Pitching for South Carolina 'a dream come true' for transfer Amp Phillips

With the way Amp Phillips pitched this year, especially at the end of the season, he had many suitors interested in his services once he entered the transfer portal. He had quickly become a hot commodity.

Phillips, who had a 9.64 ERA on Feb. 26, became USC Upstate’s best pitcher and ended the year with a respectable 3.64 ERA. He earned himself the chance to land at a bigger school or potentially turn pro in the 2025 MLB Draft.

When it came to making a decision, though, the Lancaster native chose to stay in his home state and transfer to South Carolina. According to head coach Paul Mainieri, Phillips turned down “a lot of money” to stay in school, but his dream of becoming a Gamecock was too good to pass up.

“(My family and I) grew up South Carolina fans, and I remember when they won the national championship,” Phillips told GamecockCentral. “… It’s just a dream come true. And I just figured there wasn’t a price I could put on my experience I would have in Columbia.”

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Like most, Mainieri came across him in early June while watching his start against Clemson in the NCAA Tournament. Phillips, who went 21 straight innings without allowing a run, pitched six innings and allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked one over 97 pitches.

Upstate would go on to lose after a late-inning rally by Clemson. But Phillips more than proved himself against one of the top teams in the country. It was then that Mainieri knew he wanted to bring him aboard.

“I was like, ‘Man, see now that’s the kind of pitcher I would like to have,'” Mainieri said on July 16. “Just a really gutty competitor. … He was not a show-off on the mound, but he pitched with a lot of emotion. Well, lo and behold, the kid ends up going into the transfer portal. So I was like, ‘We’re going after that kid.'”

Despite having as much success as he did, Phillips didn’t crack the Spartans rotation until late March. He started in the bullpen, giving up at least one run in each of his first five outings. He then picked up saves in consecutive appearances against No. 19 Troy and Stetson.

His next outing on March 15 against Radford would be when everything changed for him. After Upstate starter Max Kaplan allowed six runs, Phillips came in and tossed five strong innings of two-run ball. He struck out seven with one walk and threw 85 pitches, his most up to that point.

Spartans head coach Kane Sweeney went over to Phillips and told him that he would start on the mound the following weekend. It was a spot he’d hold on to as he made 12 starts and became the Big South Newcomer of the Year.

READ HERE: Analyzing impact of South Carolina’s first batch of transfer commits

For Phillips, he believes he’s at his best when he has a chip on his shoulder. He feels that he has something to prove every time he takes the mound. When his outing begins, his mentality is “to try to blow it by somebody” with each pitch he throws.

“When I get that fastball call, I like to work at the top of the zone with a lot of carry and blow it by somebody. It feels amazing,” Phillips said. “And then when that’s working, I like to throw my slider off of it down and get lots of swings and misses over top of it.”

As he joins South Carolina, Phillips plans to continue to pitch with the same edge that’s helped him get here. He wants to build off last season’s momentum and turn it into sustainable success going into 2026.

“The ultimate goal is to challenge myself,” he said. “Pitching in the SEC, the best conference in college baseball, meet a lot of cool dudes on the team and get to know Coach Mainieri and Coach (Terry) Rooney and Coach (Chris) Gordon a lot more and win a championship.”

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