From Chicago to Columbia: AC Flora baseball star stamps new home with Gamecocks
From his USC hat to his garnet and black Under Armour shoes, Zander Buchan looked the part Wednesday at A.C. Flora High School as he signed to play baseball at South Carolina.
The Illinois native has doubled downed on his new home.
“You go to any store down here,” Buchan said, “it’s all USC. You had none of that up in Chicago.”
Buchan’s literal route to Mark Kingston’s Gamecocks has shrunk considerably since the switch-hitting catcher verbally committed to USC in January 2019. Buchan at that time was a touted freshman at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. Nearly three years later, Buchan is a local standout after coming off an all-region season for the state champion Falcons.
When Buchan’s mother had a chance to relocate to the South for work in 2020, the family naturally settled on Columbia.
The move has proved beneficial for all parties involved, most especially A.C. Flora coach Andy Hallett.
“When Zander came in, he did a great job of blending in,” Hallett said. “He came from Chicago, where it was cold all the time. So he loved the (Columbia) weather and fit right in with the program and had a great year, being his first year with us and becoming a Falcon baseball player and just learning the way we do things. He flourished and we’re real excited about what he’s going to be able to do as a senior.”
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the statewide cancellation of spring 2020 sports, meaning Buchan couldn’t suit up for Hallett until a year after he arrived. Making up for lost time, the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder hit .365 with seven home runs, 14 doubles and 33 RBIs this past spring as the Falcons cruised to a 29-4 record. He had nine hits, four doubles and scored three runs in seven playoff games.
“It was a bummer,” Buchan said of the lost 2020 season. “High school season is a thrill, but I couldn’t waste any time. All I could do was continue working. I was hoping there was a (2021 season), and we got the season and, as a team, we got the job done and won a state championship.”
Buchan was one of three Falcons to sign Wednesday, joining teammates Jake Sears (North Greenville) and Phillips Daniels (The Citadel). The talent-rich program isn’t a stranger to college prospects. The 2012-14 three-peat state title run included future Gamecocks Madison Stokes, Banks Cromer, Everett Eynon and Donald Gillespie.
Buchan is the next in line.
“Catching, throwing and running the ball over the fence,” Hallett said of Buchan’s most transferable skills to the next level. “He’s got some pop from both sides of the plate and he throws the ball really well.
“I think he’s going to be a nice addition down there that’s gonna create some depth and some competition in 2023.”
Kingston, USC’s fifth-year coach and former North Carolina Tar Heel, was once a switch-hitting catcher himself. Buchan said that connection was one of many that made him fall for the Gamecocks.
“When I first took my visit my freshman year, Kingston and the coaches, they took me in as family,” Buchan said. “It felt like home coming down here. I love Coach Kingston. We have a little bond with each other, I feel like, ever since I committed. We’ve just been getting closer since then.
“I love it down here. I love USC. I love the coaching staff. The facilities there are crazy. So I’m excited.”
Same goes for the Buchan family, which, yes, was also in proper USC attire Wednesday. These Midwesterners have truly adapted to their new space.
“We’re 100% in, all garnet, all Gamecocks,” said Buzz Buchan, Zander’s father. “He’s got a (USC) belt on. Everything you could think of, we have it.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 5:05 PM.