The South Carolina men's basketball program is rebuilding following a 13-19 season in Columbia. While head coach Lamont Paris is returning for a fifth season as the Gamecocks' head coach, he is doing some reshuffling along his staff.
One of those moves is giving longtime Gamecock assistant Carey Rich a new title and promotion. Rich, who has been with the program since Paris was hired in 2022, has been a Special Assistant to the Head Coach since then. On Friday afternoon, Rich was promoted to Director of Player Personnel & Player Relations in the offseason. The longtime assistant has a the nickname on staff of "the captan."
The Captain‼️🫡 pic.twitter.com/cK3rgUPM7Z
— South Carolina Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) June 26, 2026
According to Rich's official South Carolina bio, In his current role, Rich oversees the management of roster operations, while supporting the development of South Carolina student-athletes. In his new role, he will continue to combine recruiting coordination with player and culture management.
The captain will also be involved in NIL opportunities for the Gamecocks, as well as being a liaison between high school coaches and agents.
Rich is well familiar with the South Carolina program, so his promotion is quite fitting. During his college basketball career, he played a season at Western Carolina before playing for the Gamecocks from 1993-1995. While playing in 79 games for the Gamecocks, he scored 784 career points with 340 assists, and he ranks sixth all-time in the South Carolina record books with 4.30 assists per game. During his senior season, he led the Gamecocks in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game.
He is also a native of Columbia, S.C., so you really couldn't ask for a person or coach better suited for this position. Prior to landing on Coach Paris' staff, he worked in the Columbia Parks and Recreation department.
Congrats to Rich on the new position! Hopefully his partnership with South Carolina can continue for years to come.
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