South Carolina adds pitcher to transfer portal class
South Carolina is in need of pitching depth, and the Gamecocks picked up a piece towards that out of the portal in Drake Quinn.
Quinn announced his commitment to South Carolina today via social media, becoming the fifth pitcher commitment in the portal class. He’s one of four to likely make it to campus with Canisius’ Matt Duffy drafted last week.
Last season at Marist, the right-handed pitcher bounced between starter and reliever–17 appearances and nine starts–with an 8.70 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. Quinn struggled sometimes with walks (43) but he did have some strikeout stuff last season as well.
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He finished with 73 strikeouts in 50.2 innings, which averages out to 13 strikeouts per nine innings with him striking out 27.3 percent of batters faced last season.
Opposing teams hit .272 against him last season.
If he can clean up some of the walks, then Quinn can certainly chisel out a role in the Gamecocks’ bullpen next season in need of a few guys to step up. His fastball has been up to 95 miles per hour this summer while pitching in the Cape Cod League.
His best season at Marist came as a freshman when he had a 5.40 ERA in just 1.2 innings. In 2022, he threw 23.1 innings with a 6.56 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts). He struck out 30 to 15 walks.
South Carolina has three other pitchers expected to make it to campus with reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year Ty Good coming over from Charleston.
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Good finished last year with 4.26 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in over 82 innings. He struck out 93 to 44 walks.
Liberty left-hander Garrett Gainey will be on the roster as well. He had a 7.28 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP last season as a starter for the Flames.
Tyler Dean comes over from Virginia Tech after pitching in just 12 innings for the Hokies with a 6.75 ERA.
Dean was a former top-100 prospect out of high school with a fastball in the mid-90s as well. All three of those guys can certainly help in the bullpen in some capacity.
The Gamecocks have six committed offensive players. That includes outfielders Austin Brinling (North Florida), Kennedy Jones (UNC-G) and Charlotte’s Blake Jackson.
South Carolina also has commitments from Vanderbilt’s Parker Noland, North Carolina’s Tyler Causey and Presbyterian’s Dalton Reeves.
