Former South Carolina baseball star to participate in Home Run Derby this weekend

South Carolina baseball star Ethan Petry earned a second-round selection in this summer’s Major League Baseball Draft. The slugging outfielder/first baseman battled some injuries in 2025, but his raw power from the right side of the plate showed up enough to entice the Washington Nationals to take him with the 49th overall pick.

He will have the opportunity to showcase that power this weekend.

Petry announced this week that he will represent his Scottsdale Scorpions Arizona Fall League team in the league’s Home Run Derby on Saturday, November 8th. He will team up with former LSU star Tommy White.

The derby will take place at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, the home of the Chicago Cubs’ spring training team and the Cubs’ Arizona Fall League affiliate. The event will begin at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) as part of the Fall-Stars Weekend. MLB.com will stream the action.

Fellow former Gamecock right-handed bopper Wes Clarke, now with the Houston Astros organization, participated in the derby in 2023. In this year’s derby, Petry is the only first-year pro competing.

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Petry has only spent a few months in the professional game. Still dealing with lingering effects from his injuries, he didn’t knock too many balls out of the yard for the Fredericksburg Nationals this summer or the Scottsdale Scorpions this fall. However, he has reached base 67 times across 40 combined games.

According to MLB.com’s announcement of this year’s derby, Petry is now fully healthy. Because of that, he should put on a show on Saturday.

During his South Carolina baseball career, Petry set numerous freshman records in 2023, including smacking 23 home runs. He earned All-American honors as both a freshman in ’23 and a sophomore in 2024. He had a chance to challenge for the Gamecocks’ all-time home run record before getting hurt as a junior this spring.

The Florida native owns the USC record for best slugging percentage over a three-year career (.661). He is also among the program’s leaders in career home runs, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, and total bases.

Now, Petry is the Nationals’ No. 8 prospect. He primarily played the corner outfield at Carolina and added some time at first base (with a little third base mixed in, too). For the Nationals, he has split his time between the corner outfield, designated hitter, and first base.

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