re: Baseball Recruiting Discussion

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Class of 2015 right-handed pitcher Cody Morris (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) made a verbal pledge to South Carolina on Sunday afternoon and becomes the seventh commitment in his recruiting class.

Morris chose the Gamecocks over a who’s who in college baseball. He had offers from North Carolina, Florida, Miami, Clemson, and Kentucky, among others. He has canceled remaining visits to see the Gators, Hurricanes and Vanderbilt and is fully committed to South Carolina.

“I love coach Holbrook, coach Meyers and Espo,” Morris said. “The program is outstanding and so are the fans and tradition. The stadium and campus is incomparable to anything else anywhere. I just knew South Carolina was the place.”

“When I showed up, all three coaches were there. It meant a lot to me that all three of them showed up,” Morris said. “They told me I’m their guy and I really believe that. I knew I was really wanted there and it helped me make my decision.”

“They made a huge difference,” Morris said. “LT, Kaleb and Danny, especially. I love playing with those guys and want to continue to play with them and room with some of them when we get to school.”

Morris will also be active in recruiting players for South Carolina saying, “Anything it takes to help win a national championship.”

“I’m pitching off of my fastball really well and getting a ton of movement,” Morris said. “I’ve had really good command of my changeup and curve ball. Pretty much in any count, I can throw my changeup right now. That’s been my go to pitch lately.”

Morris joins Bowman as one of two right-handed pitchers for South Carolina in the 2015 class. Left-handed pitcher Kyle Anderson is the only other player recruited as a pitcher in the class.

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The Cody Morris commitment is certainly a big one for South Carolina for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason is he’s really, really good. He’s got great movement on what is already a pretty powerful fastball. He gets some sink and run so he typically breaks some bats when he pitches in wood bat tournaments. He’s got the quick arm and frame that projects to add some miles per hour to his fastball.

South Carolina made a very strong impression when it had all three coaches there to greet him after his visit. On Friday, after winning the national championship in Marietta, Ga., Morris went to visit Clemson. Head coach Jack Leggett was unable to be there. When he visited North Carolina, Morris did meet with all three coaches. The Gamecocks rolled out the red carpet though and both Morris and his parents had a great impression after the visit.

As far as how he will be used, there are still two years before he gets to campus, so it’s hard to project a freshman role. What I do like about him is he is versatile. He can come in as a freshman and gain some experience in relief with a power fastball and breaking ball. Long term, I definitely think he’s a starter though. He’s got three pitches right now he can throw for strikes and I’ve seen him do it three times against good competition.

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