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The No. 1 player in the state, No. 2 player at the position, and No. 17 player in the nation for the Class of 2026 from Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina reacted with me to chat about his visit to check in with head coach Shane Beamer and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for a big practice visit date on Saturday, April 13:

On South Carolina Defensive Backs' Coach Torrian Gray: "My relationship with Coach Gray is great. It’s always love from Coach. He is one of the best in the game, so being able to talk to him about football is always great. Being able to be coached and learn from him would be great, especially placing in the SEC. He’s work has been proven he can develop DB’s, so I see no reason why he wouldn’t be able to do the same for me. I believe he would be a great leader for me on and off the field."

On Gamecocks' Head Coach Shane Beamer: "Coach Beamer is very cool and easy to talk with. I like Coach Beamer, I see him trying to build something special in South Carolina. I expect a good year from them this upcoming football season."

On Carolina's pedigree on producing NFL talent at the position and what Matthews likes about that aspect of the program: "I love it. It shows they can develop them to becoming pros. Which does play a bit of a part in my decision. Overall my decision will not be about who can get me to league, it will entail way more than that. Things like having a relationship with my coaches on and off the field, liking the school as a whole, and having family atmosphere."

On what stood out about the family atmosphere at USC: "Just the overall togetherness they have there is what I like about South Carolina."

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Told we're going to hear from Rocket Sanders, LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart and Mazeo Bennett today to preview the spring game.

We have 5 series left before SEC tournament. 8-7 SEC record currently.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Checking in from Joe Riley Park right on the Harbor front in Charleston, where South Carolina baseball is in midweek action tonight at The Citadel. Gamecocks won the match-up at Founders Park 7-1, and will try to pick up a little momentum before two crucial home seris against Arkansas and Kentucky the next two weekends. Here's how the Gamecocks will line up tonight for a 7:00 first pitch:

Cole Messina - DH
Parker Noland - 2B
Ethan Petry - RF
Dalton Reeves - C
Kennexdy Jones - LF
Gavin Casas - 1B
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Dylan Brewer - CF
Will Tippett - SS

Tyler Pitzer - Pitcher

Nm

Live updates on Shane Beamer's final media availabililty before the spring football game.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive lineman of the Blythewood High School Bengals just down the road from Columbia reported an excellent visit to watch South Carolina practice in Columbia last Saturday.

"What really stood out to me is when Dawn Staley started talking to the football team about how she never had a football coach that wanted to come to the women's basketball practice," the defensive lineman with offers from Liberty, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, Georgia Southern, The Citadel, Western Kentucky, and Wofford and is drawing interest from Shane Beamer's University of South Carolina Gamecocks, said about Carolina's head coach.

Also, when (Dawn Staley) said 'I know y'all have a 'tuff' schedule! So What! So What! Somebody got to play!" To me, that really shows how much (all sports programs) at the University of South Carolina cares about each other.

The prospect drawing interest from the Gamecocks spent most of his time with would-be position coach if he were to end up signing with Carolina down the road, Travian Robertson. "I spent the most time with Coach Robertson. I didn't get to talk to him that much, but when I did, he told me that he would be attending one of my spring practices and that he wants me to come camp for the summer. 'After that, we will go from there,' he said.

Sanders also took visits to Georgia Southern, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Coastal over spring break, and has visited Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Duke, each of the three academic schools who have interest in Sanders, he confirmed with me.

He will return to South Carolina for the Spring Game. "I will be back at the South Carolina spring game this weekend," Sanders said.

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Looks like we dodged another bullet; he’s in the portal AGAIN……

Was it just me or did this year’s Masters seem boring?

Montgomery is set to announce this Wednesday at his high school at 3 pm. I’ve had a futurecast in for Montgomery to South Carolina for a while, and I think I’m sticking with it for now. That said, Florida and Georgia both seem like real possibilities at this point despite how strongly South Carolina has done throughout the process.

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A few additional insider notes:

- There is definitely mutual attention from Lamont Paris and Cam Scott and the two sides are working to get a visit set up
- It was pretty clear down the stretch of his initial recruitment that SC, Texas and Auburn were his top 3, and this season definitely went a long way in showing Scott that you can win here
- The note on his tweet about "staying closer to home" seems to suggest that SC would have the inside lane here, but I'm sure his other top schools are reaching out if they still have room.

This is the second time the Gamecocks have reentered the poll after being ranked to start the season.

Few other notes on the poll:

The Gamecocks will or have played series against the current top 4 and against #6. Cocks are currently 1-4 with series coming up against #2-4. Texas AM jumped Arkansas after the Hogs lost a series at Alabama.

Carolina is one of 8 SEC schools that is ranked. SC is the 7th highest rated SEC team.

7 schools from the Carolinas are ranked. 3 from SC and 4 from NC. Cocks are the 7th highest rated team in the Carolinas as well.

Going to be dodging rain but it's a tradition to go with one of my kids so we will brave the weather and at least hit the gift shop and of course have to drop about 5 c-notes on clothing as usual.

In Gainesville. Good start to series.

South Carolina is going for the sweep today in Gainesville. I’ll have live updates and analysis here today.

Matthew Becker gets the nod on the mound. Messina remains in the lead off spot.

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"It was great. It was mostly a scrimmage today, which was great. I loved the way it worked," the 6-foot-7, 300-pound OT of Pulaski Academy (Little Rock) said of the Gamecocks' practice."The energy from Lonnie Teasley was exactly what I like from a coach.

We're going to work hard and urgent. No plays off. Always looking to wreck the defense," he said of the way the South Carolina offensive line coach led his players at the position during the practice. "I was surprised when Coach Beamer came over and introduced himself to my mother and I. OL's don't get to meet the head coach often. It really means a lot to me that he took that time. That said a lot about him in my opinion," the player who has also tendered offers from Arkansas, Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin said of Carolina's head coach.

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After a 10-3 win yesterday, South Carolina baseball will be back in action at 4 p.m. today in Gainesville trying to clinch the series. It would be their first road SEC series win in over a calendar year, and a crucial one towards this season's direction.

Ty Good, so strong in relief all year, is making his first SEC start today. Here's how the Gamecocks will line up behind him:

Cole Messina - C
Parker Noland - 2B
Ethan Petry - RF
Gavin Casas - 1B
Kennedy Jones - LF
Dylan Brewer - CF
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Dalton Reeves - DH
Will Tippett - SS

Ty Good - Pitcher

As I expected, Kent Babb does a really terrific job in this in-depth piece.

It's not a hit piece. It details her background, controversies that surround her, and strained relationships with her family. The part about her dad is sad but inciteful. More importantly, I learned a lot about her reading it.

If she reads it, and of course she will, I wonder what she will think about her father and his love for her and how he still sneaks in to see her when he can. It seems clear, he's not going to be around much longer. The part about her sister is shorter, but it's clear her sister loves her and wants to be back in her life.

It would be quite odd to see her file a lawsuit against The Post for this story. I guess that's the popular thing to threaten these days.

"The Kim Mulkey way: The LSU coach holds grudges, battles everyone – and keeps winning. But at what cost?"

Another SEC weekend is here, and it is a pivotal one for both South Carolina and Florida with both teams entering the series 6-6 in conference play. South Carolina is trying to stop a skid of three series losses in four weekends, and Florida is trying to snap a four-game losing streak overall.

Cole Messina is back in the lineup for the Gamecocks after missing a week in concussion protocol....and he is batting leadoff for the first time in his college career as Mark Kingston continues trying to jump start this offense. Here is how the Gamecocks will line up:

Cole Messina - C
Parker Noland - 2B
Ethan Petry - RF
Tyler Causey - DH
Kennedy Jones - LF
Dylan Brewer - CF
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Gavin Casas - 1B
Will Tippett - SS

Eli Jones - Pitcher