South County Pitcher Evan Beal Weighs Options

For many college-bound high school seniors, this time of year is usually spent finalizing college plans, saying goodbye to family and friends, and making the most of the last summer before embarking on a new chapter in their lives.

However, due to recent events, the future for one South County senior has become far more exciting.

On Tuesday, June 7th, the Kansas City Royals drafted All-Met pitcher, Evan Beal, in the eighth round of MLB’s draft. The news sent the Beal family into a frenzy. Frank Beal, Evan’s father, was en route to the family’s home when he received the call from his wife, informing him that their son had been drafted by Kansas City.

“My wife called me and said that Kansas City had gotten Evan in round eight. I just blew the horn the half-mile or so until I reached my driveway,” said an excited Frank Beal.

“When I got there, Evan and Luke Bondurant were dancing around in the kitchen so I joined right in with them.”

The Royals management also said they were happy to offer Evan Beal a spot in their organization. Lonnie Goldberg, Royals Director of Scouting, said the following, via email:

 “We look at Evan as young projection RHP with upside. We preach to our scouts to look for guys with good bodies, good arm action and sound athletic deliveries. Evan has those ingredients and can spin the breaking ball. Our area supervisor Jim Farr and our staff did a great job scouting Evan and we look forward to him being a Royal in the very near future.”

Enter the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

Beal has committed to play baseball at the University of South Carolina this upcoming fall. The Gamecocks are the defending NCAA baseball national champions, and are currently scheduled to play Texas A&M this Sunday in the 2011 College World Series opener.

The original scholarship offer by the Gamecocks covered 75 percent of Beal’s expenses. However, according to Frank Beal, South Carolina has recently upped the scholarship offer to a full ride, after the team lost several players to injury and last week's draft.

“They have said quite confidently that Evan would pitch as a freshman and that they would be happy to up his scholarship offer to a full ride. They saw before the draft came along that Evan was going to be a strong candidate, so I think that they wanted to strengthen their position a little bit,” said Beal.

Calls to the South Carolina athletic office were not returned.

No decision from the Beal family will be announced before Evan’s South County graduation, which takes place on Thursday, something that both South Carolina and Kansas City are respecting.

“I know that Evan is excited and would love to get a deal done, so that he can say, ‘OK, this is where I’m headed,’ but we have to be patient and let everything work itself out through the process,” Frank Beal said.

Regardless of what Evan Beal decides, he will have the full support of his family and friends behind him. He’s handled himself exceptionally well throughout the ordeal and has shown a great deal of maturity in doing so. He will be a great asset to either South Carolina or Kansas City.

“He’s been calm and steady. I can tell that he’s glowing inside, but he’s handled the whole process very maturely for a 17-year-old-kid,” said Frank Beal.