South Carolina Baseball: Gamecocks add second commitment of the week
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina baseball added a commitment over the weekend from class of 2023 left-handed pitcher Jake McCoy, but, as it turned out, the Gamecocks were not done adding commitments.
On Tuesday, big-time right-handed pitcher Ryder Garino announced his intentions to continue his baseball career with South Carolina Baseball.
I am blessed to announce my commitment to play Division 1 baseball at the University of South Carolina. I would like to thank my coaches @CoachChristianL , and @Zoom_Baseball . I would also like to thank my family for helping throughout this process, and to reach my goal Spurs up pic.twitter.com/CUHrc0CXGk
— Ryder Garino (@garino_ryder) July 25, 2023
Nicknamed “The Slim Reaper,” Garino already has shown an upper-80s fastball and a sweeping breaking ball that is untouchable at the high school level. At 6’5″ with long arms on a thin frame, Garino also has some projectable velocity gains as he will add strength in a college weight room. A 3/4 arm slot could indicate additional movement on his breaking pitches, as well.
Garino was viewed as the top uncommitted right-handed pitcher in the state of New Jersey prior to pledging himself to the Gamecocks on Tuesday. He made the New Jersey All-State team after his breakout junior season in 2023 as a 3rd-team starting pitcher who averaged over 10 strikeouts per start.
As is true for all pitchers that make their way to the Gamecock baseball program, Garino will have the ability to compete for a role in the starting rotation and the bullpen. Unlike some Carolina arms, though, his profile fits as a player who could perform well in either pitching duty as he profiles as a potential high strikeout weapon.
Garino also plays a little bit of first base and has some potential pop as a left-handed swinger. Most likely, however, his future at the collegiate level is strictly as a pitcher.
South Carolina baseball is undergoing significant turnover in the pitching staff from the 2022 season to the 2023 campaign as 6 Gamecock pitchers were taken in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Because of that, it is hard to project what the pitching staff could look like by the time Garino arrives on campus after graduating in 2024, but new pitching coach Matt Williams will have had some time by then to put together exactly what he is looking for in the starting rotation and the bullpen.