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Clemson baseball’s Will Taylor picked by Pittsburgh Pirates in Round 5 of 2024 MLB Draft

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Clemson baseball’s Will Taylor picked by Pittsburgh Pirates in Round 5 of 2024 MLB Draft


CLEMSON — Outfielder Will Taylor from Clemson baseball was selected 145th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB draft on Monday.

Taylor gave up football to play baseball full-time at Clemson. The 145th pick has a slot value of $471,400.

Here’s what Taylor brings to Pittsburgh, based on our own observations from his tenure at Clemson:

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What Will Taylor brings to Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024 MLB Draft

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Taylor could have been taken in the MLB draft out of Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina, in 2021 but chose to be a two-sport athlete at Clemson. Taylor is a tough, strong athlete, who had his best season in 2023. He hit .362 with 23 extra-base hits (including five home runs), 46 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, winning the team’s most improved player award.

Taylor also has strong discipline at the plate, recording 48 walks in 2023 to lead Clemson and 33 the following year. However, he has injury concerns. He tore a ligament in his right knee as a freshman while playing football that led to two surgeries.

MORE: Where Clemson baseball finished in the USA TODAY Top 25 after NCAA super regional run

The South Carolina native broke his left wrist this April too, which limited him to a .230 batting average over 32 games in 2024. MLB.com says he still carries power as a right-handed hitter, but his burst and explosiveness on the base paths and outfield has reduced. Yet, he improved his speed stock at the MLB combine when he ran 3.609 in the 30-yard dash to record the fifth fastest time at the event.

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Will Taylor’s stats at Clemson baseball

Over 368 at-bats in 107 games, Taylor recorded:

  • .313 batting average
  • 13 home runs
  • 69 RBIs
  • 18 stole bases

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00



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Family of woman shot to death in front of her Crafton Heights business call for justice, “I can’t get my wife justice.”

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Family of woman shot to death in front of her Crafton Heights business call for justice, “I can’t get my wife justice.”


It’s been 163 days, more than five months, since a 19-year-old man shot a woman to death outside her business in Crafton Heights.

Samantha Howells was the one who ended up dying, and she was just 52 years old.

Family members and friends are frustrated, though, with how the legal process is moving, and they sought to protest that Friday.

Being near something that invokes such sharp emotional pain is not easy.

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“It’s bad, it’s hard on all of us,” Cheri Randall, Samantha’s mother, said.

But for those who knew and loved Samantha Howells? They say it’s necessary.

“My life’s a wreck, okay? Because I can’t get my wife justice,” Randall Richard, Samantha’s widow, said.

As they pulled out onto the street with their trucks and their cars, their message remained consistent.

“I didn’t get [any] justice yet at all,” Richard said.

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Police said Howells stopped at the tow shop she owned across the street back on June 4.

She was worried that Isreal Moseby, 19, and two others were stealing from wrecked cars there.

Court docs said Howells took pictures while walking up to them. Those docs claim Moseby followed Howells back into her car and shot her.

“My aunt should have never been lying in that street in front of her business,” Tyler Schivins, Samantha’s nephew, said.

Howell’s loved ones said they’re frustrated with how long they’ve had to wait for a preliminary hearing. Moseby’s last scheduled court date was October 31. That’s been continued for the third time.

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His next scheduled date is February 20, 2026.

For people like Richard, what he sees as a snail-like pace is something he’s struggled with.

“I have to build myself up to go to the preliminary hearing – because that’s the closest I’m ever going to be to [Moseby],” he said. “…every time I’m ready to do that – the rug gets pulled out from me.”

In the meantime? They remember someone who meant so much to them, a mother, grandmother, and friend.

With Friday’s procession? They hope to make sure people don’t forget who she was or forget her case.

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“If that’s their game, I’m not letting it happen, I’ll… I’ll do this every week,” Richard said.



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Rogue Pittsburgh tow truck operator ordered to pay back nearly $400,000 to insurance companies

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Rogue Pittsburgh tow truck operator ordered to pay back nearly 0,000 to insurance companies



A tow truck operator in Pittsburgh who pleaded guilty to felony insurance fraud and theft by deception charges after being caught charging as much as $11,000 per tow was ordered to pay back nearly $400,000 to insurance companies. 

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Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Randal Todd ordered Vince Fannick on Thursday to pay $379,000 to the defrauded insurance companies within 30 days or face imprisonment in a state penitentiary. Prosecutors deemed Fannick’s practices as predatory, charging 36 victims anywhere between $9,000 and $11,000 to tow their cars short distances while holding the vehicles hostage until he was paid.   

The judge sentenced Fannick to six months of house arrest and five years’ probation, ordering him to record a public service announcement on predatory towing. He also told Fannick he can never tow again and must sell all of his tow trucks.

“It should cause pause among the wreck chasers and the rogue towers that exorbitant billing for services that are not rendered, it’s a crime, and they’ll come after you for it,” said Christopher Sloan of the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority.

There are no legal limits on how much tow truck operators can charge, and as a result, few have been prosecuted. But in lowering the boom on Fannick, Judge Todd is sending a message. And the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority says operators should take notice. 

“Be a good business partner,” Sloan said. “Respect the people in your community. Treat them with respect, and they’ll treat you with respect.”

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In dropping the hammer, Judge Todd sends a message to other predatory towers that they are not above the law and will face consequences for their actions.  



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Fan Information For Saturday On The North Shore – Pitt Panthers #H2P

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Fan Information For Saturday On The North Shore – Pitt Panthers #H2P


Fan Information For Saturday On The North Shore – Pitt Panthers #H2P



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