Category: South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina star guard Meechie Johnson to reportedly enter transfer portal

The star South Carolina guard will enter the transfer portal after two seasons.

According to multiple reports, South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson is set to reportedly enter the transfer portal after two seasons with the Gamecocks.

Johnson, who transferred to South Carolina prior to the 2022-23 season, was a key factor in the Gamecocks bounce back 2023-24 campaign as he led the team in scoring at 14.1 PPG. Starting all 33 games for a South Carolina team that made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016-17, Johnson also averaged 4.1 RPG and 2.9 APG to earn Second Team All-SEC honors, as well as shot 39.9% from the field, 32.1% from three, and 78.8% from the free throw line.

Prior to South Carolina, Johnson appeared in 43 games at Ohio State across his first two collegiate seasons, five of which he started. Averaging 13 MPG, Johnson averaged a combined 3.2 PPG and 1.1 RPG.

Likely to be a sought-after name nationally, Johnson now becomes likely the biggest name from across the SEC to have entered the transfer portal so far this offseason, as well as among the top names in the entire country. Could any more big names potentially follow?

Texas A&M softball wins third straight SEC series beating No. 25 Auburn in the first two games

The Aggies are off to their best start since the 2018 season in SEC play

Texas A&M (27-4, 7-1 SEC) defeated No. 25 Auburn (15-8, 2-6 SEC) in the first two games of the series, outscoring the Tigers 8-3.

Head coach Trisha Ford has the Aggies off to the best start in the SEC since the 2018 season. On top of starting 7-1 in league play, all three teams they beat are ranked in the Top 25: No. 22 South Carolina, No. 21 Mississippi State, and No. 25 Auburn.

This squad is also getting the job done differently, with 1-9 of the line all being dangerous from the plate. The Aggies have a great mix of power and speed that allows them to have different offensive strategies that were missing last year.

The defense has also been playing extremely well, with just a few errors on the season, which has been the main reason their four losses have been one-point games. There has yet to be a game this season where a team has blown the Aggies out of the water. They are quick in the infield, and the outfield has shown several times that they all have the capability to throw out runners at home.

Day one:

Texas A&M vs Auburn / Win / 5-1

  • Total offense:  5 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (14-3): 7.0 innings, 4 Ks, 116 pitches.

Day two:

Texas A&M vs Auburn / Win / 3-2

  • Total offense:  3 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Shaylee Ackerman W (6-1): 7.0 innings, 2 Ks, 96 pitches.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series at Davis Diamond on Sunday, March 24, at 1 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

South Carolina reportedly hires FBS head coach as offensive assistant

South Carolina hires the Georgia State head coach, who had been in charge of the Panthers since 2017, as an offensive assistant.

According to multiple reports, Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott is expected to be hired as the new tight ends coach at South Carolina.

Elliott has been the head coach of the Panthers program since 2017 and has amassed a combined 41-44 overall record during that span. Across those seven seasons, Elliott led Georgia State to five bowl games, with his best year having been an 8-5 campaign in 2021, as well as their record in bowl games being 4-1.

Elliott now returns to South Carolina where he spent from 2010-16 in a variety of different assistant coaching roles, as well as having served as the interim head coach back in 2015, leading the Gamecocks to a 1-5 record.

South Carolina is coming off a 2023 season in which they finished at 5-7 overall as well as 3-5 in SEC play.

The Gamecocks tight end room will feature the likes of Joshua Simon, Connor Cox, Maurice Brown II, Lukas Vozeh, Nick Elksnis, Reid Mikeska, Brady Hunt, and Will Helmadollar.

South Carolina, Lamont Paris get statement win at Tennessee

South Carolina picked up a statement win Tuesday night.

Throughout the entirety of the 2023-24 season up to this point, only one team has defeated the Tennessee Volunteers inside Thompson-Boling Arena, and if you watched the SEC basketball action from Tuesday night, then you already know that the team is the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Yes, head coach Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks picked up a statement win Tuesday night in Knoxville, defeating Tennessee by a final score of 63-59.

A win that extended South Carolina’s current winning streak to four straight, the Gamecocks would lead for a majority of the second half, and while only shooting 33.9% from the field, as well as 34.5% from three, were able to hold on late due to some big makes down the stretch.

Of those baskets, arguably none was bigger than a made three-pointer from Ta’Lon Cooper with 0:41 remaining to extend the lead from three to six. The Gamecocks also helped secure the victory with some big makes at the free throw line inside a minute remaining, with Myles Stute going a perfect four-for-four at the line down the stretch.

The aforementioned Cooper would lead South Carolina with 18 points on the night, while B.J. Mack and Stute were also in double-figures.

For the Volunteers, star Dalton Knecht would have yet another phenomenal offensive showing by adding 31 points, but South Carolina would keep the remainder of the Tennessee lineup limited on the scoreboard as the star trio of Zeigler, Vescovi, and James had only a combined 14 points.

Now sitting at 18-3 overall, as well as second in the SEC at 6-2 in conference play, this, combined with the Kentucky win last week, is a victory that will do nothing but boost South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament resume down the road.

Simply a statement victory on all fronts, can the Gamecocks keep their winning ways going Saturday at Georgia?

‘they’re good every year you just got to expect the best out of them’ Coulibaly & Ware answer questions in preview of the South Carolina game

Here’s what Texas A&M Aggies Aicha Coulibaly and Lauren Ware had to say during the South Carolina matchup preview.

Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2) returns home to face the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0) on Sunday afternoon.

After a bye week, A&M will welcome the No. 1 team in the nation to Reed Arena for their fifth SEC game of the season. The Aggies have played solid defense all season long and will need to find a way to slow down the South Carolina Gamecocks, who boast the number-one offense in the land.

“I’d say rebounding is definitely the biggest thing for us and then obviously defense is something that we’ve been um pretty get out throughout the year but I think this is going to be an important one for us to be solid defensively” – Ware

“I feel like in this game it’s going to be a possessional game we got to take care of the ball as well and you know just staying in the game with them we know how big they are” – Coulibaly

Below, you can watch the full presser Q&A with Aicha Coulibaly and Lauren Ware.

 

Texas A&M will return to Reed Arena on January 21 at 4:00 pm CT to host the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

‘ We’ve got to force them into tough shots they can’t get anything easy’ Coach Joni Taylor answers questions in preview of the South Carolina game

Here’s what Texas A&M Head Coach Joni Taylor had to say during the South Carolina matchup preview.

Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2) returns home to face the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0) on Sunday afternoon.

This will undoubtedly be the toughest game of the season for the Aggies, with Dawn Staley bringing a South Carolina team that’s been out to prove a point after not making it to the NCAA Championship game last season. Head Coach Joni Taylor knows she must slow down and limit the mistakes against the No. 1 Gamecocks if they want a chance at a victory.

“…we’ve got to force them into a half-court game as much as possible. They are excellent in transition, and we’ve got to
limit those opportunities number one by getting back and getting a defense set and also by not turning the ball over or having turnovers that lead to live ball easy transition points.”

Below, you can watch the full presser Q&A with Coach Joni Taylor.

Texas A&M will return to Reed Arena on January 21 at 4:00 pm CT to host the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Reacting to Yahoo Sports’ SEC football stadium rankings

Yahoo was very judicious with its choice of who to leave out. Two teams hail from the SEC East and two from the West.

Yahoo Sports recently ranked all the Southeastern Conference football stadiums from one to 10, excluding the bottom four.

The rankings were chosen based on the SEC as presently constructed, so apologies to fans of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, you all will have to wait until August to be included.

Yahoo was very judicious with its choice of who to leave out. Two teams hail from the SEC East and two from the West. Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt were left on the outside looking in.

Therefore, if you’re a fan of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Kroger Field, Davis Wade Stadium or FirstBank Stadium, you likely have an axe to grind with Yahoo Sports, not us. For what it’s worth though, they weren’t necessarily wrong.

In descending order, let’s find out where Texas A&M‘s Kyle Field in Aggieland ranks among the best conference in college football.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Auburn transfer quarterback commits to fellow SEC school

Robby Ashford is on the move again, this time to another SEC program.

Having spent the last two seasons at Auburn, Robby Ashford has officially committed to play at South Carolina in 2024.

This will be the second time that the sophomore quarterback has transferred during his collegiate career, as Ashford originally began his college playing days at Oregon in 2020-21, but did not see any on-field action.

Across the last two seasons with the Tigers, Ashford held a combined 49.5% completion with 1,758 passing yards and a 9-9 TD-INT ratio while throwing the ball, as well as making a key impact in the running game with 927 yards and 12 touchdowns on 199 attempts.

A majority of Ashford’s production came in 2022 as Auburn’s starter under previous head coach Bryan Harsin, holding a 49.2% completion with 1,613 passing yards and a 7-7 TD-INT ratio, while also rushing for 710 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 attempts.

This past season, Ashford was Auburn’s primary backup to starter Payton Thorne in year one under head coach Hugh Freeze and rushed for five touchdowns in limited action.

Ashford is now transfer addition No. 19 for South Carolina so far this offseason, as well as the second quarterback alongside Oklahoma’s Davis Beville.

The Auburn transfer will now compete for South Carolina’s starting job in 2024, which was vacated by Spencer Rattler declaring for the NFL Draft.

South Carolina pulls former Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders from transfer portal

Raheim Sanders had the fourth-most yards in a single season in Razorbacks history in 2022 when he rushed for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Former Arkansas running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders committed to stay in the SEC and play for South Carolina on Wednesday.

247Sports’ Matt Zenitz initially reported that the former Razorback was expected to join Shane Beamer’s team earlier in the day.

The 2022 First-Team All-SEC running back had 2,230 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in his three seasons with Arkansas, as well as 455 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Sanders’ 2022 season was remarkable, with 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games. He rushed for at least 150 yards in four of his first eight games before he later exploded for 232 yards and three touchdowns on just 24 carries against Ole Miss.

His 1,443 yards were the fourth-most in a single season in Arkansas school history, trailing just Alex Collins’ 2015 season and Darren McFadden’s legendary 2006-07 runs.

Sanders couldn’t match his sophomore heights this past season, limited to just 62 carries for 209 yards in six games with only a pair of touchdowns.

Sanders joins a South Carolina team that went 5-7 in 2023 but showed promise in a two-score halftime lead against Georgia. Beamer is 20-18 in his three seasons in Columbia thus far.

South Carolina wide receiver Juice Wells enters transfer portal

The Gamecocks wide receiver and 2022 first-team All-SEC nominee will have two years of eligibility left as a graduate transfer.

South Carolina wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells has entered the transfer portal, the Gamecocks wideout announced on Sunday.

“Thank you (Gamecock Nation) for everything!!!” Wells wrote in his statement. “I appreciate all the love and support that was shown me and I will be forever grateful.”

The senior also took the time to thank his teammates and coaches, specifically his wide receivers coach.

Wells, a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, started his collegiate career with James Madison. He picked up 603 yards and scored six touchdowns in his first season, but he broke out with the Dukes in 2021. He tallied 83 receptions for 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns. While James Madison was an FCS school at the time, only two FBS receivers matched all three of those metrics.

After Wells transferred to South Carolina, he caught 68 passes for 928 yards and six touchdowns in his first season with the Gamecocks. He finished second in the conference in receptions and fifth in receiving yards, and he was one of two wide receivers named to the 2022 All-SEC First Team.

Wells’ 2023 season was a wash after he injured his left foot early in the season. He only appeared in two games, catching three passes for 37 yards and a touchdown in less than a full game of work. The injury aside, he’s clearly one of the most talented and accomplished wide receivers in the portal.