South Carolina Gamecocks News: Updates from recruiting, transfer portal, and baseball NCAA Tournament projections
By Kevin Miller
The latest South Carolina Gamecocks news from the last week, starting with a few offseason player perception updates from the South Carolina football team
A pair of Gamecock defensive tackles received some preseason recognition as TJ Sanders was named one of On3's top-100 players for the 2024 season (#61), and Tonka Hemingway was called a "defensive tackle to watch" for the 2025 NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.
Junior safety Nick Emmanwori was ranked as the #4 NFL Draft prospect at the position heading into the 2025 draft by NFL Draft files.
Transfer portal wide receiver additions Jared Brown (6th) and Gage Larvadain (9th) are both in the top-10 among all returning receivers in the Southeastern Conference according to PFF's grades from the 2023 season.
Tight end Josh Simon was ranked as the 3rd-best receiving tight end in the SEC among returners at the position. The ranking is based on PFF's grades from last season.
Wide receiver Nyck Harbor has garnered a lot of attention for his work with the track and field team. Harbor qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints and the Olympic trials in the 200-meter sprint.
Though there were no commitments to the South Carolina football program, there was plenty of recruiting news for the Gamecocks over the last week.
4-star offensive line target Cortez Smith revealed he will make his college decision on July 20th.
Another 4-star offensive line target Dontrell Glover named the Gamecocks as one of his top-4 schools.
4-star in-state lineman Shed Sarratt, who already announced his decision date of June 14th, officially put the Gamecocks on his final list of six schools.
Another 4-star offensive lineman target Isaac "Spike" Sowells put the Gamecocks in his top-5 and revealed a decision date in July.
EDGE recruit Jared Smith was bumped up to a 5-star ranking by 247Sports, and the Gamecock target is believed to be favoring Carolina in his recruitment.
4-star cornerback commitment Shamari Earls is one of the top risers in the recruiting industry, moving up inside the top-82 nationally according to On3, 247Sports, and ESPN.
Class of 2026 Palmetto State native Jordon Gidron keeps moving up in the recruiting rankings. The wide receiver is now a top-100 national prospect according to On3, 247Sports, and ESPN.
Lamont Paris' South Carolina basketball team also made some recruiting news.
4-star forward EJ Walker announced his commitment to the program over the Wisconsin Badgers, Purdue Boilermakers, and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Kentucky native is a class of 2025 prospect and can play any frontcourt position.
A former Gamecock is transferring to an SEC rival.
The newest Ole Miss Rebel is former Carolina forward Ja'Von Benson. The Columbia-area native spent three seasons in garnet and black before transferring to the Hampton Pirates last season. He will play his final year of eligibility with the Rebels and will come back to Colonial Life Arena this season as an opponent.
Dawn Staley's squad had their season opener made official.
The Gamecocks will play against the Michigan Wolverines in Las Vegas on November 4th.
A Gamecock women's basketball starter brought home an award in her home state.
Bree Hall, an Ohio native, won the Dave Hall Memorial Award as the top player from the Dayton, Ohio area who plays their college ball outside of the region.
The South Carolina baseball team had a wild ride in the SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks beat the Alabama Crimson Tide and Arkansas Razorbacks (two teams that took two of three games from USC earlier in the year) before losing to the LSU Tigers. Playing from the loser's bracket, Carolina beat the Kentucky Wildcats to earn another chance against LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
The Gamecocks set several records in Hoover. No team has ever been hit by more pitches in a single tournament (), Cole Messina set a new single-tournament record for RBI (16) and extended his on-base streak to 18 games, and USC tied the 1995 Kentucky Wildcats for the most errors in SEC Tournament history (12).
Carolina will learn its NCAA Tournament seed and Regional opponents on Monday.
There was some other Gamecock baseball-related news.
In the SEC Tournament, Gavin Casas broke a bone in his hand, likely ending his season.
Cole Messina was named to the SEC Tournament All-Tournament team and was revealed as a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award. He also made several All-SEC squads.
South Carolina softball had its season come to an end.
South Carolina Football: How much did the Gamecocks get paid for College Football 25?. dark. Next. South Carolina Football: How much did the Gamecocks get paid for College Football 25?