June 7, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – Three members of the University of South Carolina baseball were selected on the first day of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. Junior infielder Steven Tolleson was a fifth round selection with senior infielder Steve Pearce taken in the eight round and senior right-handed pitcher Zac McCamie in the 17th round. The draft concludes tomorrow with rounds 19-50.
Tolleson was drafted as the 165th pick overall by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round. Tolleson batted .296 this season with six homeruns and 46 RBIs. The 46 RBIs were the second best total by a Gamecock in 2005. He was 20-of-23 in stolen bases and had a fielding percentage of .938. He was one of two Gamecocks this season to start in all 64 games. In 2003, Tolleson batted .302 with three homeruns and 19 RBIs in 55 games.
Defensively, he recorded 47 putouts with eight assists, and two errors for a fielding average of .965. In 2004, he hit .316 with four homers and 25 RBIs in 52 games. He tallied 62 hits with 14 of them being doubles and scored 40 runs.
Tolleson, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., came to USC in 2003 from Dorman High School. He is the son of former major leaguer Wayne Tolleson who played with the Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees.
Pearce was drafted in the eighth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 241st pick overall in the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Pearce was drafted in the 10th round in 2004 by Boston but returned to USC for his senior season.
In 2005, Pearce hit for a .358 batting average with 21 home runs and 63 RBIs, totaling 161 total bases. Defensively, Pearce totaled 379 putouts while only having three errors for a fielding percentage of .993. He started in all 58 games that he played in 2005. He was a member of the 2005 All-SEC Second Team. Pearce, a native of Lakeland, Florida, came to USC from Indian River Community College. In 2004, Pearce batted .346 with 21 home runs and 70 RBIs. Pearce led USC in batting average, home runs and runs batted in both seasons that he played with the Gamecocks.
McCamie was drafted in the 17th round by the Florida Marlins. The senior right-hander posted a 9-4 record this season including a win this past weekend over Michigan in the NCAA Regional. McCamie finished his two-year career with the Gamecocks with a 16-4 career record and was also SEC Pitcher of the Week after a complete game three-hitter against the LSU Tigers this past April.
