South Carolina baseball program lands commitment from in-state prospect

South Carolina baseball picked up a commitment from an in-state prospect Monday.

Summerville rising sophomore Cole Messina committed to the Gamecocks. He is the second USC commitment for the Class of 2021, joining Drake Varnado of Port Neches-Groves in Texas.

USC coach Mark Kingston offered Messina earlier in the day Monday and decided to commit after talking it over with his family.

“Playing baseball for Carolina has always been a dream of mine and I want to stay close enough to home that my family can still be a part of my career,” Messina said. “I really like the coaching staff and they’ve made me feel like I can really contribute to the program. I went to a Carolina hitting camp in December and the coaches seemed impressed with me and have been following me since.”

Messina played third base this season but likely will be a catcher in college. He started as a freshman this year for the Green Wave and hit .319 with a homer and five doubles.

This summer for the 15U Evoshield Canes National team, Messina is hitting .345 with a homer and six doubles.

Messina also plays football and should start at linebacker this season for Summerville.

The Gamecocks have had good luck with players from Summerville over the years. Two Green Wave players, T.J. Hopkins and Sawyer Bridges were big contributors for USC this year. Daniel Lloyd, a teammate of Messina’s, signed with USC and will play for the Gamecocks this year.

This story was originally published July 2, 2018 at 6:34 PM.