re: Baseball Recruiting Discussion

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As Conway reminisces back to when USC baseball head coach Chad Holbrook offered him a full scholarship to play baseball for the Gamecocks, he subconsciously runs his hand over his left knee and the heavy brace that now encases it.

It’s been a year since the Gamecocks began showing interest in the athletic two-way prospect from Clinton High School. While playing summer ball for the star-studded Diamond Devils in Charleston and competing in player showcases, his stock skyrocketed the months before his junior year. Before long he was ranked as one of the best infielders in the state and considered one of the nation’s top 150 players in the class of 2014 by multiple scouting services.

Things have changed since then. Some of the same scouts who projected him as a second or third round pick in the 2014 MLB draft a day into a December showcase in Atlanta, had to reassess after Conway went down on what appeared to be a routine play in the second day.

His confidence poured into day two as he started the day with a double deep into the outfield in his first at-bat of a live scrimmage. His second at-bat he skipped a ball across the turf back to third base; Perfect time to show off the speed. But one wrong step on the artificial infield dropped him to the ground as he lunged for first base.

“I knew it was torn,” he said. “My first reaction was ‘I’m done.’ I knew it.”

An MRI confirmed it: He tore both the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee.

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