Baseball commitment Riley Goodman: 'It’s something special' at South Carolina

Riley Goodman had to wait longer than high school players typically do to commit, but for him, it was worth the wait. After blossoming a little late, Goodman found a home at South Carolina. 

It was a long road to get to his ultimate Gamecocks commitment. But the right-handed pitcher finally found a home and one he’s eager to spend his college career with. 

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“I think South Carolina is just an amazing place. I never heard anything bad about it. Right away that really caught my eye. I had a lot of attention there. Then meeting coach (Matt) Williams, he’s a phenomenal guy and a phenomenal pitching coach. He’s coached pro ball and been in that environment. Then he’s been in the college environment. Being in both of those environments had a lot of attraction in my eyes,” Goodman said. 

“He knows what it takes to get to the pro level. But he knows what it takes to compete at the college level. Then coach Kingston, he’s magnificent. He’s a great guy, a great coach and has done a lot of good with the program at South Carolina with the culture they have and the brotherhood they have on that team. I could really see it when I took my visit.”

South Carolina initially started showing interest in the late spring, but that cooled when then-pitching coach Justin Parker took the same job at Mississippi State.

Once Williams took over and hit the ground running, interest from the Gamecocks picked up again and the rest is history. 

Goodman hit it off with Williams, really latching on to Williams’ background in both the college and pro game. Before coming to South Carolina, Williams had stints at UNC Wilmington, Liberty and with the San Diego Padres system. 

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“Having him as a head coach and having his background at the pro and college level, I would give most of the credit on the pitching side to him and who he’s created me to be on the field and on the mound,” Goodman said. “He definitely has a very mental side of the game approach. I feel that’s helped me and one of my best traits is my composure and attacking on the mound.”

He throws two fastballs–a four and two-seamer–along with a changeup, slider and curve and credits a lot of his development to a coaching change during his career. 

Former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jason Motte took over there and Goodman’s made tremendous strides under him, especially on the mental side of things. 

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According to MaxPreps, Goodman allowed 10 runs over 45 innings pitched with a whopping 76 strikeouts to just 10 walks. Teams hit just .159 against him with a .229 on-base percentage this season. 

“I would definitely say I’m not going to go up there and blow 98 by guys. Right now that’s not my game,” Goodman said. “Not being the guy who’s always had the highest (velocity), I’ve had to really learn how to pitch to guys and hit spots and set different pitches up in at-bats. I would say that’s the best part of my game. Early in my career, I had to learn the fundamentals of how to pitch.”

Goodman joins a 2024 class that’s seen an uptick in pitching commitments since Williams took over this summer. 

“I can tell that it’s something special there. That’s what really attracted me. Obvious the facilities and the baseball field and campus and where it is is the first thing that comes to mind,” Goodman said. “But getting down to the nitty-gritty, it’s that culture of what coach Kingston has built. And I know what he’s going to continue to build.” 

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