South Carolina Baseball: Not a repost, SEC announces Ethan Petry as winner of another award

Ethan Petry is amazing. There likely have been 100 different variations of that same sentence written recently in articles about South Carolina baseball’s sensational freshman. The 18-year old has become a star as all he does is crush baseballs.

Petry is the best offensive player on the best offense in college baseball. He currently leads the Gamecocks in home runs, hits, RBI, batting average, slugging percentage, and sacrifice flies, and he is just one percentage point away from the team lead in on-base percentage.

Already named the Midseason Freshman of the Year by USA Baseball, Petry has firmly inserted himself into the Golden Spikes Award given annually to the national player of the year. Petry and fellow Gamecock slugger Gavin Casas were both put on the midseason watch list for the award.

Now, for the fourth time in a row and the fifth time this season, Ethan Petry was named the SEC freshman of the week. Not only that, Petry was named the conference’s player of the week, regardless of class or position. In Carolina’s 2-1 week against North Carolina and LSU, Petry went a combined 4-9 with two home runs, 9 RBI, 2 runs scored, 2 walks, and a hit by pitch. Both of his home runs were absolute bombs, and one of them was a grand slam that blew the game open against LSU.

Just over halfway through his first season in Columbia, Petry already has an argument as the best freshman to ever play at South Carolina. Names like Justin Smoak, Christian Walker, Drew Meyer, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. have come through Columbia and had excellent freshman campaigns, but Petry has surpassed their production already.

Luckily for Gamecock fans, Petry will be in garnet and black for at least two more seasons as college players must stay in school for three years before declaring for the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.