Newly-enrolled pitcher could make impact early
Although he didn’t grow up in South Carolina, Rian Haire couldn’t avoid South Carolina growing up.
Coming of age in the 2000s, Haire—and a lot of other baseball players—watched as the Gamecocks went to five College World Series between 2000 and 2010, including two national titles and one second-place finish.
And when it came time for the Hudson, North Carolina pitcher to chose where to go to school, the South Carolina offer stood out.
“I’ve always wanted to go there. I’ve loved it there since I was little,” he said. “I like the coaching staff; I felt like they were really nice. I felt like it was the best fit for me and my family. I mean we prayed about it and I thought that’s where I needed to go.”
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Haire, who committed his sophomore season, said one of the biggest reasons for committing was the coaching staff. The left-handed pitcher said all of them were personable and “they weren’t really standoffish. They took the time to get to know you on a personal level.”
The 6-foot-3, 210 pounder visited the campus multiple times his senior year, along with other trips throughout his high school career. But it was on one visit the fans really stood out.
“There was a bunch of people there. I know it was a conference game, but there’s still a bunch of people there. You always see pictures of how the games get packed out but being there its’ a lot different. You can see how the team really holds the team to a high standards.”
Haire was ranked in many national media’s top prospects list, including D1 Baseball and Baseball America. He wasn’t selected in last month’s MLB Draft, and he enrolled at South Carolina at the beginning of July.
Now, instead of facing minor league hitting, he faces something just as good: SEC batters. And for him, that’s what he’s excited for.
“You’re going to be facing the best talent,” Haire said. “And you don’t want to face someone that’s going to make you worse; you want to face someone that’s as good or better than you because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.”
Haire was part of a South Caldwell team that started the season 13-1. In those first 14 games, he said he didn’t allow an earned run. A power arm that can consistently hit 90 miles an hour on his fastball, he’s able to blow by hitters at a moment’s notice.
With an already stacked pitching rotation next season, it’s likely the majority of his innings will come from the bullpen. But that’s not stopping him from going out and trying to take one of those starting spots.
But with his talent and high accolades coming out of high school (Haire left as the second-ranked player in North Carolina and No. 106 in the nation), it could be a short-lived stint not in the starting role.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “I want to go and help the team out anyway I can, but if that’s something they need me to do then that’s what I’ll do. But that’s always the goal in life: to be one of the main ones.”
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