South Carolina Gamecocks News: Carolina's NCAA Tournament draw, spring practice beginning, baseball scuffling

The latest South Carolina Gamecocks news from Columbia, starting with the NCAA Tournament draws for the two South Carolina basketball squads.

Lamont Paris' men's team was given a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will play against the 11-seed Oregon Ducks and former Gamecock Jermaine Couisnard. The winner will play the winner of Creighton (3) and Akron (14). The first two rounds of the bracket will be played in Pittsburgh before shifting to Detroit. South Carolina-Oregon will tip at 4:00 PM EST on Thursday and will be shown on TNT, the TNT app, and the March Madness Live app.

Dawn Staley's women's team was the obvious #1-overall seed in the tournament, but the Gamecocks drew a tough bracket anyway. A potential 2nd round matchup against North Carolina starts the tough road, but USC could play against recent top-10 teams Indiana and Notre Dame along the way, and conference foes Texas A&M and Ole Miss are also in the bracket. The Gamecocks will play the winner of Sacred Heart and Presbyterian (a play-in game) in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.

Both Gamecock head coaches made some headlines last week.

Lamont Paris signed a long contract extension to stay with the South Carolina Gamecocks. On a deal that will pay him an average of over $4 Million per year, Paris will be the headman in Columbia until at least the 2029-2030 season.

Paris also completed his sweep of the SEC Coach of the Year honors and was named a semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year.

Dawn Staley was also named a semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year.

The coaches weren't the only ones to make news.

Freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles addressed his NBA future by telling The State that he plans to be back in Columbia next season.

Senior post player Kamilla Cardoso was named a semifinalist for the Naismith National Player of the Year, the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year, and the John R. Wooden National Player of the Year.

Freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley became the first collegiate athlete ever to sign with Stephen Curry and the Curry Brand at Under Armour.

Spring practice is beginning on Tuesday for Shane Beamer's South Carolina football team.

The Gamecocks will begin the LaNorris Sellers era at quarterback in year 4 under Shane Beamer. The entire spring schedule can be seen here.

Speaking of football, the gridiron Gamecocks made a little recruiting news, as well.

Over the weekend, 4-star safety Kendall Daniels put Carolina on his top-8 list. He is a former high school teammate of current Gamecock freshman Fred "JayR" Johnson.

4-star cornerback Shamari Earls announced his top-10, and South Carolina football made the cut. The Gamecocks are considered one of the real favorites in Earls' recruitment.

Nyck Harbor showed off his wheels in a meet with South Carolina Track and Field.

The rising sophomore wide receiver ran a blazing 20.86 in the 200-meter, good for the gold and good for the 2nd-fastest time in the NCAA so far this year.

A Gamecock reserve hit the transfer portal.

Backup defensive end Terrell Dawkins is no longer with the team and is pursuing a transfer. He played sparingly in two years with the Gamecocks.

A few former South Carolina football stars made splashes in NFL free agency.

Keisean Nixon signed a 3-year deal to stay with the Green Bay Packers.

Javon Kinlaw inked a 1-year agreement with the New York Jets.

Hayden Hurst signed with the Los Angeles Chargers; terms have not been fully reported.

DJ Wonnum came to terms on a 2-year deal with the Carolina Panthers.

The South Carolina baseball team did not get off to a great start in SEC play.

The Gamecocks lost 2 of 3 in Oxford to the Ole Miss Rebels. In the opening two games of the series (both losses), USC had 26 strikeouts as they went 5-30 with runners on base and lost by a total score of 16-8.

The finale helped salvage a little something out of the weekend as Mark Kingston's team won 6-2 and limited their strikeouts to just 7.

Kennedy Jones was the top offensive performer for the Gamecocks, and the team got solid pitching efforts from Eli Jones (starter), Parker Marlatt (bullpen), Ty Good (bullpen), Matthew Becker (bullpen), and Garrett Ganey (bullpen).

South Carolina softball had an up-and-down week.

The Gamecocks went 3-2 on the week, knocking off a ranked Boston University team, smacking Michigan State, and beating Minnesota before dropping a double-header against NC State and Northwestern.