re: Baseball Recruiting Discussion

Posted on 5/20/13 at 12:21 pm to CayceCock13

Posted by CayceCock13

Braves / Hornets / Rams Fan

Member since Oct 2012

17543 posts

Posted on 5/20/13 at 12:21 pm to CayceCock13

South Carolina just recieved another commitment for the 2013 Class in Walk-On Matt Williams from BHP 3rd Baseman.

Some stats from his HS career:

quote:
Williams played in 10 games as an eighth grader at B-HP and started all four years in high school. He finished his career hitting .411 in 120 games played. He scored 106 runs, drove in 102, had 28 doubles, and struck out 17 times in five years vs. 66 walks. On the mound, he was 25-5 in 38 games started. He threw 179 innings, struck out 175 and walked 50.

Insider Notes from JW on TheBigSpur:

quote:
We've written about Matt Williams a few times before in the VIP Room detailing him as a player who wanted to walk on at South Carolina. About the time we posted that, other schools started showing him great interest. Furman and Winthrop were the main two schools with USC Upstate getting in the mix as well. Spartanburg Methodist was also a school that was very high on Williams and tried to get him to come to their program on scholarship. At the end of the day, Williams weighed a scholarship offer from Furman, one at SMC, and a walk-on chance at South Carolina. He had three very different decisions and decided to go to the school he wanted to attend - South Carolina.

The thing about Matt is he was a three-sport athlete at B-HP as the starting quarterback in football, guard on the basketball team, and shortstop/pitcher for baseball. Even though he's the son of the head baseball coach at B-HP, Williams always devoted a lot of time to football in the summer, which limited his exposure and growth as a baseball player. If he focused on baseball year around, I think he's going on scholarship to a bigger school - potentially South Carolina. But he wanted to play three sports and flew under the radar at bit.

I think he has a chance to flourish into a very good baseball player in time. Tools wise, I think he profiles as a corner infielder, which is why I have him listed as third base in his profile. I don't think first base is out of the question for him. I think as he gets baseball strong, he's going to develop into a very good hitter. He throws right-handed but hits from the left side. He likes to work using the opposite side of the field. Very good plate discipline and good awareness on the field. You can tell he's the son of a coach. His bat speed needs to improve some but I think he gets there as he does baseball workouts.

It's very hard for freshmen to walk-on and make the team their first year. It's going to be just as difficult for Williams as it would be for any other freshman. He's a tough kid, good team guy, very well-liked in the dugout, and also has some very good attributes as a player. He's going to be one of those guys to develop over the course of the next year or two. I look for him to redshirt next year but be a valuable piece going forward.

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Posted by CayceCock13

Braves / Hornets / Rams Fan

Member since Oct 2012

17543 posts

Posted on 5/24/13 at 1:48 am to CayceCock13

Another article on Walk-On Matt Williams from Belton-Honea Path

quote:
Over the last several weeks, Williams pondered whether he wanted to walk on at South Carolina, accept a hefty scholarship offer at Furman, or play for Spartanburg Methodist, a junior college powerhouse making its second straight JUCO World Series appearance, with the chance to transfer later.

Williams knew where he wanted to end up in his college baseball career, so he figured he might as well start there.

“Ultimately, I felt like I wanted to end up at Carolina in the long run,” Williams said. “I feel like my heart is at Carolina. I’m just a Gamecock. I’ve been around Carolina a good bit. When I went down for a game, the coaches were real nice. For my visit, they showed me around. They were all laid back. I feel like I fit well with the coaches.”

Williams played shortstop for his Belton-Honea Path High School team but he projects as a corner infielder at the next level. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder is likely to start off at third base for the Gamecocks during fall practice but he’s versatile enough to play a number of positions.

During his time in Columbia, Williams could play either corner infield or corner outfield position. He could also see some time at short, which gives the South Carolina coaches plenty of options.

“I don’t mind playing anywhere, really,” Williams said. “I’ve been getting a lot of work this summer at third. Short is like home to me. Third is becoming like short is to me. I won’t say it’s easy, but I’m really improving there.”

Williams, who is a left-handed hitter, finished his high school season hitting .370 with 18 RBIs, 32 runs scored and 10 hits for extra bases. Over his five-year career, which included 10 games played as an eighth grader on the varsity team, Williams hit .411 with 102 RBIs.

“I like hitting gap-to-gap,” Williams said. “I’m a really good backside hitter. I’ve been working a lot on my top hand trying to get more pop on the ball pull side. I want to keep teams off balance, lay down a few bunts here and there, and just get on base.”

Coming in as a walk-on, Williams understands the challenges he will face. There are only eight walk-on spots on college rosters and there will be at least double that number trying out next year to make the squad.

Williams said that he’s going to come in and work hard to earn one of those eight spots but if it’s in his best interest to redshirt, that’s what he will do. Between now and the start of fall practice though, the AAA All-State selection has some areas of emphasis to work on.

With the high school season over and his senior year winding down, Williams has spent at least a portion of each day at TNT Sports, a facility in Williamston that has indoor batting tunnels and an outdoor turf field to take ground balls, along with a workout and recovery areas. He’s working with former South Carolina and Citadel baseball player Jay Reames, who also coaches his summer team.

“I’ve been hitting the weight room hard lately trying to get bigger and trying to get a little bit more pop,” Williams said. “Arm strength, foot work, quickness - I’ve been going to TNT a lot, which is where I’ve been working out., to develop those areas. Those guys are trying to get me ready for the next level.”

Williams is working every day to get ready for the next level. He wanted South Carolina to be his ultimate destination, so he figured that’s where he’d begin.