Over the weekend, four USC baseball players were selected in the 2026 MLB Draft. Those players will now have until July 27 to decide whether to sign with the team that drafted them or return to college baseball for another year.
One of the players selected was pitcher Grant Govel, who went in the 16th round to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Given the circumstances surrounding Govel, USC needs to do everything within its power to keep him around for another season.
The signing bonus system
The way that the MLB Draft works is that when a draft pick signs with a professional team, he receives a signing bonus. Each team has a certain pool of money to sign its draft picks, with each draft slot having a a slot value. However, the players and teams can negotiate with each other, with players potentially signing for more or less than the value of their slot. (We wrote about this in detail last year.)
Govel’s situation
The slot value for all players taken in rounds 11-20 is $150,000. Hence, Pittsburgh will likely offer Govel a signing bonus around that amount. Therefore, it would seemingly take an NIL offer from USC of more $150,000 to retain him.
Also notable is the fact that Govel was just a sophomore in 2026, and still has multiple years of eligibility remaining.
USC’s NIL situation
If you have followed USC football and basketball over the past year, you know that the Trojans have seemingly figured out NIL. USC’s ability to both attract and retain the top players in the country in those sports has been as good as any school in the country.
Up to this point, however, USC has not spent on NIL for the baseball program on the same level that other schools have. With the Trojans coming off of their deepest postseason run in 21 years, head coach Andy Stankiewicz has proved that USC baseball is absolutely worth investing in.
What retaining Govel would mean
Govel is coming off of a season in which he finished with a 10-3 record and a 2.87 ERA. For his performance, he earned second-team All-American honors.
If USC were to bring Govel back for 2027, the Trojans would be returning one of the best pitchers in the country. Having Govel leading the rotation would be massive for Stankiewicz as he looks to lead the program back to the College World Series for the first time since 2001.
There is precedent in other sports
In addition, there is recent precedent with other USC programs using NIL to retain players who might otherwise have turned professional. Football will be bringing back quarterback Jayden Maiava for the 2026 season, while men’s basketball is set to return Rodney Rice, Jacob Cofie, and Alijah Arenas. All four players could be playing elsewhere next year, with NIL seemingly playing a notable role in their respective decisions to remain at USC.
This should be a no-brainer for USC
In football and basketball, however, the cost to retain a top player is often millions of dollars. With Govel, on the other hand USC should be able to bring him back for just $200,000. There are freshmen on the football team who will not play a single snap for the Trojans this fall making significantly more than that.
If USC is truly serious about its baseball program, then this should be a no-brainer decision for the Trojans. Write the check, bring back Govel for another year, and reload for a potential Omaha run in 2027.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC baseball needs to pay up to retain star pitcher Grant Govel
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
