D1Baseball projects Gamecocks to have two top-15 pitchers in 2017

The hype train is already off and rolling for South Carolina baseball’s 2017 pitching rotation.

So what’s a little more?

D1Baseball posted its list of the top 200 starting pitchers in college baseball, and the Gamecocks were well represented. Friday and Saturday starters Clarke Schmidt and Wil Crowe came in 11th and 13rd respectively.

USC’s third arm, Adam Hill, came in 57th, while redshirt freshman Cody Morris, who sat out last season following Tommy John surgery, was ranked 159.

Schmidt went 9-5 in 2016, leading the team in innings and posting an ERA of 3.40 with 129 strikeouts. Crowe missed last season with Tommy John, but went 11-7 with a 3.52 ERA in a season and half before the injury.

Hill went 7-0 as a freshman striking out 72 in 66 1/3 innings. He threw 123 pitches in seven innings of a NCAA Tournament win against Rhode Island, preserving the bullpen for the rest of the regional.

Morris was a 32nd-round draft pick out of high school, and had been considered a top-five round pick before his surgery.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 11:22 AM.