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Baseball commit ready to make early impact next year

Provided by Josh Gregory

South Carolina’s starting pitching has been predicated on a dominant lefty on the mound: Michael Roth, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Wynkoop. That’s changed this year with the starting weekend rotation having all three righties.

The Gamecocks have only one left-hander, Josh Reagan, who has pitched more than 3.1 innings this season. But that’s where pitcher/outfielder Josh Gregory is trying to find his place.

“I feel like I can fit in in the outfield and on the mound. I know they have a couple young outfielders but I know they got a couple open spots,” he said. “And on the mound I feel like I can fit right in the rotation. I know they need a couple lefties and that’s where I’m at.”

Gregory said he thinks he can be a starter at the next level and could come in and compete for playing time early.

“If you outwork this guy, it’s fair that way. They’re going to put the best nine out there and I feel like I can work hard and get there.”

The Gaffney senior said he has the highest batting average on his team with five home runs, and he’s hit 93 miles per hour throwing off the mound. His fastball has topped out at 92 miles per hour as well.

This has garnered attention from the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves. Gregory said he’s there’d be a few scenarios where he’d go to the majors if he was picked early enough, but he likes the idea of playing at South Carolina.

“I sat face-to-face with Chad Holbrook and I could tell what his character is like,” Gregory said. “I talked to him a lot and I just know I fit there.”

Gregory is ranked the No. 4 overall high school player in South Carolina and the best lefty from South Carolina. He said head coach Chad Holbrook was a big player in his recruitment process.

He said Holbrook told him the 6-foot-1 Gregory has what it takes to go far in baseball, and he wants to learn from what he things is a top-notch program.

“The baseball program is up there with the best; it is the best in my opinion,” he said. “And you can see that with this year, they’re doing great.”

The Gamecocks are 29-8, 11-4 in the SEC and are projected to not only host a regional but could be one of eight national seeds for the NCAA Tournament. This excites Gregory, who has been keeping up with the team.

If South Carolina makes the NCAA Tournament it’ll be its 16 appearance in 17 years and its 12 regional in the same span.

With that idea in mind, Gregory is excited for the future of the program when he steps on campus and hopes he can make an immediate impact when he laces up for the first time.

“I’m excited about winning. I just want to win,” he said. “And I know we’ll win down there.”

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