South Carolina baseball star Ethan Petry still earning high MLB Draft grade

South Carolina baseball star Ethan Petry has been destined to be an early pick in the MLB Draft for years. Arriving in Columbia with high expectations, he quickly became a star with a record-setting freshman campaign. With two more years of strong production only hampered by a shoulder injury and limited team success in 2025, current draft projections have the right-handed slugger coming off the board pretty early this summer.

According to The Athletic’s Keith Law, Ethan Petry will be a second-round pick. In his first Big Board for the 2025 MLB Draft, Law grades Petry as the No. 67 overall draft-eligible player, including players from high school, junior college, and four-year college ball. That would make him a selection in the competitive balance portion of the second round.

The projection mirrors others for Petry. Most outlets have pegged him as going in the first, second, or third round this July. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel also projects Petry as a second-round pick, ranking him 63rd on his most recent big board. It is worth noting that Petry hasn’t made any official announcements regarding his future and has one more year of eligibility remaining. However, with expectations of early selection, it would be a surprise if he returned to school.

Former South Carolina commitments Cameron Appenzeller (80) and Peter Mershon (92) also made Law’s top 100. Following Mark Kingston’s dismissal as Gamecocks head coach, Appenzeller flipped to Tennessee, and Mershon flipped to Mississippi State. Petry is the only current Gamecock or USC commitment on Law’s board.

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It is easy to see why the big-swinging Gamecock is high on MLB scouting radars. At 6-4 and 235 pounds, Petry has major power. He smacked over 20 home runs both as a freshman and as a sophomore. A minor slump and then a shoulder injury prevented him from challenging Justin Smoak’s South Carolina baseball career home run record.

Petry has some (limited) positional flexibility, as well. Arriving at South Carolina as a third baseman, the Florida native filled a hole in right field as a freshman. Right remained his primary position the next two years, but he also played a decent amount of first base. Though Petry is not an elite defensive player at any spot, he is good enough at first to play, and he could be a corner outfielder on a team with strong center field defense. Of course, the universal DH doesn’t hurt his chances of finding a role within an organization.

This year’s MLB Draft will begin on July 13th and run through July 14th. The first three rounds will take place on the 13th, and the remaining 17 rounds will come the next day. ESPN will broadcast the first round, while MLB.com will make the entire event available via streaming and live updates.

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