South Carolina staff, development seal the deal for RHP Max McClellan
Max McClellan was in the throws of his recruitment and still deciding on a school when he texted South Carolina pitching coach Matt Williams.
McClellan was dealing with some issues mechanically and wanted input from a collegiate pitching coach. A few hours later, Williams called him and walked the right-handed pitcher through exactly how to fix it.
That sealed the deal, and a few days later McClellan was part of the Gamecocks’ 2024 class.
“When he did that, that was the last piece for me,” McClellan told GamecockCentral. “I committed two days later.”
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This was his second bout through the recruitment process, having committed to UCF earlier and deciding to back off of his pledge after a coaching change.
Once he was uncommitted again, he had his sights set on the SEC or ACC. That’s where South Carolina came into the picture.
The Gamecocks watched him pitch a few times then invited him on campus for a visit. After meeting with the entire staff and seeing the people in the program, McClellan “didn’t waste any time” jumping on board.
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“The bells and whistles are great, but that’s not what’s going to matter. If you have a good pitching coach and a good staff, you can win in the back of a warehouse. You can win a lot of games if you’re surrounded by the right people,” McClellan said.
“You get to a place like South Carolina where they have all the resources in the world. Coach Monte Lee is taking me on the visit and he’s talking about pitching more than most pitching coaches I’ve talked to.”
What really impressed McClellan was the cohesiveness of the staff and the people in the program. Once the Gamecocks checked that box, it was an easy decision for the Ohio native.
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“Matt Williams is down to earth and the development is awesome,” he said. “Coach Lee and coach (Kingston) are all aware and all in the same circle. They’re all on the same page, and that’s huge to me.”
And with McClellan, there’s a lot to work with there. PerfectGame lists him at 6-foot-7, 210 pounds with a fastball that’s topped out at 92 miles per hour at a PerfectGame event.
The size is undoubtedly exciting, but what South Carolina likes the most is McClellan is his ability to go out and throw strikes and truly pitch.
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“They expressed to me early that I know how to pitch. I throw four pitches for strikes. I like to compete and like to be in that big moment. It helps to be in the big moment when you have four pitches. I spin two different breaking balls,” he said. “I throw a changeup and I throw a fastball that has a lot of movement on it. The velocity will come. The velocity is the easiest thing to teach for me. They were more focused on the way I can pitch.”
