Gavin McGee commits to Kentucky, transfers to academy to chase big league dream

Former Roncalli pitcher Gavin McGee didn't need a prolonged recruitment to decide where he wanted to attend college.

The window for Division I baseball programs to contact recruits opened Saturday - the first day of August - and three days later, McGee announced his commitment to Kentucky, becoming the first member of the Wildcats' 2028 class.

"I like the colors. I love the Big Blue Nation," McGee said. "There's no pro team in Kentucky, so you are the pro team. You have the whole state behind you.

"I really loved their campus when I went to the camp. I really liked how they interacted with everybody. There was no negative energy there, and that made the decision a whole lot easier.”

McGee's commitment is the culmination of a process set in motion by his late pitching coach Jay Lehr . Lehr sent McGee's pitching video to the staff at Kentucky, helping him earn a camp invite last winter.

McGee was up to 90 miles per hour at the camp and his velocity continued to increase throughout the spring and summer. McGee struck out 11 over six innings during a start at Grand Park, throwing his 100th pitch of the outing at 92 mph. During a July 25 outing at the Prep Baseball Future's Game, McGee showed even better velocity, touching 94 with his fastball. McGee threw the hardest pitch at the event by nearly two miles per hour.

On the first day of the recruiting period, McGee had a 9 a.m. call with Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione. The 6-foot, 180-pound hurler said his talk with Mingione went well, followed by a call with pitching coach Dan Roszel where the two had a free-flowing conversation about pitching that piqued his interest in the program. After a call with Mingione the following day, McGee received an official offer and knew he was going to commit to the Wildcats.

McGee added that his connection with the staff and the family atmosphere within the program sealed the deal.

"Coach Mingione is very family oriented," McGee said. "He's around you for four years, five years, three years, whatever it is. You're their sons. Like he has 30 sons now, so that kind of stuck out to me because you're not going to get that everywhere.”

McGee is heading to the SEC, but he won't be returning back to Roncalli this fall. McGee is transferring to P27 Baseball Academy in Lexington, South Carolina. P27 opened in 2018 and has produced five MLB Draft picks, most recently 17th-round pick Ethan Wager in 2024. Florida commit Brendan Lawson was drafted in the 19th round in 2024; he did not sign and is now poised to be one of the top picks in the 2027 MLB Draft.

McGee said the decision to leave home was extremely difficult. He will miss being close to his family but now he's preparing to be on his own and may need to take a cooking class or two, but his goal is to become an MLB pitcher, and he believes transferring to P27 will better help him adjust to life in college or professional baseball.

“For me, my goal is to play in the major leagues, not just play pro," he said. "And when you want to play in the majors, it takes a different level of dedication. I think this is what's going to propel me to that next level of being able to make it to that my goal. I wouldn't say it’s 24/7 baseball, but it's a baseball academy. You're still going to do your core classes. You're going to get good grades. You're going to still have a life after baseball, but you're trying to make a living off of baseball if you're going there, which ultimately is my goal.

“Their number one saying is ‘Iron sharpens iron,’ which my dad has preached to me since I was super young. I can remember him saying that. Just being surrounded by the same caliber of players is big."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gavin McGee commits to Kentucky, transfers to academy to chase big league dream

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