McDonald Announces 2020 Signing Class
Four sign with Gamecocks, largest signing class in McDonald's tenure
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina head men’s golf coach Bill McDonald announced the additions of four future Gamecocks during the 2020 early signing period on Wednesday. Jason Quinlan (Cumming, Ga.), Rafe Reynolds (Greenville, S.C.), Liam Shinn (Norcross, Ga.) and Manning Sloop (Rock Hill, S.C.) each signed National Letters of Intent to continue their golf careers at South Carolina in the fall of 2020.
“I am excited about this class and the opportunities for growth with each player,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “They all have outstanding work ethics and each one has shown me the ability to handle pressure situations. It’s the largest class I’ve signed in my time here, and I look forward to their development within our program. I think as a group, they’ll make significant contributions to our success. This class is a great representation of the concerted effort coach (Ben) Dietrich and I have made to recruit the best talent in South Carolina and our neighboring states.”
2020 Gamecock Men’s Golf Signing Class:
Jason Quinlan (Cumming, Ga. – West Forsyth High School)
· Son of Mark and Charla Quinlan – has two younger brothers: Alex and Derek
· Ranked 148th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings
· Finished T-4th at the 2019 AJGA Pinehurst Junior
· T-5th at the 2019 Judie Oppenheimer Memorial Junior
· T-13th at the 2019 Boys Junior PGA Championship and T-12th at the 2018 Boys Junior PGA Championship
· Finished T-6th at the 2018 E-Z-GO Vaughn Taylor Championship
· Helped lead his high school team to a state championship in 2019, earning runner-up medalist honors individually
· Click here for Quinlan’s AJGA profile
Coach McDonald on Quinlan:
“Jason is as physically gifted as any player we’ve recruited. He has great club head speed and good hands. We have some work to do on trajectory and distance control, but the raw skills are there for him to be an outstanding collegiate player in my opinion. We were very fortunate to land Jason’s commitment late in the recruiting process.”
Welcome to the fam, Jason 🤙
✒️ » 📃 » 💯#Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/8ngOQvYBfY
— Gamecock M. Golf (@GamecockMGolf) November 25, 2019
Rafe Reynolds (Greenville, S.C. – Christ Church Episcopal School)
· Son of Steve and Lelia Reynolds – has two older brothers: Stephen (plays golf at Furman) and Harry (plays golf at Indiana)
· Parents both swam collegiately at Furman
· Plans to enroll in business school and major in real estate
· Ranked 18th in the Junior Rankings of the Carolinas
· Region Player of the Year as a junior, individual state champion as a sophomore
· Took second at the 2018 AJGA Junior at RiverWatch and fourth at the 2018 AJGA Colonial Junior
· Finished sixth at the 2019 Future Masters
· Was seventh at the 2018 TaylorMade/adidas Golf Boys Junior All-Star
· Had a top-20 finish at the 2018 SC Amateur Championship
· Click here for Reynolds’ AJGA profile
Coach McDonald on Reynolds:
“Rafe has always impressed me with his ball striking and course management. His short game is improving and his confidence with some of the changes he’s made in that area over the past year have taken hold. Rafe has the ability to shoot some really low numbers and his consistency is definitely trending in the right direction.”
Welcome to the fam, @ReynoldsRafe 🤙
✒️ » 📃 » 💯#Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/A67Ap43qkK
— Gamecock M. Golf (@GamecockMGolf) November 14, 2019
Liam Shinn (Norcross, Ga. – Greater Atlanta Christian School)
· Son of Edward and Jamie Shinn – has a younger sister, Lauren
· Plans to major somewhere in the business school
· Ranked 86th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings
· Helped lead his high school team to a runner-up finish at the AAA GHSA Golf State Championship
· Won the AJGA Rome Junior Classic
· Was victorious at the Golfweek Junior Tour at Vanderbilt
· Also earned medalist honors at the Optimist Tournament of Champions
· Finished runner-up at the Peachtree Junior Open
· Took sixth at the SCJGA Sea Pines Junior Heritage
· Finished eighth at the 2019 Judie Oppenheimer Memorial Junior and T-14th at the 2019 Greenwood Junior Championship; T-21st at the 2019 Scott Robertson Memorial
· Click here for Shinn’s AJGA profile
Coach McDonald on Shinn:
“Liam has really impressed with his ability to bounce back after some tough rounds. His teacher, Sean Koch in Atlanta, says he’s the hardest worker he’s ever taught. Liam, much like Jason, was a great find for us later in the recruiting cycle and I think he certainly has the ability to step in and contribute to our program right away.”
Welcome to the fam, Liam Shinn 🤙
✒️ » 📃 » 💯#Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/CGVxM8yEso
— Gamecock M. Golf (@GamecockMGolf) November 18, 2019
Manning Sloop (Rock Hill, S.C. – Rock Hill High School)
· Son of John and Shellie Sloop – has an older sister, Sydney
· Honor roll student and member of the National Honor Society
· High school teammates with current Gamecock Nick Mayfield
· 2019 all-state selection and two-time all-region pick, member of 2019 South Carolina 5A State Golf Champions
· Runner-up at the South Carolina Match Play Championship
· Took second at the 35th annual Scott Robertson Memorial
· T-4th South Carolina State Junior
· Finished seventh at the SCJGA Junior Azalea
· Was 17th at the 2018 Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star and finished 23rd at the 2018 TaylorMade/adidas Golf Boys Junior All-Star
· Also finished 22nd at the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational
· Click here for Sloop’s AJGA Profile
Coach McDonald on Sloop:
“Manning has been on our recruiting radar for several years now. His work ethic has always impressed me and he has a tremendous appetite to learn. Manning has excellent hands and is a great putter. I’ve seen Manning play a lot of tournament golf and I’ve always liked the way he handled himself and his emotions. He’s resilient and tough. Manning’s game is rounding into form and he’s worked hard this year to make some adjustments.”
Welcome to the fam, @SloopManning 🤙
✒️ » 📃 » 💯#Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/f5WyA7Rnhj
— Gamecock M. Golf (@GamecockMGolf) November 14, 2019
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