For Ethan Petry, when he sat down to decide where to go to school, he knew he wanted a place where it felt like family and he could develop.

By the time he was done deciding, he knew the choice was pretty simple with the infielder ultimately committing to South Carolina as part of the Gamecocks’ 2022 class.

“South Carolina showed a lot of interest in me and I loved talking to the coaches. I felt like it was the right fit for me and my family,” Petry told South Carolina. “I think I could make a big impact in their program with the way they develop players.”

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Petry, who projects as a third baseman at the collegiate level, is considered the No. 225 overall player and the 15th-best third baseman for his class.

At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, he’s hoping the Gamecocks can take him and turn him into an impact bat who has a chance to crack the lineup early in his South Carolina career.

“I feel like they can help me develop into a more elite third baseman and develop me into an impact bat in the middle of their lineup,” Petry said. “They love the impact from my bat and they hope they can put it in the middle of the lineup once I get there. That’s what they said a lot.”

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As a freshman at Cypress Creek (Fla.) High School Petry hit .325/.398/.545 with 20 RBI. In a shortened seven-game season this year before Coronavirus shut things down he was hitting .524/.556/.857 with 14 RBI.

He continued to play well this summer and earned an invite to the invite-only Area Code Games with a handful of other South Carolina commitments.

“I’m just a leader on the field. I go 100 percent all the time and make sure my teammates do as well. I make sure everyone’s ready to go any time we’re playing,” he said. “That’s why we were so successful this summer. We beat teams that are loaded with talent but we’re ready to go and ready to win.”

Petry is part of the Gamecocks’ 2022 recruiting class PerfectGame currently considers the No. 15 class in the country with 10 commitments, nine of which are top 500 prospects.

Along with Petry, the Gamecocks have three other infielders committed in Connor Fuhrman (who also plays in the outfield), Jack Reynolds and Keegan Knutson.

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He still has a few years to go before setting foot on South Carolina’s campus—he will be a junior this fall—and said the next step for his game is getting stronger but he’s already seen a big jump in his plate approach and can’t wait to arrive in Columbia.

“The fans and electricity in the air,” he said. “Playing under the lights in a SEC game will always be a dream come true.”