WATCH: South Carolina baseball has incredible reaction to commitment of Nyckoles Harbor
With South Carolina earning a commitment from five-star prospect Nyckoles Harbor on Wednesday, it wasn’t just the football team that had cause for celebration. The Gamecocks baseball team also took notice.
South Carolina pitcher Jackson Phipps posted a video to Twitter of the team anxiously watching Harbor’s announcement from their locker room. When Harbor said he would begin his college career in Columbia, the players went crazy.
As a member of the Class of 2023, Harbor is a five-star prospect out of Washington D.C.’s Archbishop Carroll, according to the On3 Consensus. He is the No. 1 overall prospect in the D.C. area, the No. 1 athlete in the class and the No. 21 overall prospect in the class.
With the news, Nyckoles Harbor becomes the first five-star that coach Shane Beamer has signed since taking over in 2021. That led to a big celebration from Beamer and the coaching staff Wednesday as well.
He was the highest ranked uncommitted prospect entering Signing Day on Wednesday, with On3’s Prediction Machine giving him an 81.2% to sign with South Carolina. Oregon, Maryland and Michigan were behind, with the Ducks leading the way at just 8.8%.
It isn’t just Harbor that the Gamecocks have to be excited about in their recruiting class, however. They also signed 11 four-stars for the No. 16 class in the country according to On3’s Team Consensus Rankings. That includes EDGE defender Desmond Umeozulu, the No. 149 overall prospect according to On3 Consensus.
As for the baseball team, it is coming off of a 27-28 finish this past season. The Gamecocks enter 2023 ranked No. 23 in the country and have their season debut against UMass Lowell on Feb. 17.