Key members from title run move on to minor leagues
Winning a third straight national championship is a challenge in itself. Making the task more difficult for South Carolina will be the loss of several key players to the MLB Draft.
Of the 11 Gamecocks selected in the draft in early June, eight opted to make the jump to the professional ranks, including four underclassmen.
Highlighting that list was outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who agreed to a deal with the Boston Red Sox after being selected with the No. 40 overall pick in the compensation round of the draft.
“It was great,” Bradley said of being drafted. “It was a very special moment that I was able to share with my family. It was exciting. We were all waiting there. Just to hear your name finally called is a blessing. I didn’t really have a sense of where I was going to go. I didn’t get any phone calls beforehand. This is new to me. I’m just happy I was able to be drafted by a team.”
As a junior, the Prince George, Va., native hit .247 with six home runs and 27 RBIs while missing 26 games with a tendon injury in his left wrist. He managed to return for Carolina’s national title run in Omaha, adding four hits and an RBI as the Gamecocks claimed their second consecutive championship.
“This year was this year,” Bradley said. “I’m going to build from it. There are no excuses to be made about it. I had an off year. It is what it is. But I know the kind of ballplayer that I am, and apparently Boston knows the kind of ballplayer that I am, or they wouldn’t have picked me. For them to have faith in me and know what I can do is great.”
The Gamecocks will also be without three-quarters of their starting infield from 2011. Second baseman Scott Wingo was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an 11th-round pick, shortstop Peter Mooney was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 21st round and third baseman Adrian Morales was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 49th round.
Wingo, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 College World Series, provided a career season as a senior, batting .338 in 69 games while posting four home runs and 31 RBIs, while fellow senior Morales hit .281 with three home runs and 40 RBIs. Mooney, who bypassed his final year of eligibility to go pro, hit .280 in his only year at Carolina with four home runs and 37 RBIs.
On the other side of the ball, the Gamecocks saw right-hander John Taylor sign with the Seattle Mariners after going in the 22nd round, while underclassmen Steven Neff and Bryan Harper agreed to contracts with the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals, respectively.
Taylor leaves for the minor leagues after a stellar season as USC’s setup reliever, going 8-1 with a 1.14 ERA and 63 strikeouts in a team-record 50 appearances. Neff, who also hit five home runs in just 71 at-bats, posted an ERA of 2.45 in 12 appearances, while Harper went 1-0 with an ERA of 5.40.