South Carolina Baseball: Gamecock star projected in top-10 of 2025 MLB Draft

South Carolina baseball fans know that they have a star on campus.

As a true freshman, Gamecock right fielder Ethan Petry was one of the best players in the country. The slugger hit for an absurd slash line of .376/.471/.733/1.204, and he made a lot of South Carolina baseball history along the way.

Petry rewrote the record books for freshman home runs (23), RBI (75), and OPS (1.204). He also finished the season in the top-10 all-time for single-season home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage.

#20 was in the top-10 in the SEC in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, RBI, and hits. He led the Gamecocks in all of those categories.

Last week, Petry was projected as a future top-10 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft by Baseball America.

As a prospect, Petry's bat is his best feature. With prodigious power and some good bat-to-ball skills to go with it, he will be one of the best offensive players in the '25 MLB Draft process. His 6'4" frame holds his 235 pounds in such a way that adding muscle seems feasible for the Florida native. He likely will enter the draft with the best power ratings of any Gamecock since Justin Smoak.

Though Petry is not a base-stealing threat very often, he has decent speed for a man his size. He can take exra bases when the ball is in play and can track down balls in the outfield that most big thumpers can't.

Petry is not a natural outfielder but got significantly better throughout last season after moving to right field. His strong arm helped him in right and could intrigue a team enough to leave him in the corner outfield if he continues to progress.

He came up as a shortstop and third baseman, but his frame suggests that corner outfield or first base is his professional future. It is unclear exactly where the big fella will play in 2024 for the Gamecocks, but his bat definitely will be in the middle of the Carolina order where it belongs.