Added velocity helps USC’s Clarke Schmidt become elite pitcher

Clarke Schmidt made eight SEC starts for South Carolina last season, which was enough for him to realize that he had to get stronger to be an elite pitcher in the conference.

The Georgia native finished his freshman year second on the team in starts with 10 and went 2-2 with a 4.81 ERA, but he had much bigger goals.

Schmidt had a discussion with USC strength and conditioning coach Billy Anderson to find out what he could do to improve his arm strength and velocity in the offseason.

“He said go home and put 10 pounds on your legs,” Schmidt said. “And I did just that.”

Schmidt worked tirelessly with a trainer, going through two-a-days at times, and his fastball went from 88-92 miles per hour to 92-96.

In addition to working on his velocity, Schmidt also sharpened up his command. He walked 20 batters in 58 innings a season ago, but that number is down to 10 walks in 65 innings in 2016.

“I’ve always had control, but I wanted to be able to step that up to commanding the zone,” he said. “My mindset was I want to come back and be an impact player in the SEC. I want to be one of the best pitchers in the SEC.”

Through nine starts he has proven himself to be one of the top pitchers in the conference and in the country. In a league filled with elite arms and top pitching prospects, Schmidt leads in wins with eight, strikeouts with 80 and innings pitched with 65.

As the ace of South Carolina’s staff, Schmidt is given the task of facing the other team’s best pitcher every Friday night. He has consistently been up to the challenge, going 8-1 with a 1.66 ERA.

“I love that,” he said. “There’s nothing better than going out there on a Friday night in the SEC, especially in this atmosphere when we’re playing at home.”

Schmidt leads a USC team that is tied for the SEC lead with an 11-4 mark halfway through the conference schedule. The Gamecocks finished with only 13 conference wins in 30 SEC games last year.

“He worked extremely hard to put himself in this position. Through 38 games in my book he’s certainly a first-team All-American,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “We had to have a performance like this to be in a position that we’re in.”

Schmidt’s goal is to stay consistent through the rest of the year. He has thrown complete games in two of his past three starts, and in his last two outings he has recorded 10 strikeouts while allowing only one earned run.

“Every weekend I want to go out there and give my team a chance to win, and I feel like I’ve done a good job of that,” he said. “The big thing is once you’re kind of rolling like this is to keep it going. It’s tough against talent like this, but I feel like if I stay in the right mindset, I’ll do that every time.”

Schmidt is not concerned with where he ranks among the best pitchers in the SEC, but he is happy that a lot of hard work in the offseason is paying off.

“My mentality is I want to be the best. You’ve got to have that mentality whenever you step on that mound,” he said. “Where I rank, I don’t really know where to put myself, but it’s good to be considered one of the top ones.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Added velocity helps USC’s Clarke Schmidt become elite pitcher."