Diamond Dawgs grab late 2024 commitment in former UGA signee LHP Charlie Foster
In the middle of transfer portal season, Mississippi State just strengthened its roster with one of the top high school left handed pitchers in the country.
Snellville (Ga.) pitcher Charlie Foster announced on Wednesday that he would be joining the State roster next season after being committed to Wes Johnson and Georgia for the last year. After opening things up the last few weeks, Foster became one of the hottest recruits in the country.
“Georgia promised me some things that they backed out on so I decided it was time to move on and go to a program that desires me and wants me,” Foster said. “I didn’t really know how it was going to go, but I heard from almost every SEC and ACC school. I narrowed it down to my top 5 and took a visit to Mississippi State a week ago.”
State beats out big names for talented LHP
After dropping his list to five schools that included Florida State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Clemson and MSU, the trip to Starkville sealed the deal for the 6’3, 195-pound hurler.
Foster got a strong sales pitch from pitching coach Justin Parker to get his attention and then came the visit. State’s facilities and the feel of the city of Starkville sold Snellville’s own on his decision.
“I completely fell in love with the place,” Foster stated. “The look of the town was the classic small college town look and that’s my type of vibe. The baseball stadium is one of the best in the country and that speaks for itself.
“I’ve heard some things about coach Parker and it was all good things. He was amazing and knew so much about pitching. He knows how to develop if you look at the numbers he brought down this year. Coach (Chris) Lemonis was extremely welcoming. He’s a really good people person and my parents fell in love with him and coach Parker. It was just a perfect visit for us.”
Playing for Brookwood High School, Foster just enjoyed a strong senior season. The LHP was 8-2 with a 1.03 ERA and struck out 96 batters in 54.1 innings with just 23 walks.
He has a fastball that’s already touching 94 mph with a regular velocity sitting 90-93. The curveball is a pitch that he’s really developed over the last year and sits 76-80 while his changeup is 80-82.
“I’m just a true competitor. I feel like I’m a smooth operator on the mound and it comes pretty easy,” Foster said of his approach on the mound. “The fastball jumps out of my hand with good ride to it. The curveball came on late this season. MSU wants me to be a weekend starter. I’ve got to work for it, but that’s the role they see me playing.”
Diamond Dawgs battling MLB Draft
While it’s a big get for the Diamond Dawgs late in the process, the elephant in the room is Foster’s draft stock.
The talented pitcher is currently competing in the MLB Draft Combine and has had a good couple of days of interviews with teams. He doesn’t yet know where he might fall in the draft but it is an option for him next season.
If he doesn’t go in the draft, Foster also knows that he has a great situation in Starkville.
“Trying to balance it is tough. You hear the positives and the negatives from both sides. That’s the reason that I have the advisor to guide me through the process,” Foster said. “It’s all going to come down to what the draft has for me.”
