The Fort Mill High School athletic department had 16 seniors commit to play college athletics on National Signing Day.
Of those that signed were a dozen baseball players, three football players and a bowler.
“We are celebrating these student athletes,” said Fort Mill High Principal Zach Beam. “We are super proud of everything you have accomplished to get to this point.”
Of the 12 baseball players, there are 10 different schools they are going to. The baseball players are John Coppola, John Risk, JB Walters, Brent Laughter, Carter Blankinship, Andrew Craddock, Nick Fallon, Tucker Gandy, Josh Patterson, Jacob Pettit, Michael Rogers, and Kody Romero.
“The cool part is they have been playing together for a long time and for them to do it today together is good,” said Fort Mill High baseball head coach Travis Collier. “We have got a lot of young talent this year.”
Coppola and Risk are going to Cleveland Community College. Coppola is a three-year player and had a .929 fielding percentage his junior year. Risk is a four-year starter and twice a North-South All-Star while playing infield and pitching.
Walters and Laughter will both be going to Concord University. Walters is a four-year player and has earned All-Region honors his junior season as a middle infielder. Laughter is a four-year starter and was a freshman for the Jackets’ Upper State championship team in 2022. As a sophomore he was an All-Region player.
Blankinship will be going to Georgia Southern. He also contributed to the Fort Mill team in their Upper State championship and was an All-Region player as a junior.
Craddock, who will be going to Florence-Darlington Tech, was part of the 2022 state championship series as a freshman.
Fallon will be going to Surry Community College and played two years on varsity. In his second year, he hit .347 with 17 hits and caught 56 percent of those stealing behind the dish.
Gandy has been a three-year varsity pitcher. In 2024, he had a 2.20 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 41 innings. He was also selected for the Battle of the Border All-State game in both 2022 and 2023.
Patterson will be attending Erskine and has played for two years at Fort Mill. He was an All-Region selection and Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 for the team hitting. 333 with 17 RBIs.
Pettit has been an All-Region player for three years and has participated in the Palmetto Games the past three seasons. He will be attending Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Rogers is an outfielder and hit .314 last year for Fort Mill. He was named an All-Region player and was the Coastal Invitational MVP last season. He will be attending Charleston Southern University.
Romero will be going to the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and is a three-year starting pitcher for the Jackets. He is a two-time state All-Star and received honors at the Coastal Invitational tournament last season for the Jackets.
The three football players are Grayson Sykes, Jeremiah McNeil, and Tanner Mays.
“All three of them are the hardest workers,” McNeely said. “They didn’t get here by accident. They are all good young men. I knew Tanner and Grayson had it from day one. I am really proud of Jeremiah. He did a lot of maturing.”
Sykes will be going to the Virginia Military Institute. He is a two-time varsity letterman and was a left tackle for Fort Mill grading out as a 91 and allowed just one sack his junior year. He was named Offensive Line MVP in 2023 and 2024. He was named All-Region honorable mention in 2023 and named to the All-Region team in 2024.
McNeil will be a defensive back in college and is going to the University of North Carolina-Pembroke. He started on varsity for two years. He played seven different positions on the field during his time at Fort Mill.
Mays will be going to Wingate University. He is a two-time All-Region player. He led the state in return yards his junior year with 508 yards.
The only other one to sign on Wednesday was Liam Buchanan who is going to Emmanuel University to bowl. Buchanan placed first in the S.C. Rising Stars and bowled four 300 games. He is also a member of the South Carolina All-Star team.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
