COLUMBIA — A final season at South Carolina, or a first season in the Washington Nationals’ farm system?
That’s the choice now looming for Max Schrock, after the Nationals took the USC second baseman Wednesday in the 13th round with the 404th overall pick of the Major League draft. As a junior, Schrock has one season of college eligibility remaining, and Gamecocks head coach Chad Holbrook has indicated that the second-team All-SEC selection has a strong desire to return to school.
Schrock became the third Gamecocks player taken in this year’s draft. First baseman Kyle Martin went in the fourth round to Philadelphia, returning to USC for his senior campaign and substantially improving his draft positon over the previous year, when the Los Angeles Angels took him in the 20th round.