South Carolina reliever Cade Austin off the board in MLB Draft
Cade Austin, one of South Carolina’s go-to bullpen options over the course of the last two years, has been picked in the MLB Draft.
Austin went in the 19th round today, going No. 582 overall to the New York Yankees. He becomes the sixth player from the Gamecocks 2023 team drafted so far.
Jack Mahoney went No. 77 overall in the third round to the Rockies while Will Sanders went off the board No. 113 overall to the Chicago Cubs. Noah Hall (Mets) and Braylen Wimmer (Colorado) also went on Day 2 while James Hicks went No. 404 overall to the Astros.
After redshirting in 2021, Austin earned Freshman All-American honors in 2022 while recording a team-high 27 appearances with a 3.17 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 54 innings. He had a 2.84 ERA in SEC play that year with a .249 batting average against overall.
Those numbers dipped some this year with Austin sporting a 4.55 ERA in 29.2 innings as a redshirt sophomore with a .243 batting average against.
[Get news from GamecockCentral via email]
He struck out 38 to nine walks over 23 appearances and one start. Austin was a former top 500 prospect coming to campus.
The draft will run through Tuesday night with rounds 3-10 Monday followed by Rounds 11-20 the next day.
South Carolina is coming off a quality season in 2023 that included the program’s first 40-win season and top 16 seed since 2016 and first Super Regional appearance since 2018.
Top 10
- 1
Wasserman Top 10
Ari Wasserman's updated Top 10
- 2Hot
Elko jabs Jimbo
Mike Elko sends strong message
- 3Trending
Michigan-MSU fight
Things turned ugly as game ended
- 4New
James Franklin apology
PSU HC apologizes for press conference handling
- 5
Drew Allar update
James Franklin on PSU QB injury
The Gamecocks finished 42-21 (16-13 SEC) and ran through the Columbia regional before ultimately getting swept in a Super Regional by the eventual national runners-up in Florida.
[Subscribe to GamecockCentral’s YouTube page]
It’s been a hectic offseason for South Carolina from staff turnover to roster additions over the last few weeks. Liberty’s Matt Williams replaced Justin Parker as the Gamecocks’ pitching coach with Parker leaving to take the same position at Mississippi State.
Monte Lee will be back for year two as the Gamecocks’ recruiting coordinator and associate head coach under Mark Kingston. South Carolina is also adding Joey Holcomb as the team’s third paid assistant, coming over after a pair of years at Campbell.
South Carolina’s been busy in the transfer portal, too, bringing in Austin Brinling (North Florida), Kennedy Jones (UNC-G), Blake Jackson (Charlotte) and Dalton Reeves (Presbyterian).
Versatile infielder Parker Noland is coming over from Vanderbilt while Tyler Causey comes from North Carolina.
The Gamecocks have two reigning Pitchers of the Year committed in Ty Good (Charleston) and Duffy with Garrett Gainey (Liberty) and Tyler Dean (Virginia Tech) also on board.
