South Carolina Gamecocks News: Football loss, recruiting updates for football and basketball, WWE, and more

Here is the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News from last week, starting with the Gamecock football team’s loss to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Carolina fell to Tennessee 41-20 on Saturday in Knoxville.

The Gamecock offensive line struggled mightily. Spencer Rattler was sacked 6 times, and other than one 75-yard explosion from running back Mario Anderson, there was not much going up front for USC in the run game, either.

The South Carolina defense continues to be pretty bad. The Gamecocks gave up over 200 yards rushing to the Vols and over 200 yards passing, despite UT quarterback Joe Milton struggling with accuracy and decision-making.

Two Gamecock captains won SEC awards for last week’s game against Mississippi State.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler was the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, and defensive tackle Boogie Huntley was the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

The football squad made some minor recruiting news this week, as well.

Preferred walk-on Chase Kibble announced his commitment to the Gamecocks. A versatile lineman who plays both offensive tackle and defensive line in high school, Kibble is part of the class of 2024.

Carolina commitment Mason Love was honored by Kohl’s Kicking as the National Kicker/Punter of the Week last week. At different points in his recruitment, Love has been ranked in the top-10 nationally in both placekicking and punting according to the outlet.

Speaking of recruiting, Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team picked up two big commitments last week.

Early in the week, 4-star forward Hayden Assemian committed to the Gamecocks. The South Carolina native is in the class of 2025.

On Sunday, top-150 prospect Trent Noah, a sharpshooter from Kentucky, made a pledge to the Gamecocks, as well.

4-star class of 2024 guard Bishop Boswell committed to Tennessee. The Gamecocks were in his top-6 this summer, but Boswell left Carolina out of his commitment ceremony as he only put five hats in front of him when announcing.

Dawn Staley’s program will host an exhibition game in honor of the deceased Nikki McCray-Penson.

The former South Carolina basketball assistant passed away this summer after her second battle with breast cancer. The Gamecocks will take on Rutgers (her final coaching stop) in the exhibition. The game will be free to the public, but donations will be collected for In the Middle, a charity that serves women who have fought breast cancer and their families.

Staley’s 2023-2024 team will have lots of new faces, but one of them received some national recognition.

Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao was selected as the 11th-best transfer in the entire country by ESPN. The sharpshooting guard is expected to start for the Gamecocks.

Gamecock basketball legend Aja Wilson was snubbed from winning the WNBA MVP award.

Wilson somehow finished third in MVP voting despite being the league’s best player. She exacted her revenge on the league by sweeping through the first two rounds of the WNBA playoffs to make it back to the Finals where she will take on New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, the winner of the award.

Another former Gamecock had a big weekend.

Zia Cooke was selected to play for Team USA in the FIBA U23 3-on-3 championships. While Team USA did not win the event, Cookie was sensational, leading all scorers in pool play, putting the ball in the basket for about 45% of her team’s total scoring for the tournament.

Mark Kingston’s South Carolina baseball team put together one of the top transfer portal classes in the nation.

Four Gamecocks were selected by D1Baseball as belonging in the top-130 transfers in the country. Outfielder Kennedy Jones, outfielder Austin Brinling, pitcher Ty Good, and utility man Parker Noland all made the cut for the new-look garnet and black.