Brandon McIlwain still can’t decide which sport he loves the most, baseball or football. Given the opportunity to continue to compete in both sports is a big deal to the former Elite 11 quarterback and top major league draft prospect and a key reason why the Pennsylvania native felt it was best to move on from South Carolina.

The true freshman got his chance to start early in his USC career after enrolling early last offseason, but McIlwain managed to throw for only 600 yards and two scores in six games of meaningful action for the Gamecocks. Following South Carolina’s midseason bye week, the decision was made to burn the redshirt of Jake Bentley, and the offense never looked back. It wasn’t long after that before McIlwain announced his decision to transfer from the school.

While many may assume McIlwain left South Carolina after being passed up on the depth chart last season by fellow freshman quarterback Bentley, the two-sport star revealed his decision had more to do with the baseball diamond than the football gridiron.

Having since announced his transfer from Columbia and his plans to enroll at Cal, McIlwain recently gave an interview to Connor Newcomb of BaltimoreDodgers.org to talk about both his past and hopefully bright future.

“I had decided that I wanted to do a little more baseball stuff,” McIlwain said. “I knew my plan at South Carolina wasn’t quite what I needed it to be. I didn’t get the opportunity I needed so I knew I needed to get some more swings and get some more reps.”

Now given the opportunity to focus on both sports in Berkley, McIlwain is once again able to let his future play out based on his performances moving forward.

“My plan since the beginning has been to let both sports play themselves out,” McIlwain continued. “One is going to end up being what I focus on but I just want to play both for as long as I can.”

“I just enjoy them both so much and seeing from my experience in South Carolina, it’s definitely possible to do and it’s something I feel like I can thrive in. I’m going to keep playing it and keep letting the time work itself out, let the schedule work itself out and just play and do as much as I can to be the best I can be in both sports.”