South Carolina baseball’s top starting pitcher to miss 2026 season
South Carolina starting rotation took a huge hit with the start of the season a little more than two weeks away.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jake McCoy will miss the 2026 season after suffering a UCL tear and will require surgery, per a team announcement Wednesday.
McCoy pitched two innings in an intrasquad scrimmage Jan. 22 before leaving the game due to elbow discomfort.
“I’m disappointed to share that I’ll be out for the 2026 season after suffering a UCL tear that will require Tommy John surgery,” McCoy said through a statement. “Even though I can’t pitch, I’m still going to be with the guys every day — supporting them, staying locked in, and doing whatever I can to help the team. Thank you to all the Carolina fans for having my back through this; your support means everything to me.”
McCoy, a product of Catawba Ridge High in Fort Mill, won four games last year in 14 starts and struck out 77 batters in 60 innings pitched.
Gamecocks coach Paul Mainieri said at USC baseball media day last week that McCoy was expected to be the team’s Friday night starter.
“You know, obviously, when you started talking about our staff, you started with Jake McCoy,” Mainieri said. “Jake has a real chance to take a big step forward this year. .... He’s got a golden arm. He’s left-handed. He throws up to 97 miles an hour. He’s got a pretty good slider, but the two things that will allow him to take a big step forward, is he has better command of his fastball, and he’s also developed a change-up.”
Mainieri said McCoy was the only guaranteed starter at the time and listed Amp Phillips, Riley Goodman, Alex Philpott, Bradley Hodges and Josh Gunther as competitors for the remaining starting spots. Hodges, the only left-handed pitcher of the names listed, should have a good chance to fill in as the new starting lefty.
“My heart breaks for Jake because I knew that this was going to be a very important year for him,” Mainieri said in a team statement. “He’s worked so hard at becoming the best pitcher he can be and worked so hard on developing a change-up this offseason that we all thought was going to make him a more complete pitcher. He obviously has a great arm and I felt that he was going to blossom this year, so it’s a shame that he’s going to have to go through this.
“I also am very confident that he’ll recover from this and go on to have a terrific career in baseball. His character and work ethic and all the care he will receive will add up to having a great career.”
South Carolina opens the season Feb. 13 at home against Northern Kentucky.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 1:26 PM.