South Carolina Baseball: Gamecock projected as top-2 pick in 2025 MLB Draft

This time a year ago, South Carolina baseball fans had no idea that they had one of the country's top freshmen on their favorite team's roster.

It didn't take long for the Gamecock faithful to learn the name Ethan Petry. The Florida native burst onto the scene in 2023, putting up the greatest freshman season in South Carolina baseball history. He set freshmen records with 23 home runs, 75 RBI, and a 1.204 OPS. He also put himself inside the top-10 in the Gamecock record books for home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and OPS, regardless of age.

In comparison to the rest of the Southeastern Conference, Petry's 83 hits, 23 homers, 75 RBI, .376 batting average, .471 on-base percentage, .733 slugging percentage, and 1.204 OPS were all top-10 marks in the league. He led his South Carolina Gamecocks in all of those statistics.

His breakout freshman year has vaulted him up future prospect rankings as, arguably, the best bat in next year's MLB Draft. With a perceived future probably at 1B, if Petry can become an average fielder in the corner outfield or at 3B, his draft stock could go up even more.

Petry has already been projected as a top-10 prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft by Baseball America, but on Wednesday, he was rated even higher by another national outlet.

On Wednesday, Perfect Game put out their early 2025 MLB Draft prospect rankings, and Petry made the cut. Coming in at the 2-spot, Petry only trails Texas A&M's Jace Laviolette (also a corner outfield/1B profile) on Perfect Game's list. Laviolette is viewed as having a better chance to stick in the outfield than Petry, hence the higher spot in the rankings.

The Gamecock star will look to lead his team to the College World Series for the first time since 2012. Carolina is considered an early favorite to make their way to Omaha, and if it happens, it will be in large part due to the efforts of Ethan Petry.