Gamecocks add first RHP to 2018 recruiting class

It didn’t take long for South Carolina and class of 2018 pitcher Daniel Lloyd to reach an agreement for the righty to become a Gamecock.

The coaching staff first made contact at Perfect Game’s Super 25 tournament last week and less than seven days later, Lloyd commits to head coach Chad Holbrook and the Gamecocks.

“I like the campus,” he said. “The coaches just made me want to go. They treated me so well. I love the campus, and I have friends there and Coach Holbrook made me want to go there. And I like that.”

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The Summerville pitcher was offered by the coaching staff, and visited campus Monday. He visited Clemson Tuesday morning, but committed to South Carolina later that night. Lloyd credits Holbrook in helping make his decision, saying his energy is something that stood out.

“It was very hard because my family is a Clemson family,” he said. “But Clemson didn’t make me feel like Carolina did when I went there.”

Lloyd is the fourth Summerville product to commit to South Carolina in the past two years. Rising sophomore TJ Hopkins and incoming freshmen Sawyer Bridges and Wilson Beattie are all on the team this fall.

Lloyd, Bridges and Beattie were all on the Summerville team that won a state title this season, but the newest Gamecock said the two coming to Carolina really didn’t sway him.

“Sawyer talked to me a little bit before he came and told me how much of an awesome place it was,” Lloyd said. “I had bit in mind during my decision, but not much. He just helped me through it.”

Lloyd’s a 6-foot, 170-pounder who throws primarily from the three-quarter arm slot, similar to a submarine pitcher, which he says sets him apart from other pitchers in his class.

His velocity hovers in the mid to high 80 and he’s got a good go-to slider. This year, he says he’s hoping to improve on his control, his breaking ball and increase his velocity.

With his commitment, the 2018 has six commitments: three total pitchers and one righty in Lloyd. The Gamecocks also picked up their seventh in the class when catcher Wes Clarke committed early Wednesday.

“It felt like the best decision I’ve made in forever,” Lloyd said. “I’ve been so happy and so relaxed.”

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