South Carolina transfer commit Jonathan French breaks down decision
Jonathan French knew what he was doing when he sent out the tweet. Sitting in South Carolina’s locker room soon after committing to the Gamecocks, Dylan Brewer was urging him to announce things officially.
French—who wanted to wait and do that once he was accepted and knew he’d be enrolling—opted instead for something different.
The tweet simply read “Yo,” with the location tagged. Just a few days later the catcher commit made things official.
“I would say their belief in me was the biggest thing. They saw the guy I was in high school and they saw the past two years I had and they see the stories don’t match,” French said. “They see the potential in me to be a great player, and they see pretty much the potential for me to be a dude and reinvent myself almost.”
French entered the transfer portal after Clemson moved on from head coach Monte Lee. His priority was looking for a place where he could catch every day.
South Carolina was one of the schools to jump into the race for him. It was their belief in him that ultimately sold him on coming to South Carolina.
French was a top 60 player in the country coming out of high school. But never fully tapped into some of that during his time at Clemson.
He slashed .217/.333/.428 in 164 plate appearances last season but did homer eight times and drove in 22 runs.
French is also excited to work with South Carolina assistant Chad Caillet and try and unearth some of the potential he had coming out of high school.
“Offensively, they see some power. They see the potential for me to be a great hitter. Then with a few minor tweaks in my approach and slight mechanical change I can grow into being the hitter they see me as,” he said.
“Then defensively they see I can lead a pitching staff. They see I can block well and receive well. They see a guy that they don’t have to worry about this season.”
French is also close with a few South Carolina pitchers, including fellow Georgia natives Will Sanders and Jackson Phipps.
Those two, French said, reached out to him. Both said they’re confident the Gamecocks are building “something special” and French is excited to catch some of those pitchers this season.
“Oh, I’m ecstatic. That’s the biggest part I’m looking forward to. I’m catching Will Sanders on Friday night. Then you got Noah Hall going. The names and amount of arms they have are endless,” he said. “We got Jack Mahoney coming back, Jackson Phipps coming back. It’s a whole bunch of electricity in that bullpen and in that pitching staff. I’m excited to be part of that.”
French will get on campus as the semester approaches. He is spending the offseason workout out and refining his game for the jump to the SEC.
The fall will also be integral for him to adjust and improve to get ready for playing at South Carolina and tapping into his potential.
“I wouldn’t have made this decision if I wasn’t confident in those two and what they were saying about me getting the development I need,” he said. “There have been people on Twitter all day saying I can’t hit in the ACC so I can’t hit in the SEC. The way I look at it, those two seasons are over. That doesn’t define who I am.”
