South Carolina Gamecocks News: Super regionals, football recruiting, basketball, transfer portal
By Kevin Miller
Here is the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News starting with the baseball team’s run in the super regionals against Florida.
The South Carolina baseball team had a good season come to an end over the weekend when the Florida Gators knocked off the Gamecocks in a 2-game sweep in the Gainesville super regional of the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks didn’t have enough offense as they only logged multiple hits in an inning twice (in the first two innings of game 1) and scored a total of 4 runs over the two contests.
Floria will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska instead of South Carolina who finished the year with a 42-21 record.
The day after the season ended, the Gamecocks lost a major contributor to the transfer portal.
Braswell had an up-and-down career in garnet and black but displayed tremendous talent, especially as a defensive infielder.
It is unclear the cause of Braswell’s transfer or where he will end up enrolling.
South Carolina football continued their big June recruiting month.
Malcolm Ziglar is one of the fastest risers in the country as he has gone from unranked by some outlets to a 4-star prospect. The defensive back from North Carolina named the Gamecocks as one of his top-8 schools. South Carolina, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Penn State, East Carolina, Appalachian State, and Clemson are his finalists.
Fred Johnson is a 3-star linebacker from Virginia who is on the verge of blowing up. During his visit to Carolina last weekend, he tested extremely well athletically and picked up an offer. He has received 13 Division-1 offers over the last several months after only picking up 4 prior to the start of 2023.
Joseph McVay is a 3-star receiver prospect in the class of 2024 who has been rising up recruiting rankings somewhat in recent months. This week, he named the Gamecocks to his group of final six teams. South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Texas A&M, Texas-San Antonio, and Tulane are McVay’s finalists.
Dominic Nichols named South Carolina a finalist for his services along with Kentucky, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Clemson. Nichols is a 4-star EDGE from the DMV.
Amari Jefferson, a 4-star athlete from Baylor School in Chattanooga, announced a top-6 of South Carolina, Miami, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Georgia. He hopes to play both football and baseball at the next level and is currently a Tennessee baseball commitment. He is coached by former Gamecock quarterback and tight ends coach Erik Kimrey.
Mason Love is a 5-star punter according to Kohl’s Kicking and appears to be Carolina’s top target at the position. He recently received an offer from special teams coordinator Pete Lembo and has said he hopes to make his college decision soon.
Jordan Thomas, a 4-star defensive line prospect from the state of New Jersey, is near the top of the Gamecocks’ recruiting list. He continues to have positive things to say about Carolina and recently named USC in his top-12 schools.
Justin Greene (4-star defensive lineman) and Jarvis Boatwright (4-star defensive back) committed to other programs earlier in the week. Greene elected to stay home, committing to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, while Boatwright pledged himself to the “other USC” where he will play for Lincoln Riley.
4-star EDGE DD Holmes will take an official visit to South Carolina. He announced the Gamecocks as a finalist several weeks ago. Holmes is from the DMV.
A former Gamecock head coach is on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.
Jim Carlen, who coached Heisman Trophy-winning running back George Rogers and led the Gamecocks to their first-ever back-to-back 8-win seasons, is up for election into the Hall of Fame. He also coached at West Virginia and Texas Tech.
Only George Rogers and Sterling Sharpe are in the Hall of Fame as Gamecock players, while Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier were South Carolina football coaches who were inducted.
The EA Sports NCAA Football video game release set for 2024 is receiving some pushback.
Led by former Clemson player Justin Falcinelli, a small group known as the College Football Players Association is attempting to persuade current college athletes to reject any payment (via NIL) from EA Sports for their inclusion in the game. Falcinelli believes the players are being taken advantage of and should be paid much more.
The current expected payout is around $500 per player.
This does not seem to be an issue that would halt production of the game, but several prominent college football names are rumored to be considering a holdout.
South Carolina basketball picked up a surprise commitment in the class of 2024.
Lance Piper announced his commitment to Lamont Paris’ squad. He was originally in the class of 2025 and reclassified to 2024. Piper is an under-the-radar wing prospect but has shown the ability to score, especially as a shooter.
The top South Carolina basketball recruiting target received a high honor last week.
Cam Scott, a class of 2024 5-star wing out of Lexington, South Carolina, was named the MVP at the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas. Scott does not currently have a timeline set for his commitment, but the Gamecocks are believed to be right in the middle of things.
The IRS seems to be ready to crack down on NIL collectives.
In a memo, the Internal Revenue Service announced that non-profit NIL collectives are in danger of losing their non-profit status as the collectives are not actually operating like charities.
It is unclear what this will mean for NIL other than the fact that many donors who were promised tax breaks will not be receiving them.