SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL
When Travis Luensmann was on his visit to South Carolina, it didn’t take long for him to realize this is where he wanted to be.
The tall right-handed pitcher who popped up on the Gamecocks’ radar recently, made the trek to Founders Park and was blown away, committing not long after that with a public announcement Sunday night.
“I fell in love with South Carolina after they saw me down in Georgia,” Luensmann told GamecockCentral. “I got on a visit, they showed me around and I fell in love with it. The rest is history.”
Also see: Assessing the Gamecocks' offensive depth chart
On his visit he was able to see the facilities but what really stood out to him was the entire coaching staff made sure to visit with him and he even got to talk to head coach Mark Kingston, who’s currently in Asia as an assistant with Team USA’s Collegiate National Team.
Get that was “special” for him and showed how much Kingston and the Gamecocks were “buying into me,” he said.
“It was the coaching staff. They were all there and I got a FaceTime from Taiwan from Coach Kingston so that was a big thing for me that they were all there and they were all buying into me,” he said. “They showed faith and confidence in me that I’m a good fit for a program and would make a significant impact.”
Also see: Projecting the South Carolina baseball lineup
The righty pitcher is the No. 24 overall player in Pennsylvania and the No. 294 righty in the 2020 class by PerfectGame.
He sits from 92 to 95 miles per hour on his fastball with room to grow as his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame continues to fill out.
Last year he went 8-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 82 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 49 innings and it’s that stuff, mixed with a solid mentality the coaching staff likes about his game.
“They like my frame and how I carry myself on and off the field,” Luensmann said. I was talking on my visit with coach (Trip) Couch and he said when they saw me, they got up 2-0 and I gave up two runs in first inning but I wasn’t down. I went out and kept doing my thing. I think that’s what he really liked.”
Also see: More on a top 100 center making plans to come back to USC
Luensmann is one of 15 commitments in the 2020 class and the sixth right-handed pitcher in the class joining Cade Austin, Josh Griggs, Sam Swygert, Jake Madden and Will Sanders.
He’s excited to get on campus and ready to see what baseball’s like at the SEC level.
“It’s really the fan base. Columbia really doesn’t have any pro teams like the coaches said they’re really all about the sports in the college,” he said. “So I’m hyped for the atmosphere that surrounds that and the SEC and where South Carolina can take me to the professional level.”
