By Thomas Grant Jr.
Chapin High School graduate and University of South Carolina pitcher Matthew Becker is headed to the big leagues.
The senior lefthander was selected in the 19th round by the Minnesota Twins on the second day of the 2025 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Monday.
Becker, who won a state title with the Eagles in 2018 and was an All-State selection in 2021, appeared in 79 games in his four-year career with the Gamecocks. He posted 14 wins, six saves, and 263 strikeouts in 193 1/3 innings pitched.
In 19 games this season with six starts, Becker won three games and had 64 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings pitched. He had a season-high nine strikeouts in his first start against Sacred Heart on Feb. 15 and followed with an eight-strikeout performance against Milwaukee on Feb. 22.
Becker threw 4 2/3 innings of relief at Mississippi State on April 6, striking out seven batters, and earned a win against College World Series champion LSU on May 15. He was the SEC Freshman of the Week after striking out 11 against No. 1 Texas on March 13, 2022.
This is the second straight season a Gamecock was picked by the Twins, joining Eli Jones, who was selected in the seventh round in 2024. Becker was also one of three Lexington County high school graduates drafted, along with South Carolina teammate outfielder Nathan Hall of Lexington High School (fifth round – Arizona Diamondbacks) and outfielder Skylar King of Brookland-Cayce (15th round – Boston Red Sox).
(Photo courtesy of the University of South Carolina athletics)
