#3 in the baseball poll !

South Carolina defensive back Anthony Rose is the first player in the transfer portal during the 15-day spring window, a move he announced on his Twitter earlier today.

Rose has been away from the team since he was arrested for carrying a gun on campus, a charge he was released on bail for on February 6th.

The weather has cleared up, Matthew Becker is the starting pitcher as expected and the Gamecocks will go for a sweep at Founders Park today. Here is the full lineup, with first pitch at 2 p.m. on SEC Network+

Dylan Brewer - LF
Braylen Wimmer - SS
Ethan Petry - RF
Cole Messina - 1B
Michael Braswell - 3B
Carson Hornung - DH
Evan Stone - CF
Jonathan French - C
Will Tippett - 2B

Matthew Becker - P

Quotes from Mark Kingston, Matthew Becker and Braylen Wimmer on the sweep-securing victory. Also if you're subscribed to the website, I'll have a longer weekend wrap with some thoughts and notes on everything that happened ove the last three days at Founders Park dropping tomorrow morning.

New member of the Bash Brothers

Nice job Gamecocks!

Game two story. Quotes from Mark Kingston on why he decided to leave Jack Mahoney in the game for the key fifth inning AB, what Ethan Petry was looking for when he came to the plate against Hurston Waldrep and Eli Jones talking about his 7th inning strikeout. As always, thank you for reading!

We've spoken about him several times at this point, but Wofford Senior PF Transfer B.J. Mack is on campus this weekend for his official visit.

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6'8" multifaceted scorer is being sought after by multiple programs, but is primarily down to Iowa, Alabama, and South Carolina. As long as everything holds up pretty well this weekend, I like the Gamecocks chances to keep him in the state, but it's easy to see why other major programs are chasing him and his 16.6 PPG and nearly 50% FG percentage.

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Well that was quite a night, huh? Quotes from Mark Kingston, Will Sanders and Michael Braswell on a night where there was a lot to unpack, and pretty much all of it was positive. Back tomorrow night for the middle game of the series.

Hello again from Founders Park, where we have another really good pitching match-up on paper coming up. Jack Mahoney is taking on Florida's Hurston Waldrep, the splitter speialist who transferred to the Gators from Southern Miss after last season.

He won't get a chance to face his old teammate Will McGillis as he still recovers from his injury, and that's not where the injuries end for the South Carolina infield. Talmadge LeCroy is still out of the lineup as Mark Kingston said he would be for the rest of the weekend, and now Gavin Casas is down after his collision at first base yesterday. 3/4 of the opening day starting infielders are out of the lineup now, but there's no rest for the weary as another big game and tough customer looms tonight.

Cole Messina slides up to first base to take over for Casas, which means Jonathan French is catching. Here is your full lineup for game two, starting at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+:

Dylan Brewer - LF
Braylen Wimmer - SS
Ethan Petry - RF
Cole Messina - 1B
Michael Braswell - 3B
Carson Hornung - DH
Jonathan French - C
Evan Stone - CF
Will Tippett - 2B

Jack Mahoney - P

Appears to be our abundance of runs game

Olympic gold medal decathlete Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) weds Kris Kardashian in Bel Air, Los Angeles on April 21, 1991.

Nuff said!

Mark your calendars for June 23rd, a weekend that's shaping up to be a big one for the 2024 class. Perhaps the most relevant name on the books so far is #2 OVR Rated DE in the 2024 class, Dylan Stewart.

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Stewart is being courted by every major program in the country, but I've continued to like the Gamecocks' position with the DMV area stud. I told you folks a few weeks ago that SC and UGA are essentially 1a and 1b right now, and that's how I'd still classify it, though Ohio State may have gained some recent traction. This one is the definition of a marathon, similar to Nyckoles Harbor was a year ago, but SC getting him in for a big summer weekend OV certainly is an important step in that race.

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Dawn wants her.

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Saying hello from Founders Park before a huge, huge series opener. It'll be Brandon Sproat vs. Will Sanders on the mound, a rematch from their epic battle in Hoover last May. Sanders went seven innings, Sproat went eight and Florida won that game 2-1. The Gators come in ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 31-7 record and 11-4 in SEC play. South Carolina is ranked No. 6 with a 31-6 record and a 10-4 mark in conference play.

Talmadge LeCroy is still out of the lineup after his hamstring injury, so it'll be Michael Braswell moving over to 3rd base and Will Tippett taking a spot in the lineup at 2nd. Here's the full South Carolina lineup:

Dylan Brewer - LF
Braylen Wimmer - SS
Ethan Petry - RF
Cole Messina - C
Gavin Casas - 1B
Michael Braswell - 3B
Carson Hornung - DH
Evan Stone - CF
Will Tippett - 2B

Will Sanders - P

Needs to be riding the pine, the kid is one man error machine. Shouldn’t be a starter.

Win Anyway!!!

So far, we're 0-1- 1 in conference series wins against 'em and 2-3 in games played against them. Important series. Big, big weekend.

I love playoff hockey. These guys beat the hell outta each other and accept their penalties. It seems NHL refs catch the least amount of crap from players and coaches in all sports.

Getting ready to hear from Mark Kingston, Eli Jones and Dylan Brewer to preview the Florida series. Live updates to follow.

After 3 new commitments today, including 5.9 rated 4-star Braydon Lee just moments ago, South Carolina has moved all the way up to #7 in the country in the Rivals team recruiting rankings. There is still a long way to go, but if you'll recall, the highest South Carolina has ever finished in the Rivals' rankings was #6, all the way back in 2007.