8 best overall high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– Rated No. 1 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 4 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– Played for Diamond Devils AAU team
Colby Lee – RHP – Latta, S.C. (Latta HS)
– Rated No. 10 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 4 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 8 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– 2016 South Carolina A Player of the Year
– 2016 South Carolina A All-State honors
– 2016 (Florence) Morning News Player of the Year
– Named to 2016 SC Select Team
– As a senior in 2016, went 10-1 with a 1.02 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 72.0 innings pitched
– Also lettered at Latta HS in football, was team’s starting quarterback
Jacob Olson – INF – Monroe, Ga. (West Georgia Tech JC)
– 2016 MLB Draft selection (39th round/Arizona Diamondbacks)
– 2016 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association All-Region First Team
– As a freshman in 2016 at West Georgia Tech JC, hit .351 with eight homers, 36 RBI as well as a conference-leading 20 doubles and a .603 slugging percentage
– Prepped at Monroe Area HS
– Named 2015 Georgia 8-AAAA Region Position Player of the Year
Joey Polak – INF – Quincy, Ill. (Quincy Notre Dame HS)
– Rated No. 435 best overall prospect for 2016 MLB Draft by Baseball America
– Rated No. 6 best high school prospect in the state of Illinois by Baseball America
– Rated No. 165 best high school prospect in the nation by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 10 best high school prospect in the state of Illinois by Perfect Game
– Played for the Quincy Gems in the 2016 Prospect Collegiate League; earned All-Star honors and hit .297 with 8 homers and 26 RBI
– Played for St. Louis Pirates AAU team
– Father Rich played at UCF and spent six seasons in the New York Yankees organization
– Sister Jennie currently plays softball for Francis Marion
Justin Row – INF – La Verne, Calif. (Fullerton College)
– Earned first-team All-State in 2016 by the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association
– As a sophomore in 2016, hit .377 (60-for-159) with 13 doubles, a triple, five homers and 24 RBI
– Earned first-team All-Orange Empire Conference honors
– Named to the 2016 California State Academic All-American team
– As a freshman in 2015, hit .288 (40-for-139) with 15 RBI and 17 runs scored
– Prepped at Bonita HS
TJ Shook – RHP – Columbia, S.C. (Dutch Fork HS)
– Rated No. 8 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– Rated No. 5 best high school right-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– 2016 SC Select All-Star
– 2015 & 2016 SC AAAA All-State honors
– 2015 Region 4-4A Player of the Year
– As a senior in 2016, struck out 57 batters in 46 innings
– As a junior in 2015 went 5-1 with a 1.29 ERA
– Played for Evoshield Canes South AAU team
Jacob Wright – LHP – Chester, S.C. (Chester HS)
– Rated No. 6 best high school left-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Perfect Game
– Rated No. 7 best high school left-handed pitcher in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects
– As a junior in 2015 struck out 67 batters in 43.0 innings pitched
2016 NCAA Div. I Recruiting Rankings by D1Baseball
1. Ole Miss
2. North Carolina
3. TCU
4. LSU
5. Florida
6. Stanford
7. Florida State
8. Washington
9. Arizona State
10. South Carolina
11. Vanderbilt
12. Arizona
13. Clemson
14. Tennessee
15. Miami (Fla.)
16. Arkansas
17. UCLA
18. East Carolina
19. Oregon State
20. Auburn
21. UCSB
22. Mississippi State
23. Louisville
24. Oregon
25. NC State
26. Georgia
27. San Diego State
28. Washington State
29. Georgia Tech
30. Indiana