The college baseball season will end in the next couple of days as two SEC programs play for the National Championship. The Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies are the last two teams standing. In contrast, the South Carolina baseball team ended their season nearly three weeks ago in a loss in the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament and fired head coach Mark Kingston.

Leading up to the final days of the 2024 campaign, the best player for the Gamecocks was catcher Cole Messina.

The 2023 All-American backstop was having a good year for the garnet and black, but a blazing hot finish made it a great season as he finished with a ridiculous slash line of .326/.465/.701/1.166 and 21 home runs, 19 doubles, 64 runs scored, and 71 RBI. As one of the top defensive catchers in the sport, posting an offensive season like that earned him a number of postseason accolades.

On Friday, Messina was selected to his fourth All-American team. Baseball America, like Perfect Game, the National College Baseball Writers Association, and the American Baseball Coaches Association before them, picked Cole Messina as a 2nd team All-American. The NCBWA, ABCA, and Baseball America slotted Messina in as the 2nd team catcher, while Perfect Game picked him at designated hitter.

Next month, Cole Messina will have a big decision to make as he is expected to be a high pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Messina has been mocked as high as the 1st round and has received the most projections in the 2nd round.

If he is not picked early enough to warrant leaving school, Messina has one more year of eligibility he can spend wearing garnet and black. His younger brother Carson, a right-handed pitcher, also will have a draft vs. school decision to make as he could jump straight from Summerville High School to the professional ranks if picked high enough.

(NEXSTAR) – The disparity between the income that an average U.S. resident brings in yearly compared to those sitting at the top of earners in each state has always been a major topic of discussion.

In fact, WalletHub states that “the highest-earning 10% of individuals in the United States earn over 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10%, based on the latest Census data.”

And while looking up what the “average salary” is across the country, ($74,600, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve), appears to give a solid idea of how far off most Americans are from the 5% club, a closer look at the high-end salaries reveals that the disparity is even more stark.

WalletHub broke down the income of all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C into three different groups: the average annual income of the top 5%, the average for the bottom 20%, and the median for all of each state’s residents.

Landing at No. 1 was New York where the top 5% makes about $553,000 a year. That’s almost $35,000 more than the next two highest states and nearly $100,000 more than the 10th-ranked state.

While the top 5% is thriving in the Empire State, its bottom 20% is falling well short, ranking 44th in salary with $13,301.

Right behind New York is Connecticut and Virginia where the average is about $518,000 apiece. Followed by New Jersey and Illinois which are both hovering around $505,000.

The state with the lowest top 5% threshold is Alaska, where earning roughly $321,000 will get you into the club. Hawaii and Vermont aren’t far behind where the top 5% makes about $334,000.

Check out what you need to make in your state:

As for what state’s residents make the most money on average, Washington D.C. finished with the highest median income of $162,265. Unfortunately, D.C. also finished with the lowest salary for the average annual income of the bottom 20%, with $9,011.

Other states that had a high median income were Hawaii ($141,832), Massachusetts ($127,760), Maryland ($124,693), and California ($123,988).

These states with a smaller gap between the average earner and the top 5% make it easier to make the jump, but it’s still difficult.

According to GoBankingRates, it will take a variety of factors to make that jump. First, you need a steady increase in income. This could mean you are making better financial decisions, investing wisely, or perhaps experiencing career advancements.

Another factor is maybe having a solid investment strategy, look to see that you are getting positive returns on your investment and that you have a well-diversified portfolio.

Finally, prioritize your long-term financial stability. Look to prioritize saving over short-term pleasures.

And if you’re looking to go even higher than the top 5%, Forbes found that to be one of the top 1% of earners in the U.S., you need to bring in an annual salary of at least $597,815, so start saving up!