Gamecock commits on the move in newest baseball rankings

With the summer baseball circuit coming to an end and most students back in school now, PerfectGame updated its rankings after a busy few months with a few Gamecocks moving up.

South Carolina currently has 29 high school commitments over the next three classes—2020, 2021, 2022—with 22 of those currently in the top 500 prospects of their respective classes.

The Gamecocks now have 12 top 500 prospects in their 2020 class, including five inside the top 100: Brandon Fields (No. 37), Will Sanders (44), Jackson Phipps (79), Alek Boychuk (82) and Josh Shuler (98).

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There were also a few big jumps in the rankings with Cade Austin jumping up over 100 spots and up to No. 262 after a really good summer where his fastball was into the mid-to-low 90s.

Righty pitcher Travis Luensmann, who was a low top 500 prospect when he committed earlier this summer, is officially up to No. 132 overall in the 2020 class and the No. 41 best right-hander in the class.

Two in-state commitments, infielder/pitcher Jalen Vasquez and Sam Swygert, both moved up in the rankings with Vasquez coming in at No. 242 and Swygert breaking into the top 500 at No. 484 overall.

Infielder Jack Mahoney sits at No. 108 overall in the class while Lukas Cook jumps up to No. 129. Left-hander Mag Cotto is at No. 211.

As for the 2021 class, five of the Gamecocks' eight commitments are in the top 500 with one—Michael Braswell—in the top 20 at No. 12 overall.

Corner infielder Cooper Kinney moves up to No. 154 in the class with Caleb Gampe at No. 194. There are two players ranked near each other after that with in-state catcher Cole Messina at No. 208 and Vytas Valincius up a few spots to No. 232.

Meanwhile the Gamecocks' current five-man 2022 class has every player in PerfectGame's top 500 prospects, with no player outside the top 200.

Left-hander Blaise Grove is the highest-ranked player at No. 41 while infielder Connor Fuhrman moves up to No. 59 in the class. Jack Reynolds sits at No. 94 while Zander Buchan is at No. 171.

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The latest commitment in the 2022 class, infielder Keegan Knutson, slides into the rankings at No. 167, up 14 spots since he committed.

The Gamecocks' 2020 high school class is currently ranked No. 5 nationally while the 2021 class sits at No. 22 overall with just seven commitments. No class rankings have been put out for the 2022 class.

Top 500 prospects in each class:

2020

OF, Brandon Fields No. 37

RHP, Will Sanders No. 44

LHP, Jackson Phipps No. 79

C, Alek Boychuk No. 82

OF, Josh Shulder No. 98

SS, Jack Mahoney No. 108

INF, Lukas Cook No. 129

RHP, Travis Luesnmann No. 132

LHP, Mag Cotto No. 211

SS, Jalen Vasquez No. 242

RHP, Cade Austin No. 262

RHP, Sam Swygert No. 484

2021

SS, Michael Braswell, No. 12

3B, Cooper Kinney, No. 154

RHP, Caleb Gampe, No. 194

C, Cole Messina, No. 208

1B, Vytas Valincius, No. 232

2022

LHP, Blaise Grove, No. 41

INF, Connor Fuhrman, No. 59

SS, Jack Reynolds, No. 94

INF, Keegan Knutson, No. 167

C, Zander Buchan, No. 171