South Carolina native Jake McCoy continues to grow as a relief pitcher
Jake McCoy knows what winning means in the state of South Carolina. As a high school senior, the Fort Mill native led Catawba Ridge to a state championship in 2023.
So when he joined the Gamecocks, he knew what he was getting himself into. That same type of expectation and level of excellence.
“People expect South Carolina baseball to win and I mean I think that I’ve seen that. I think Kingston and coaches have that same expectation,” McCoy told GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri in a Garnet Trust exclusive interview.
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Since becoming a Gamecock, McCoy has become a successful relief pitcher, appearing in 10 games pitched. The high standards of South Carolina have helped McCoy excel against top bats. He’s pitching to a 5.79 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 13 walks.
“I think the standard is set very high and I think that was kind of something that we talked about. I want to be held to a high standard,” McCoy said. “I don’t want to be able to, not that I’m the type of person to slack off, I don’t want that to be allowed to happen.”
While the ERA may be a little high and the strikeout-to-walk ratio could be better, McCoy is starting to settle into his role. He recently got to go home and pitch in front of his family and friends when South Carolina made the trip to Rock Hill to face Winthrop.
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“It was definitely a cool experience,” McCoy said. “What can you say, I mean I’ve played at Winthrop a thousand times and it was definitely nice to have all those people up there. Because I mean I talked to all those people back home like, ‘Yeah, we want to get to Founders for a game.’ But it’s just people’s schedules are so busy so it’s tough and I knew that going to Winthrop a lot of people were going to be able to be there. After the game I got to see a lot of close family and friends so it was definitely really awesome. That’s something I don’t take for granted.”
As a freshman, McCoy has turned to upperclassmen for advice on pitching approach. Moreover, veterans in the locker room have helped the young arm develop through communication.
“Definitely pitchers too, like, ‘Hey, versus this guy maybe what have you seen? What should I try and do?'” McCoy said.
Academically speaking, McCoy has completed his first school year at South Carolina. Now, the focus is just on baseball and the chase to play championship baseball, just like he did in high school.
“You kind of wake up and it’s just baseball,” McCoy said. “So it allows you to kind of lock in and focus. I can see myself spending a lot more time at the field like in the locker room with the guys.”
