Why coming back home was always the dream for South Carolina commit Andrew McLaughlin

Andrew McLaughlin couldn’t be any further from home as a freshman in college. The Summerville, S.C. native is currently playing baseball at Florida Southwestern State College, a JUCO program located in Fort Myers.

In total, McLaughlin is more than 10 hours away from Summerville. His family hasn’t been able to come to see him pitch much because of the distance. This wasn’t how he planned for things to go. All he knew he wanted to do was find a way to make it back home.

And after getting off to a strong start this season, the right-handed pitcher’s long-term plans are coming to fruition. He recently received an offer from South Carolina, which he happily accepted, and made it official on Monday that he would be coming home to play for his favorite team growing up.

“Once I got to FSW, I was working just to come back home, go to South Carolina,” McLaughlin told GamecockCentral. “I knew when Coach (Terry) Rooney called me for the first time, he was super interested and made it sound like the coaching staff really wanted me to come back. I just knew it was the right fit.”

Join GamecockCentral: $1 per week for the first year

McLaughlin, who played at Ashley Ridge High School in Summerville, initially had plans to go play at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II school in Hickory, North Carolina. He committed there during the summer of his junior year at Ashley Ridge.

But as he soon figured out, a lot can change between now and then. In the fall of his senior year, he made some drastic changes to better himself as a player.

“I kind of took off,” he said. “I got better in the weight room gaining some muscle — gained like 20 pounds. Then I came out and was throwing much harder and just an overall better pitcher.”

At the time of his commitment to Lenoir-Rhyne, McLaughlin was throwing around 87 miles per hour, topping out at 90. Then after spending more time in the weight room, he found himself throwing a lot harder to where he’s now reaching 96 miles per hour this year.

Seeing how much he had improved, he decided to de-commit from Lenoir-Rhyne in hopes of landing at a higher-level baseball school. There was one problem, though.

“I de-committed and I never got my eligibility back from the NCAA because they wouldn’t release me from my previous commitment,” McLaughlin said. “So I had to come down here to FSW where I already had a good connection with (FSW head) coach (Zac) Cole.”

Win tickets to USC-Clemson baseball (Sunday game in Columbia)

While it wasn’t ideal, it turned out to be the move that helped him get on South Carolina’s radar. In four appearances with the Bucs, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder has pitched to a 2.23 ERA with 17 strikeouts and five walks in 13.2 innings.

“I definitely think I have a really sharp slider in the low to mid-80s. High spin on it, good shape,” McLaughlin said of his pitch mix. “I also have a really nice sinker to pair along with it. Breaks into righties a lot and tails away from lefties a lot. It’s got good swing and miss — really good setup pitch to come back with the slider.”

When he needs to throw a strike, McLaughlin likes to “just rip a fastball in as hard as I can on the outside.”

“I think just getting ahead of batters. I think I’m at like a 75 percent first-pitch strike right now,” he said. “That’s really just helped me get ahead of staying ahead of hitters. Not really playing around with them, just getting ahead, staying ahead, and letting my stuff work and just overpower them.”

When he comes to South Carolina in the fall, he knows he’ll have to earn his spot on the pitching staff. But he’s just thrilled about the opportunity to be back in his home state.

“It means a lot,” McLaughlin said. “… I know a lot of friends, I know a lot of guys on the team already, so that’s a comfort level, as well. I know the fanbase will probably rally around the hometown kid, as well, so that’s good to know.”

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!