Brady Jones remembers growing up going to Gamecock baseball games at Founders Park and getting players to toss him bubble gum while he sat behind the dugout.

He maintained his fandom growing up in the state as he got deeper into his personal baseball career, which is what made the call he had a few weeks ago from Justin Parker even sweeter.

A week or so removed from a prospect camp in Columbia, Jones called the Gamecock pitching coach and in the conversation Parker extended a scholarship offer to the 2024 pitcher Jones didn’t wait long to accept.

“When he offered me it was something I knew right then it was it. My whole life I grew up a South Carolina fan,” Jones told GamecockCentral. “I love Columbia and the culture there is amazing. I slept on it for two nights. I woke up in the morning and with a smile on my face I said, ‘Today I become a Gamecock.’ It was such a great feeling.”

Jones pitched well at the prospect camp in front of Parker, saying he felt confident as he was leaving he did enough to catch the coaching staff’s eyes.

A few days later, he had a conversation with Parker and then a week later came the final call where Parker offered and Jones committed soon after.

Along with Jones’s lifelong Gamecock fandom, the relationship he built with Parker over that time—and a friendship with former Gamecock Graham Lawson—helped sell him on South Carolina.

“Getting to know (Parker), I’ve talked to a good pitch of pitching coaches and I didn’t feel comfortable around any of them like I felt around coach Parker,” Jones said. “He’s a cool dude. I want him to coach me and be part of his staff. He likes how I attack the zone, how I compete and he really just said I’m what they want down there.”

Jones, a now-sophomore at Broome High School is considered the No. 7 prospect in the state by PerfectGame with a fastball sitting around 87 to 89 miles per hour and touching 90 at times this summer paired with a slider, curveball and a changeup that’s coming along.

He works sometimes with Lawson, who pitched multiple seasons at South Carolina and was part of the Super Regional team in 2018.

“Me and Graham Lawson are really close friends. I had a pitching lesson with him a couple years ago and ever since then we’ve been friend sand he really helped me with the decision I made,” Jones said. “He’s just a great friend to have and says a lot of good things about Columbia and South Carolina.”

Jones is one of two in-state players committed in the 2024 recruiting class and said he wants to help get others on board and to Columbia.

“The culture there, you wont get that many other places. School-wise, it’s a great school and Columbia, South Carolina is one of the best places you can be,” he said. “The coaching staff there is great. You can’t go wrong going to South Carolina.”

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