South Carolina Gamecocks News: Football recruiting news galore, SEC Baseball Tournament, basketball recruiting, more

Here is the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News from the last week, starting with the baseball team’s trip to Hoover, Alabama for the SEC Tournament.

The Gamecocks won a game in Hoover for the first time since 2017 (and won a game in just the second season over the last decade) when they knocked off Georgia 9-0 in the single-elimination round of the Tourney.

Unfortunately, the good baseball vibes ended there as Carolina was unceremoniously bounced from the Tournament with back-to-back losses to LSU (10-3) and Texas A&M (5-0).

South Carolina baseball sat right on the top-16 “bubble” as they had a shot of being chosen as a regional host site but could have also realistically been selected as a 2-seed in a different regional.

Ultimately, the Gamecocks were chosen as a host. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be broadcast on Monday, May 29th at noon on ESPN2 to reveal the rest of the field.

A couple of Gamecocks brought home some SEC honors as the regular season ended.

Outfielder Ethan Petry and catcher Cole Messina were both named to the All-SEC team as first-team performers for their work in the 2023 season.

Two Gamecocks were named to Athlon Sports’ preseason All-American teams. Eleven were named to the preseason All-SEC squad.

Wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells and punter Kai Kroeger were honored by the national outlet as preseason All-Americans. Kroeger made the second-team, and Wells made the fourth-team. Wells and Kroeger were preseason first-team All-SEC selections according to Athlon.

Nick Emmanwori (second-team safety), Mitch Jeter (third-team kicker), Tonka Hemingway (third-team defensive tackle), Spencer Rattler (fourth-team quarterback), Trey Knox (fourth-team tight end), Marcellas Dial (fourth-team cornerback), Mo Kaba (fourth-team linebacker), Xavier Legette (fourth-team kick returner), and Dakereon Joyner (fourth-team all-purpose player).

Suspended freshman defensive back Cameron Upshaw announced his future plans.

The 3-star class of 2023 safety announced he was heading to junior college. Upshaw will play the 2023 season at Garden City Community College in Kansas but expects to return to South Carolina in January. It is unclear if the team and/or University also expect that to happen.

The South Carolina football team made some noise on the recruiting front as the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes were the subject of much conversation last week.

Gamecock quarterback commitment Dante Reno (class of 2024) accepted an invitation to the 2023 Elite-11 Finals showcase. Around 20 of the top quarterbacks in the nation will participate in the event.

2024 offensive lineman commitment Mike Williams backed off of his pledge to South Carolina. His commitment was somewhat conditional in nature, and, seemingly, those conditions were not met as the big lineman and the Gamecocks ended their recruiting relationship.

Coming on the heels of Williams’ announcement, fellow 2024 offensive lineman Liam Andrews announced his top-8 schools and named the Gamecocks a finalist. Andrews is viewed as one of the top interior linemen in the country and still has room to improve as he is just 270 pounds.

An elite prospect out of the DMV (DC, Maryland, Northeast Virginia) named the Gamecocks one of his final six schools. Four-star defensive end Daniel “DD” Holmes likes South Carolina a lot but has not shared much regarding which of his six finalists might be at the top of his list.

2024 linebacker Elijah Newby, a high school teammate of Gamecock quarterback commitment Dante Reno, announced he would be visiting the University of South Carolina during the weekend of June 9th. His recruitment is still open.

Fellow 2024 4-star linebacker Dakyus Brinkley (son of legendary Gamecock linebacker Jasper Brinkley) will be visiting his dad’s alma mater this summer. The younger Brinkley has played as both an EDGE and as a traditional stand-up linebacker. His recruitment is still open.

South Carolina football was named a finalist for 4-star defensive back Jarvis Boatwright. The Florida native is likely a safety at the college level and announced he would be taking four official visits to his four final schools (South Carolina, Florida State, Tennessee, and Southern Cal.

Another 2024 4-star defensive back, corner Kam Mikell, announced an official visit to the University of South Carolina. Mikell is viewed as having a top-2 of South Carolina and Georgia, and the Bulldogs appear to be leading the way for the Georgia native.

Peyton Lewis, a 4-star running back in the class of 2024, announced his commitment to Tennessee. Lewis was considered to be deciding between the Gamecocks and the Vols, but Tennessee was viewed as a heavy favorite after making significant strides with Lewis over recent weeks.

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains sent out a flurry of offers to young quarterbacks this week. Three 2025 QBs (Deuce Knight, Ryan Montgomery, and Will Wilson) and two 2026 QBs (Jared Curtis and Landon Duckworth) all picked up offers.

Big-time class of 2025 quarterback Deuce Knight announced his top-10. The Gamecocks were on his list, and the 4-star dual-threat quarterback also called Carolina his “dream school.”

Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team made some news in the world of recruiting, as well.

The #2-ranked player in the state for the class of 2024 is point guard Elijah Crawford (wing Cam Scott is the #1 recruit for the class). Crawford announced that he would be taking a visit to Columbia in June, and the Gamecocks appear to be one of the frontrunners to land the 4-star prospect.

One of the top targets in the class of 2024 for the Gamecocks is Georgia native Derrior Reid. Last week, Reid was chosen as a third-team performer for his work at the Nike EYBL Showcase in Dallas, Texas. Reid is a 4-star prospect whose recruitment is still open.

In other Gamecock basketball news, an expected return allows Carolina fans to breathe a sigh of relief.

Dynamic guard Meechie Johnson has officially removed his name from 2023 NBA Draft consideration. Johnson was expected to return to the South Carolina basketball team, and after getting feedback from the NBA, that’s exactly what happened.

Johnson is still expected to start next season, but he could be moved to more of an off-ball role with the Gamecocks adding point guard Ta’Lon Cooper to the roster through the transfer portal. Johnson playing off-ball could boost his NBA Draft stock moving forward.