Four South Carolina baseball players were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, which was held in Los Angeles from July 17-19.
The Gamecocks’ four draft selections all came on the final day of the event.
The first South Carolina player off the board was senior right-handed pitcher James Hicks, who was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles with the 437th overall selection in the draft’s 15th round. Hicks’ 2022 season was cut short after only two appearances due to an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his elbow that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Before his time with the Gamecocks, he pitched to an 11-3 record and 4.28 ERA over 90.1 innings with Crowder College of the NJCAA in his lone full collegiate season in 2021.
Three picks later, the Pittsburgh Pirates used their 15th round selection on fifth-year outfielder Josiah Sightler. Sightler, previously drafted in the 12th round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2018, was a powerful bat in the Gamecocks’ lineup, leading the team in home runs (15), slugging percentage (.629) and total bases (107) while hitting .300 in the 2022 season.
It wasn’t until the 18th round that the next South Carolina player was drafted when senior infielder Braylen Wimmer was taken 542nd overall by the Philadelphia Phillies. Wimmer embodied consistency during the 2022 season, starting all 55 of the Gamecocks’ games and finishing amongst the team leaders in batting average (.312), home runs (7), and RBIs (35).
With their final pick of the draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected senior pitcher Noah Hall 612th overall in the 20th round. After spending the first two years of his college career at Appalachian State University, Hall joined South Carolina’s rotation and pitched to a 3-5 record and 4.34 ERA over 76.2 innings, amassing 78 strikeouts and two SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week nominations in 2022.
All four players have the opportunity to play for the Gamecocks for another season. If any player chooses to join the professional ranks instead, they have until Aug. 1 to sign with their respective major league teams.