South Carolina baseball places three inside MLB Draft's top 150 prospects
Recently, D1Baseball released their updated list of the top-150 MLB Draft prospects for the 2025 draft. Three Gamecocks represent South Carolina baseball on this latest list. As expected, star outfielder/first baseman/third baseman Ethan Petry featured prominently. Right-handed pitcher Eli Jerzembeck also cracked the list. So did transfer portal shortstop addition Henry Kaczmar.
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D1Baseball placed Petry at No. 10 on their top 150. Known mostly for his power bat from the right side, Petry has displayed some defensive versatility as a better-than-expected corner outfielder and a solid first baseman. He also could factor into the third base job this spring, further adding to his positional flexibility. No matter what, though, the slugger is going to hit. Petry owns a slash line of .341/.471/.686/1.157 and has smacked 44 home runs during his South Carolina career. He is a virtual lock for a 1st round selection in the 2025 MLB Draft. He’s been mocked as high as the first five picks by some outlets.
Like Petry, Jerzembeck has been on the MLB Draft radar for a while. D1Baseball considers him the No. 129 overall prospect for next summer’s draft. The power-armed right-hander missed part of 2023 and all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery but appears ready to handle a full workload this spring. He seems destined for a weekend rotation spot and could be the Gamecocks’ Friday night guy this season. Jerzembeck’s electric stuff gives him 1st round upside if everything goes well for him in the spring.
Kaczmar, who transferred in from Ohio State this offseason, is D1Baseball’s No. 135 prospect. The current favorite to start at shortstop for South Carolina, Kaczmar made the All-BIG Ten squad in 2024 and the Freshman All-BIG Ten team in 2023. He owns a solid glove up the middle and possesses really good bat-to-ball skills. Though expected to play short, he could slide either direction to second or third if needed. If a few more balls leave the yard this season for Kaczmar, he could slide even higher up draft boards.
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Petry, Jerzembeck, and Kaczmar are not the only current Gamecocks on MLB Draft lists, just the ones included by D1Baseball. Names like Dalton Mashore, Roman Kimball, and Kennedy Jones are just several among the long list of other Gamecocks who could hear their names called in the 2025 draft. USC has had at least six players taken in each draft since the Covid-shortened festivities of 2020.
South Carolina baseball will begin its 2025 season on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The Paul Mainieri era’s official start will come with a three-game weekend series against Sacred Heart at Founders Park.
