'That tore me apart last year.' MLB draft dream finally realized for USC's Stokes

As life-altering moments go, Madison Stokes kept his about as low-key as possible.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced they were taking Stokes with the 287th pick of the Major League Baseball draft. What was the South Carolina senior doing at the time? Well, the news temporarily stopped Stokes from helping clean his girlfriend's house.

"She was the one that actually saw the tweet that popped up on my phone," Stokes said Wednesday. "And she sprinted out the door. I think she was more excited than I was."

The reason for tempered celebration was twofold for Stokes. No. 1, he's still an active college player. His Gamecocks face Arkansas on Saturday to begin a best-of-three Super Regional series with a trip to Omaha on the line. No. 2, he had gone through this experience before.

Baseball America pegged Stokes as the state's No. 3 prospect when he left A.C. Flora High School for USC in 2014. The Columbia native was a three-time state champion and two-time all-state performer for the Falcons. He was a 40th-round pick of the New York Yankees then, but, after three years of success in garnet and black, a better professional situation would surely come his way.

So Stokes, after batting just .224 as a junior, sat on his couch last June and waited for any kind of call.

"I did that for three days straight," he said, "and it didn't turn out so well."

Less than a month after breaking his wrist, Stokes went undrafted. The sinking feeling was finally released Tuesday when the Phillies texted their 10th rounder.

"That tore me apart last year," Stokes said. "It was probably the hardest thing I've ever gone through just because I want to play professional baseball so bad. That's my ultimate dream and goal and something I've worked for all my life, and I continue to work for.

"Yeah, it was gratifying. I'm just glad it's over now."

Mark Kingston was hired to replace Chad Holbrook on June 30. Stokes, who dealt with injuries as a sophomore and junior, now had a new coach.

Did he ever think of leaving his hometown? Did he ever want to go elsewhere to take that elusive final step toward a professional career?

"Not at all," Stokes said. "I knew that I was going to face adversity, and that's part of baseball. I think the successful players, what separates them is how they handle that adversity and how they bounce back.

"So, I thank my family and friends and coaches and everybody that's helped me through that adversity and injuries and not getting drafted last year. They've been there for me through it all, and I can't thank them enough."

Stokes, serving now as Carolina's designated hitter, is second on the team in batting average (.331) and home runs (10). The slot value for his draft pick is $142,600.

"I knew that he had a tough junior year," Kingston said of his initial meeting with Stokes. "He had hoped to be drafted and wasn't. And I think it was motivating for him, and I think he wanted some guidance on what he needed to work on, what needed to get better. And he worked extremely hard.

"My impression of him from the get-go was he was a very mature kid, he had a goal and that was to try to help this program and get to pro baseball. And he's obviously done that this year.

"I think he's put in the work and he's getting his just due at this point."

All it took was some patience — and a little house cleaning.

"I got tired of waiting," Stokes said, "but I had my faith in God. He was going to take care of me no matter what."

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 3:27 PM with the headline "'That tore me apart last year.' MLB draft dream finally realized for USC's Stokes."