Inside Brogan Witcher’s whirlwind commitment to Kevin Schnall, Gamecocks
Kevin Schnall landed the first high school commitment of his South Carolina tenure just four days after he was officially hired.
Brogan Witcher, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and is from Bakersfield, California, announced his commitment to Schnall and the Gamecocks on Sunday, June 14. The Liberty High School product recently reclassified from 2028 to the 2027 class and is ranked No. 30 in Perfect Game’s recruit rankings.
“Schnall Ball Baby!” Witcher said, in part, in a social media announcement.
Witcher is committed as a two-way player and intends on pitching and catching for the Gamecocks. He led his high school team to a 25-8 record this season and led the team in several statistical categories. At the plate, Witcher touted a .460 batting average and 14 home runs. On the mound he had a 2.91 ERA in 15 appearances.
All signs show that Schnall sounded landed a strong first high school recruit. But it sounds like it almost didn’t happen.
A whirlwind of a recruitment
Just a few weeks earlier, playing for South Carolina wasn’t even a thought in Witcher’s mind. That isn’t exactly a secret. In fact, he’d be the first to admit that.
“It’s actually funny, I had probably zero interest in South Carolina,” Witcher told The State. “ I didn’t talk to any previous coach that was there.”
So what changed? Simply put, Schnall made an assistant coach hire that paid dividends right away.
Last Monday, two days before Schnall was officially hired as USC’s head coach, Witcher took a visit to Wake Forest. There, Witcher finally met long-time Demon Deacons’ hitting coach Bill Cilento.
The two had been in contact for a while, Witcher said, and the California kid left his visit with Wake feeling great about the prospect of being coached by Cilento in college.
“I finally met him in person, and right then and there, I was like, yeah, I want to play for this guy,” Witcher said. “Left my visit on Monday, it was great. The coaching staff there was awesome, Cilento is awesome, nothing bad about Wake Forest or anything.”
Witcher left Winston-Salem for a travel ball tournament in Cary, North Carolina, and Cilento and Wake Forest’s coaching staff were in attendance. On Wednesday night, Witcher’s travel ball coach texted his father that Cilento was leaving Wake Forest.
“I was like, oh my gosh, what am I going to do now?’ Witcher recalled.
A day later, national college baseball insider Kendall Rogers reported Cilento was set to be hired by Schnall and South Carolina.
Witcher said his initial attempt to gain clarity on the situation from Cilento was unsuccessful. Then he texted Cilento and pitched the idea of stopping in Columbia for a visit to USC while on his way to Florida for a travel ball tournament.
“About 10 minutes later, [Cilento] calls me back, and he’s like, ‘All right, we’re all good, you’re coming down.’ ” Witcher recalled.
Witcher arrived in Columbia around 9 p.m. that Saturday and met with Schnall, Cilento and USC assistant Chad Oxendine for dinner on Main Street. The next day, Schnall and staffers escorted him around Columbia for a tour of the campus and city in general.
But it sounds like Witcher might not have even needed the tour to cement his decision.
“I knew I was probably gonna go to South Carolina the night we had dinner,” he told The State.
Witcher’s conversations with USC coaching staff
Cilento’s presence in the USC program clearly means a lot to Witcher. A big reason for that is simply his consistency in Witcher’s recruitment, he said.
“He told me from day one, from the day I reclassified that he’s going to be the most consistent guy in my life,” Witcher said. “Every morning for the past month and a half he sent me a text telling me how he’s going to burn the boats and how he’s going to compete to make sure that I have the best time playing in college. ...
“He’s super consistent. I honestly look up to the guy already. He’s just great and I probably would have been dumb to go play for anyone else than Cilento.”
Witcher’s first impression of Schnall was important, too. Witcher lauded Schnall’s coaching resume, calling him a “winner,” and was impressed with how the Gamecocks’ head coach was “not going to sugarcoat things” with him.
“(Schnall) was telling me that I was the first and only ‘27 [recruit] that he’s recruited so far,” Witcher said. “…That honestly meant a lot to me. He was like, ‘You’re the only one, and that’s how much you mean to us.’ That really helped with the process of committing there.”
There’s still over a year before Witcher would even be on South Carolina’s campus, but he’s sure he’s made the right decision. There’s also a shot he doesn’t make it to Columbia.
Witcher’s travel ball team — Wow Factor Baseball — produced nine MLB draft picks out of high school last year. As the No. 30 prospect nationally in his class, it’s not a stretch to assume Witcher could be drafted and opt to forgo college and head straight for the pros.
That principle isn’t unique in baseball. South Carolina notably lost local signee PJ Morlando in 2024 when he was drafted in the first round.
There’s still time before Witcher could be drafted, but he was candid about the process: His main goal is to be a pro. Witcher suggested that if he is drafted out of high school and the slot value for where he’s selected doesn’t seem fair, then he’ll be a Gamecock.
“I don’t know that number now, but I’ll have that number eventually,” Witcher said. “And if I don’t get that number, then I’ll for sure be at South Carolina. I’ll have the best three to four years of my life, and make the best out of it, and go in as a great player and come out as elite, being around all those coaches.”
That being said, when (or if) Witcher does put on a garnet and black uniform, he fully believes in Schnall and his coaching staff’s ability to develop him into a player who can help turn USC’s program around.
“The development side of the team and school, they’re the best in all categories: pitching, hitting, and catching,” Witcher said. “...You can’t get any better than South Carolina.”
