Jake McCoy pitching with a greater purpose this season with 'Strikeouts for Veterans'

Jake McCoy couldn’t help but sit there in awe. Col. Kenneth Dwyer, a U.S. Army Infantry Officer who served four tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, spoke to the South Carolina baseball team last month.

Dwyer, who lost his left hand and eye while fighting in Afghanistan, stood in front of the players and coaches and shared his life’s journey as well as the importance of purpose and teamwork. Hearing from a man who had been through so much, this was the moment when McCoy wanted to do something more.

“Just hearing (Dwyer) talk about what it’s like, the way his life has been impacted from being wounded and just the huge story he’s given us, that was incredible to listen to him,” McCoy told GamecockCentral. “That’s when I kind of went nose deep, and I was like, this is what we’re doing. I really want to do something now.”

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Entering this season as South Carolina’s Sunday starter, McCoy plans to pitch with a greater purpose, one that will allow him to help others. For every strikeout he records, he will be donating $23, which represents his jersey number, to Purple Heart Homes. It’s a veteran charity that provides housing assistance to disabled and aging veterans. “Strikeouts for Veterans” is the name of the fundraiser.

Growing up, McCoy always had a deep appreciation for the military and the service they provide to the country. At the same time, he wanted to figure out a way to build his brand as a college baseball player. That’s where the idea of partnering with a charity like Purple Heart Homes came into play.

“I’ve always had the highest of respect for veterans, just hearing stories from people, seeing things on social media,” McCoy said. “My dad actually, originally has been partnering with Purple Heart Homes for forever through his business. So just hearing all these stories about them and what he tells me, that really kind of drew my attention to it.”

Purple Heart Homes was initially co-founded by Iraq war veterans Dale Beatty and John Gallina in 2008. They had one common goal in mind for this organization: to honor and support veterans by ensuring they have safe, accessible homes. For McCoy, it’s been nothing short of incredible working with the organization as he looks to bring awareness to a great cause.

“One of the things they do is they help acclimate people from being in service to coming home. And a lot of people have PTSD, and some obviously, they’re wounded. So it’s hard for them to transfer back. They either get put in apartment buildings or government homes and stuff like that,” he said. “That’s not what is right for them. They deserve to have their own space, their own home. … That’s such a huge thing for me. And I think everybody deserves to have that, and I think it’s awesome for them to have that chance.”

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Coming off a season in which he struck out 20 batters in 16 innings as a freshman, McCoy is shooting for a higher strikeout total in an increased role for 2025. Ideally, he’d like to rack up more than 100 strikeouts, which would result in more money being donated.

“100 would be awesome,” McCoy said. “From everything (the coaches) tell me about my stuff, I think there’s a chance, seriously, at 100. I mean, if I do 100 strikeouts and I donate $2,300.”

Of course, McCoy is just one person and $2,300 for 100 strikeouts isn’t a ton of money in the grand scheme. That’s why he’s looking for help from the community, whether it’s Columbia or his hometown of Fort Mill. McCoy knows this can become much more.

“I get another company to match 77, I mean, that’s $10,000. I would love that,” he said. “The more awareness we bring to it would be awesome. Just let people know, get it out there, because the only thing we need is for somebody who’s willing to help, somebody with a lot of money and it takes off from there.

“I think any donations, obviously would be fantastic. Even maybe not money donations, like if a lumber company wants to provide wood, or just provide something like Home Depot wants to help provide supplies. Something like that would be awesome, just to help these people out. Just anything would be awesome.”

Ultimately, his goal is for this fundraiser to become a regularity. Though this is his first year doing something like this, he would like to keep it going for the rest of his baseball career, however long he continues to pitch.

“I want to be humble. I want to give back,” McCoy said. “That’s the biggest thing. That’s the big message I want to do. And I don’t think a lot of people really give back enough if that makes sense. So I think this is just a small way I can help.”

Make a donation to Purple Heart Homes to support the veterans!

McCoy will take the mound on Sunday as South Carolina closes out its three-game series with Sacred Heart. First pitch will be at noon on SEC Network Plus. Once he fires his first pitch of the year, the journey begins toward throwing as many strikeouts as he can.

“I think that if I have a good year this year, I mean, just imagine what this could be next year. Or if I get drafted, imagine what could it be from there,” McCoy said. “I think that South Carolina’s fan base is such a great fan base, and I think they can really help take this off. So I’m really excited.”

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