Photo by Steve Buchanan Photography
Hard throwing pitcher Travis Garnett has eye-catching talent and all the tangibles that a baseball coach covets. The Indian Creek senior is 6-foot-6, weighs 228 pounds, throws five pitches and the best one—the fastball—hits 94 miles on the radar gun.
Garnett also works out relentlessly: six days a week on strength and conditioning at the Athletic Performance Inc. complex in Gambrills, and he often makes it two-a-day when he works on his pitching mechanics. “He outworks everybody else,” Indian Creek Baseball Coach Matt Selmer says.
All of Garnett’s qualities landed him a baseball scholarship to the University of Maryland. He chose the Terps over Duke University. But Garnett might put college on hold for professional baseball. That would be his move if he gets drafted high in June by a Major League team.
“He has two swing-and-miss pitches. That’s what has the pro guys so interested in him,” Selmer says of Garnett’s four-seam fastball and slider. “He is coming out of the winter throwing in the low 90s. He is a slam dunk to get drafted. It will come down to the signing bonus.”
Garnett says he would skip playing for the Terps if he finds the ideal team, along with an appealing financial offer. “It would just depend on if it was the right situation for me,” he explains. “What’s on the table and what the opportunity is. That would determine if I go to college or pursue professional baseball.”
Maryland pitching coach Corey Muscara started recruiting Garnett during his freshman year. “I saw him during their conference championship game,” Muscara recalls. “We weren’t very good and I said, ‘You can be a bullpen arm for us right now.’”
Three years later, Garnett is ranked the No. 98 prospect in the country by Perfect Game in the 2021 class and the highest-rated player in Maryland.
“He has a real chance to get drafted,” Muscara says. “We have a kid this year, Sean Burke, who has a chance to be a first rounder or second rounder, and two talented sophomores who are going to be high picks next year. I would say Travis is very similar to them.”
Two national events boosted Garnett’s profile last year. He clocked pitches at 94 miles per hour at the Perfect Game National Showcase in Georgia in June and also shined in the East Coast Pro Combine in Alabama the next month.
“I was really excited to be in that showcase to compete against the top guys nationally,” Garnett says of the Georgia event. “It was a great experience and I had one of my best outings of the year. That put me on the map. I have had velocity goals based on my growth and how my body has matured. The fact that I hit 94 was fantastic.”
Garnett developed nicely for the three years while he competed for the API Travel Baseball Club, which plays games up and down the East Coast and as far West as Indiana.
“There are a lot of qualities I love about Travis,” Muscara says. “He is resilient and handles adversity well. He’s coachable, really believes in himself, and has the mentality to continue to continue to develop. He’s willing to do whatever it takes. Those are the things that really make him unique.”
Garnett’s impressive arsenal of pitches also makes him a standout. He throws a four- and two-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up. “My four-seam fastball is my best pitch,” he says. “I can throw it in any count. Pretty much nobody squares up on it. My slider, curveball, and change-up are all pretty good. They can be dominant pitches.”
Garnett dominated right away at Indian Creek. He struck out 47 batters in 29 innings and posted a sparkling 1.80 ERA as the Eagles won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference.
Garnett, who carries a weighted 4.12 grade-point average and plans to major in kinesiology, fanned 20 batters in 10 innings the following season, which was cut short by an elbow injury.
“He is the type of guy you will see a change in his body each offseason because of how hard he works,” Selmer says. “He has a seven-day-a-week program.”
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