re: Baseball Recruiting Discussion

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-- Class of 2014 signee Alex Destino (Weaverville, N.C./North Buncombe) finished his regular season hitting .556 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 37 RBIs at the plate and finished with an 8-1 record with a 1.64 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched. A left-hander, Destino struck out 86 and walked 30. In his final game out, he pitched a no hitter.

It only takes one team to draft a player high but in our conversations, right now, it seems like the school option is still trending with still a month remaining before the MLB Draft. The Gamecocks could certainly use his bat and power potential in the lineup next season, in addition to his 90 mph arm.

-- As far as other draft prospects go, the player who seems to be gaining the most momentum far as upward movement is infielder Madison Stokes (Columbia/A.C. Flora). He’s been a player to watch throughout the process and scouts were down on him a little bit early in the year but they’re starting to like him more recently. In fact, assistant coach Sammy Esposito will be at Stokes’ game on Monday night.

Destino and Stokes are the two chief players to track in the buildup to the draft next month. The rest of the players are fairly cut and dried. We expect Junior Harding (Cambridge, Md./Cambridge) and Brandon Murray (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) to sign professional contracts and the rest should be at school.

-- Class of 2017 uncommitted infielder Noah Campbell (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) only has a year of high school baseball under his belt but he’s getting close to making a college decision. Campbell was favoring South Carolina and Vanderbilt but has since added Miami to the list of schools he’s considering. He’s been on trips to all three places and should have a decision early in the summer. Campbell would be the first commitment of the 2017 class for the Gamecocks and is one of few players the staff is actively pursuing.

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