Last week, elite high school power-hitting high school prospect George Wolkow announced he would be foregoing his college career for South Carolina baseball due to being selected high in the 2023 MLB Draft. Wolkow was taken in the 7th round by his hometown Chicago White Sox.
Wolkow is not the only South Carolina baseball commitment to head off to the professional ranks before making their way to Columbia. Since 2008, the Gamecocks have been hit as hard as just about any college baseball program with MLB-bound commitments and there are a handful of similar stories for the Gamecocks that occurred before 2008, as well.
In next year’s draft, PJ Morlando (3rd-ranked prospect nationally according to Perfect Game) could be the next great Gamecock commitment to head straight to the pros.
In the history of the program, some players have immediately become top prospects at the next level, others have had long MLB careers, some have even been All-Stars, and still some have ended up as some of the best to ever play the game. Who are some of the biggest names to be committed to South Carolina baseball but elect to go pro instead?
Honorable Mention/Other Famous Names
Jamie Callahan: Jamie Callahan (2012, 2nd round pick by the Boston Red Sox) was the top player in the state of South Carolina coming out of high school and was considered one of the most talented pitchers in Minor League Baseball when he became a pro.
Unfortunately for Callahan, nothing worked out for the former South Carolina baseball commitment, and he only spent part of one season in the Big Leagues with the New York Mets and is now out of baseball entirely.
Nick Ciuffo: Nick Ciuffo (2013, 1st round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays) was one of the most famous high school baseball players to come out of the state of South Carolina. The Gamecocks offered him a scholarship while he was still in middle school, but Ciuffo was given a $2 Million signing bonus by the normally frugal Tampa Bay Rays because he was viewed as a “can’t-miss” prospect.
Ciuffo’s prospect pedigree puts him on this list far more than his actual production. “Can’t-miss” turned out to be far from the truth with the Lexington High School product as he ended up missing more games due to drug suspensions (50) than he had at-bats at the Major League level (48).
Travis Demeritte: Travis Demeritte (2013, 1st round pick by the Texas Rangers) has bounced around the Minor Leagues for almost a decade. He has had three stints in the Majors with the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves, but Demeritte has struggled to make contact with the baseball despite his immense talent.
Luis Campusano: Luis Campusano (2017, 2nd round pick by the San Diego Padres) was viewed as one of the best catching prospects in the country when he elected to go pro instead of head to college. He rose up through the Minors very quickly and has been the third catcher in the Padres organization for the past several seasons.