Heading into the 2026 season, South Carolina baseball is going to rely on left-handed pitcher Jake McCoy to help anchor its pitching staff.
The junior got his feet wet in 2024 before becoming a weekend starter in 2025. He had a tremendous summer in the Cape Cod League in which he struck out nearly half the batters he faced en route to a 1.46 ERA. McCoy will look to bridge that success into SEC play this spring.
If things go well for him, the MLB Draft will come calling. In fact, according to MLB.com’s latest prospect rankings, McCoy is the No. 63 draft-eligible player—that’s across college, junior college, and high school baseball.
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Said MLB.com’s scouting report:
“Though McCoy recorded a 7.11 ERA in his first two seasons at South Carolina, a brief but dominant stint in the Cape Cod League last summer left some evaluators wondering if he might be the best college left-hander in the 2026 Draft. He struck out 25 of the 54 Cape batters he faced while issuing just three walks in three starts. He has the stuff and metrics to back up that performance and will have to show he can sustain it.”
McCoy has flashed the ability to be a frontline starter at times during his South Carolina baseball career. He has a strong fastball, especially from the left side, and his breaking stuff is borderline elite. This offseason, he has retooled his arsenal with an improved changeup. If he throws it with consistency, his repertoire will be as formidable as anyone in garnet and black this fall.
During his time in Columbia, McCoy hasn’t pitched to the type of ERA he had hoped (7.11 through two seasons), but he has showcased strikeout stuff. The lefty from Fort Mill has fanned 97 batters through just 76 innings pitched. Cutting down on his free passes will be paramount, however. Through two seasons, he has walked 55 batters and hit 23 more. That is more than one free pass per inning.
A bounce-back year for the Gamecocks likely will require McCoy to be at his best. This offseason, head coach Paul Mainieri acknowledged that McCoy likely had a leg up on the rest of the roster for a weekend rotation spot.
South Carolina will begin its 2026 season on February 13th with a three-game weekend series against Northern Kentucky.