Returning Home: The Dream Come True for South Carolina Commit Andrew McLaughlin

Andrew McLaughlin Returns Home to Play for South Carolina

Andrew McLaughlin’s college journey has taken him quite far from home. The Summerville, S.C. native is currently pitching for Florida Southwestern State College (FSW) in Fort Myers, a distance of over 10 hours from his hometown. And while his family hasn’t been able to see him pitch in person much due to the distance, McLaughlin’s journey has taken an exciting turn.

After a strong start to his season, the right-handed pitcher has caught the attention of his dream school—South Carolina. McLaughlin recently received an offer and, on Monday, officially committed to joining the Gamecocks. The decision feels like a homecoming, especially as McLaughlin shared his excitement about playing for his favorite team growing up.

“Once I got to FSW, I was working just to come back home, go to South Carolina,” McLaughlin said in an interview with GamecockCentral. “I knew when Coach (Terry) Rooney called me for the first time, he was super interested and made it sound like the coaching staff really wanted me to come back. I just knew it was the right fit.”

A former Ashley Ridge High School standout in Summerville, McLaughlin had initially committed to Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II school in North Carolina, back when he was in his junior year. However, things took an unexpected turn during his senior year.

“I kind of took off,” McLaughlin reflected. “I got better in the weight room, gained some muscle—gained like 20 pounds. Then I came out and was throwing much harder and just an overall better pitcher.”

At the time of his commitment, McLaughlin’s fastball was in the 87-90 mph range. However, after his intense off-season training, he saw a huge leap in his velocity, now hitting 96 mph this season. With this newfound strength and skill, McLaughlin made the tough decision to de-commit from Lenoir-Rhyne, hoping to land at a higher-level program. Unfortunately, the NCAA wouldn’t release him from his previous commitment, and McLaughlin found himself at FSW, where he had built a strong connection with head coach Zac Cole.

Though this situation wasn’t ideal, it worked out in McLaughlin’s favor as it brought him to South Carolina’s attention. In just four appearances for the FSW Buccaneers, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound pitcher has posted an impressive 2.23 ERA, striking out 17 batters and walking only five in 13.2 innings.

McLaughlin credits much of his success to his pitch mix, especially his slider. “I definitely think I have a really sharp slider in the low to mid-80s. High spin on it, good shape,” he said. “I also have a really nice sinker to pair along with it. It breaks into righties a lot and tails away from lefties a lot. It’s got good swing and miss—really good setup pitch to come back with the slider.”

When it comes to throwing strikes, McLaughlin keeps it simple: “I think just getting ahead of batters. I think I’m at like a 75 percent first-pitch strike right now,” he explained. “That’s really just helped me get ahead of staying ahead of hitters. Not really playing around with them, just getting ahead, staying ahead, and letting my stuff work and just overpower them.”

Looking ahead to his move to South Carolina, McLaughlin is aware that he’ll have to prove himself in a competitive pitching staff. However, he’s beyond excited about the opportunity to return to his home state and wear the Gamecocks uniform.

“It means a lot,” McLaughlin said, reflecting on his return. “… I know a lot of friends, I know a lot of guys on the team already, so that’s a comfort level, as well. I know the fanbase will probably rally around the hometown kid, as well, so that’s good to know.”

This is just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting chapter in McLaughlin’s career, and it seems his dream to play for South Carolina is finally becoming a reality.