Baseball Recruiting Discussion

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Brandon murray ?@b_murray7 19h Hitting 538. on the season thus far. Not too shabby. And a one hitter with 15 k's my last game pitched. #Grindin

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John Whittle ?@johnmwhittle #Gamecocks RHP/SS signee Cory Thompson hit three home runs, six RBIs and was 5-for-5 on stolen bases in the @SCDiamondInvit.

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McMillan is committed as a walk-on but is also a player who could be a future gem. He has split time between football and baseball during his high school career but will focus on baseball going forward. He has a fastball that ranges from 82-84 and a big curve ball. If he can make a jump in velocity, he could be a big contributor before his time at South Carolina is over.

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South Carolina recently picked up a commitment from Tyler Haswell (Lawrenceville, Ga./Peachtree Ridge), who stands 6-foot-1, 175. I didn't expect the Gamecocks to take another player in the 2013 class but the right guy did come along. Haswell is a guy who can run his fastball up to 91 but will hover around the upper 80s right now. He is a strike-thrower that has a plus-changeup. Head coach Chad Holbrook has scouted him before and he had a good summer in the East Cobb organization. Sammy Esposito saw him a couple of weeks back as well and he jumped off the page with his performance

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Like Caldwell, Johnson signed with Winthrop out of high school and things just didn't go very well for him there. He transferred down to Chipola and became a very different pitcher. The coaches scouted him during fall games at Chipola and a lot of big colleges came calling. He chose the Gamecocks over Miami and others.

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Reagan used to be committed to College of Charleston but decided to open things back up when CofC went from the SoCon to CAA. He's regarded as the top left-handed pitcher in the state. He's a low-80s pitcher and will creep up to around 84.

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BLYTHEWOOD - Ranked as the No. 3 player in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects, class of 2013 standout Taylor Widener (Aiken/South Aiken) plays every game in front of a handful of scouts or more. A two-way player as a power right-handed arm and sweet-swinging left-handed hitter, Widener has a chance to pitch and hit for the Gamecocks. Prior to the SC Diamond Invitational, Widener discussed how his season is going thus far, where he wants to improve his game, and also a little bit about the MLB Draft.

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I mentioned in the VIP Room earlier this week that the good news for South Carolina fans is that RHP/OF Taylor Widener is trending towards school. He is one of a few guys who I have considered up in the air for a while but things are looking up for the Gamecocks at this point. That doesn't mean that he's playing poorly and it doesn't mean that his level of play is dropping. What it means is that scouts aren't ready to give him the kind of money he would require to skip school.

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Class of 2013 right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe (Pigeon Forge, Tenn./Pigeon Forge) was in the Palmetto State with his high school team when his future college team was back in his home state of Tennessee. Pitching in the Mingo Bay Classic last week, Crowe allowed one hit and struck out 13 before high-tailing it back to Tennessee to watch the Gamecocks play twice against the Volunteers.

In the same game, Crowe, who bats cleanup for his team, also hit a grand slam in the 4-0 victory. He provided all of the offense his team would need and also put together a dominant pitching performance. In the above video interview, Crowe discusses how his season has gone so far and what he wants to improve on before getting to Columbia in the fall.

High school regular seasons are winding down in South Carolina but they’re just getting started in other areas of the country. Class of 2014 two-way player Brandon Murray (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) is only 10 games into the season but he’s off to a great start both on the mound and in the field.

A pitcher and first baseman, Murray caught the eye of South Carolina coaches because of his game on the mound. In two starts this season, the right-hander is 1-0 allowing only one earned run over 11 innings. He has 23 strikeouts, which includes a complete game shutout with 15 Ks in his last start.

At the plate, Murray is hitting .468 with 10 doubles and a triple on the season so far. Murray says he’s playing pretty well so far this season but isn’t at his best. Entering the season, he had some areas of his game he wanted to improve upon and feel those areas are coming along.

“My self discipline at the plate,” Murray said. “Sometimes I go up there a little too anxious. I need to relax and let the game come to me. I’ve noticed lately I’m going up to the plate trying to make things happen too fast and not let it come to me. Pitching, I need to work some on command. I find myself getting behind sometimes. My main goal pitching is to get ahead and stay ahead. If your pitch count stays low, that means you can pitch more innings.”

Murray’s arsenal on the mound includes a fastball, slider, and circle changeup. His fastball runs in on the hands of right-handed hitters and is upper 80s and into the low 90s on a good day.

“I really wanted to have all three of my pitches mastered so I can throw any of them for a strike in any situation,” Murray said. “I want to trust every single pitch so I can keep hitters guessing with what I’m going to throw.”

Murray was recruited with the promise that he will be given an opportunity to play both ways at the college level. There haven’t been many who have been able to accomplish that feat at South Carolina but freshman Curt Britt is proof that players will be given the opportunity to do both.

“I know being a two-way guy at the college level will take a lot of work and a lot of dedication,” Murray said. “But I love the game so much, I want to be involved in each and every inning of each game and contribute to the team as much as I can. I want to contribute as much as I can. I know it’s going to be a lot of work but I think it will pay off.”

Murray picked South Carolina over schools such as Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, and some others in the Midwest.

“South Carolina was always like a dream school for me,” Murray said. “The baseball and facilities are second to none down there. I just feel like it will put me in my best position to develop as a player and prepare for the next level. Once I went down and got to see everything, it all clicked and I knew it was where I wanted to be.”

One of the main reasons Murray is a Gamecock is because of his relationship with pitching coach Jerry Meyers. Murray’s high school coach, Bob Glover Jr., and Meyers graduated from high school together, which is how South Carolina came into the picture.

Murray camped at South Carolina in the fall and Meyers liked what he saw from the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder. Murray liked what he saw from the South Carolina pitching coach and everything came together shortly after the camp.

“The pitching staff is always top notch,” Murray said. “You look at what he’s done with players like Michael Roth and the rest of the pitchers that come through the program. I have no doubt that coach Meyers is going to develop me.”

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One of the top players in the Palmetto State became available in the late fall and the coaches at South Carolina were sure to make him a Gamecock. Class of 2013 outfielder Zack Madden (Charleston/Bishop England), ranked as the No. 11 player in the state by Diamond Prospects, chose to stay in state to play his college baseball on Sunday morning

Madden, formerly committed to College of Charleston, decided to open up his recruitment when the Cougars switched conferences. South Carolina, North Carolina State, and Clemson all showed interest in the 6-foot, 180-pounder but he decided to join the South Carolina program

Madden visited Columbia for a game during the Texas A&M series and spent time around the program. After a long conversation with head coach Chad Holbrook last week and several chats with recruiting coordinator Sammy Esposito, he decided to pull the trigger once the Gamecocks returned home from Florida.

“I felt it was in my best interest to decommit and explore other options. I waited on schools to see if there was interest around me and luckily there was,” Madden said of his decommitment from Charleston. “I fell in love with South Carolina. I like the facilities. I’ve played there a ton. I really like coach Holbrook and coach Esposito. They’re really easy to get along with.”

Once reopening his recruitment, Madden decided to take the process slower this time around and said he found the right fit with the Gamecocks. Both of his parents are LSU alums but Baton Rouge was too far from home to consider.

That’s good news for the Gamecocks, who will now bring in an outfielder with a lot of upside.

“I think the reasons schools like that recruit me is I’m a really aggressive player,” Madden said. “I’m hard-nosed, like to get on the bases and run around the bases. They think I’m a good hitter and fast. Coaches see that I’m really hard-working and you can’t be a good hitter without being a hard worker.”

Madden swings from the left side but is right-handed. At the plate, he’s hitting over .400 this season for Bishop England, which produced current designated hitter Brison Celek.

“I hit for average. I have a good bit of pop but I’m mostly an average hitter,” Madden said. “I’m not the type of player that is going to hit a bunch of home runs. I like to hit the ball the other way, like to hit the ball on the ground. Once I get on the ground, that’s where I do most of my damage.”

Madden grew up playing on the infield but made the transition into the outfield last summer for his showcase team, the Charleston-based Diamond Devils. He hit over .500 for the club in the World Wood Bat Association championships last year while playing the corner outfield positions.

For his high school team, Madden is playing centerfield this year.

“I’ve been kind of streaky offensively. Defensively, I am doing great,” Madden said of his high school performance this year. “I grew up not being an outfielder. This past summer, I started playing outfield. I was kind of hesitant. I realized it was a good position for me because I’m fast and I can track the baseball. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise I end up playing outfield. I’m getting better and learning a lot about the position.”

Insider Notes:

Class of 2013 outfielder Zack Madden decommitted from College of Charleston shortly before signing day back in November solely because he didn't want to play in the new conference. He was one of the key pieces of the CofC class and expected to come in and contribute immediately for the Cougars. He was the biggest defection of several that left.

When Madden opened it back up, South Carolina was very interested and began recruiting him heavily. Madden wanted to wait and see what programs would come along and he decided, even though it was very late, to take the process slowly.

As far as the kind of player he is, I had him described to me back in the late fall as someone a lot like Adam Matthews at the same stage. Very toolsy but still sort of raw. He hits with an open stance and hits a lot of line drives. I haven't gotten to see him play a lot of games but my hunch is that he'll strike out some early on during his college career.

He was at Pro Day, which I attended, and I noticed his swing and hitting tools. I didn't notice him much with the outfield arm. He's still pretty new to the outfield, so he probably has some work to do to build that up a little bit. He's a very good athlete. He's about a 6.7 runner, so he'll be able to get around the bases pretty well. I hope to get to a game and see him play as I've only seen him in a showcase setting.

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?@johnmwhittle 4h #Gamecocks RHP signee Reed Scott (@Reed_Scott42) threw another complete game shutout allowing three hits, 6 Ks, no BBs on 80 pitches.

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@johnmwhittle 4h #Gamecocks OF signee Gene Cone (@gene_cone4) threw 6 IP and gave up two hits pitching and hit a solo HR to lead SV to rivalry win over RNE.

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