Committing to South Carolina a 'dream come true' for Ty Good
Ty Good has always envisioned himself pitching at South Carolina and Founders Park, but it didn’t work out when he came out of high school.
The South Pointe star instead went to the College of Charleston where he turned into the league’s pitcher of the year in 2023 before entering the transfer portal this offseason.
And now, after missing his chance four years ago, Good gets to pitch for the Gamecocks as one of the latest commitments on the mound.
“It felt great and it felt like a dream come true,” Good told GamecockCentral. “It took time but I’m grateful it came back around and I had the opportunity to be a Gamecock.”
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Good comes to South Carolina after a prolific career with the Cougars. He sits second in program history in wins (25) and third in career strikeouts (274).
He was a two-time All-CAA pitcher and his career culminated in him earning CAA Pitcher of the Year honors this season.
Good finished with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Teams hit .212/.327/.304 against him with 93 strikeouts to 44 walks.
And now he gets to pitch at a school he dreamed about pitching at since he was young.
“I’ve been wanting to go to USC since I was a kid. I watched them growing up and they were always the guys I was watching on TV,” Good said.
“It didn’t work out of high school but it made its way back to me and I’m excited and happy that coach (Monte) Lee was interested in me and he wanted me to come there. I’m glad I made that decision.”
The Gamecocks were one of the first schools to reach out to Good. He said recruiting coordinator Monte Lee called him less than 10 minutes after entering the portal.
That went a long way for Good, who was able to connect with Lee over their respective time at the College of Charleston.
“He was telling me they were very interested and he’d been looking at me for a long time. He’s seen I’m a very good ballplayer and did great things for his school and that he’d take care of me,” Good said. “We had a lot in common. He went to the College of Charleston, played there and coached there…I felt that it was genuine and the right decision to make.”
Now Good will get to Columbia in a few months ready to work and help bolster a staff losing a lot of production from last season.
South Carolina isn’t sure what his role will be heading into 2024. But the Gamecocks can use a veteran arm that was very productive at the mid-major level.
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“I would say I’m going to bring a very competitive attitude. It might look like I’m laid back out there but I’m really into the game. I’m very passionate about it. I’m just a dog,” Good said. “I go pitch by pitch but I’m just trying to get them out of there. I work very quickly, I work fast. I’m just ready to handle business. I like to get in there and handle business.”
One thing Good–who is draft eligible and can sign professionally in July–is working on is a slider.
“Right now I’m trying to continue to perfect my slider. I just started throwing it last fall and it was the first season I started throwing it,” Good said. “I was successful with it. It was one of my better pitches and one of my better off-speed pitches. Then being consistent with my fastball, making sure I can land that and work off it.”
