Spurs & Feathers May 2019

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 5

BEST OF THE BEST Honoring Carolina’s Top Athletes

Plus: A look at 12 rising stars

May 2019

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Publishing Schedule

Contents

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purs & Feathers is the official publication of the University of South Carolina Gamecock Club. It is published monthly, 12 times per year and is available to Gamecock Club members as well as additional subscribers.

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To opt in or subscribe, email subscribe@ spursandfeathers.com or call 843-853-7678.

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The Gamecock Club and Spurs & Feathers thank you for your support.

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Below is our publication schedule for 2019:

5 Williams-Brice

Jan. 23 Feb. 20 March 20 April 24 May 22 June 19

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Horry County helps Junior Gamecocks

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Gala affair celebrates student-athletes

July 24 Aug. 28 Sept. 25 Oct. 23 Nov. 20 Dec. 18

Editor’s Note: The editorial deadline for this issue was May 10.

GAMECOCK CLUB EVENTS Got a Gamecock Club event you’d like us to list?

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BASKETBALL 22 Silva Legacy: Big man reflects on stellar career

getting facelift

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24 Staley speaks out on transfers, ‘healthy program’

BASEBALL

Retired jerseys honor Gamecock Greats

26 From Down Under: Aussie George Callil making impact

S T U D E N T-AT H L E T E S 10 Tour de Carolina: Muschamp delights fans, hypes program

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Brazil’s Martins leads Gamecocks to title

GOLF

20 Gamecocks to the NFL: Where they landed

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Women continue strong tradition

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Columns 38

Gunter: Breaking down Martin’s 2019-20 roster l

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Girardeau: Who’s next to have jersey retired?

From top left (clockwise): Fynn Minuth, Women’s 4x400m relay team, Paul Jubb, Quincy Hall, Chris Silva, Ingrid Martins, Deebo Samuel.

Photos by Allen Sharpe, Jenny Dilworth and SC Athletics Cover Design by Lisa Heinz

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On the cover

32 Goffi turns England’s Jubb into elite talent

18 Next Up: 10 rising stars

Football

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14 Elite Athletes: Honoring 20 of Carolina’s best

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May 2019

Board approves renovations to Williams-Brice Stadium From Staff Reports

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he South Carolina Board of Trustees approved Phase II of a $22.5 million project to renovate Williams-Brice stadium.

The project, expected to be completed for the 2020 season, would improve the gameday experience of more than 20,000 fans as well as the recruiting experience for prospective student-athletes. The renovations were made possible by the football program’s move to the new Cyndi and Kenneth Long Family Football Operations Center. “We are really proud of this project. Continuing to make improvements to our football gameday experience has been something we remain passionate about. We have to provide an experience that makes our fans proud and keeps them coming back,� Athletics Director Ray Tanner said.

The project includes renovating space on the first floor of the Crews Building to host recruits and their families on gameday. It also will allow fans to get closer to the players, who will take the field via a glass corridor framed by the new “2001 Club.� The entrance will replicate the experience the Dallas Cowboys have made famous at AT&T Stadium. “I thought it was really good to have a unique entrance, something that the Dallas Cowboys have and I thought that would be great for our fan base, it would be great for our

players, something that is unique to college football,� head coach Will Muschamp said.

In addition to new loge boxes and club areas, the project looks to improve the experience for current ticket purchasers at price points aimed at retaining the current seasonticket base. “We are going to offer some pricing accommodations to current ticket holders to facilitate that and, ultimately, we hope to provide our fans with tremendous improvements that makes their gameday a lot more enjoyable,� Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development Steve Eigenbrot said.

The football season ticket renewal deadline is expected be moved to earlier in the spring of 2020. The move will facilitate a plan to work with impacted donors that want to move their seats. The athletic department planned to roll out further details, including pricing and requirements, prior to the start of seat selection for the 2019 season, which begins May 20.

The renovations will include: “2001 Club:� Nestled beneath approximately 33 new 4-person loge boxes and an observation deck, the luxury two-level airconditioned club space will accommodate loge patrons and roughly 300 more passes that will provide access to views of the Gamecocks entering the field to “2001.� The loge boxes will be sold in sets of four.

West Side, 100 Level:Â Improvements to the 100 level will include a 9,000-square-foot airconditioned club area behind sections 101-105.

East Side, 400 Level: Will feature a 21,000-square-foot enclosed space stretching from ramp to ramp on the existing club level, one flight below the east upper concourse. East club-level patrons will have exclusive access to new concession and restroom amenities via two new portals connecting their seats to the enclosed club space. The new concourse will service approximately 3,000 patrons on the 400 level, relieving congestion on the existing east upper concourse. The area will include new seats for all east club ticket holders, loge box seating along the top and bottom of the club area and improved ADA seating opportunities.

South Lower: Fans in Sections 11-13 in the south end of the stadium’s lower bowl will have exclusive access to a renovated concourse, as well as indoor club spaces within the first and second floors of the Crews Building. The renovated concourse will feature new restrooms and concession stands. Fans will be able to move freely between the concourse, airconditioned areas within the Crews Building and the south seating bowl. Additionally, new restrooms and concessions will be added to the southeast corner of the stadium for Sections 14-16.

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STADIUM RENOVATIONS • GAMECOCK CLUB

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Horry County club focused on raising Junior Gamecocks

By Brian Hand | Contributing writer

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ellah Webster and the Horry County Gamecock Club know the importance of raising young Gamecock fans.

That’s why they decided to hold the inaugural Horry County Junior Gamecock Club PuttPutt Tournament Saturday, April 13 at Black Pearl Mini Golf in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. “We have actually been talking about this for about 10 years on our Horry County Gamecock Board that we wanted to do a junior event,” Webster said. “We finally decided this past year that we were actually going to do one and put something into action.”

The event was made possible due to the many Gamecocks in the area coming together to put together something special.

“We are very blessed that we live in Myrtle Beach, which is the putt-putt capital of the world and one of our longtime board members, Wayne Vereen, and his daughter have a puttputt course called the Black Pearl in Cherry Grove,” Webster added. “Wayne was nice enough to donate the course and it went from there.”

Before the event even started the Horry County Gamecock Club signed up about 30 children from the eighth grade and younger.

When the day came, it was pouring, but that also proved to be part of the fun.

“We were thrilled with the turnout because it was pouring down rain on us,” Webster said.

Photo courtesy of Kellah Webster

“The kids had a blast. They could have cared less that it was raining. They thought playing puttputt in the rain was one of the coolest things they had ever done in their lives.”

As part of the Junior Gamecock Club event, all 30 participants received free membership to the Junior Gamecock Club.

“This creates just more awareness,” Webster said. “They will now be looking into more Ju-

nior Gamecock Club events and as a parent you are much more inclined to go somewhere when your child is begging you to go.

“Our whole goal is just to get them when they are younger so that it just becomes a way of life. For example, my son joined the Gamecock Club when he was four and he is now 25 years old and he still has those points from when he was young. It’s a great thing.”

Webster and the Horry County Gamecocks could not have been more pleased with the way things turned out. In fact, there may be more Junior Gamecock Club events in the area in the future.

“We are definitely going to make this an annual event,” Webster noted. “We want to do something because the response to our first event was huge. The kids were thrilled and everybody was just really excited that there was a Junior Gamecock Club event somewhere other than Columbia.”

No Junior Gamecock Club event would be complete without the world’s best mascot.

“It was a great atmosphere having Cocky there as well,” Webster said. “I want to thank the Gamecock Club for all of their support because they were so enthusiastic and so supportive. I hope more clubs will decide to do Junior Gamecock Club events as well.”

To learn more about the Junior Gamecock Club, please visit thegamecockclub.com.

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May 2019

Impact Team of the Year: Beach volleyball

Gamecock Gala honors student-athletes, President Pastides From Staff Reports • Photos by Allen Sharpe

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outh Carolina honored its 2018-19 student-athletes at its annual Gamecock Gala April 15 at the Koger Center.

The elegant event, which was emceed by SEC Network host and South Carolina alum Alyssa Lang, recognized student-athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field and honored retiring South Carolina President Dr. Harris Pastides. It also featured a red-carpet entrance, allowing student-athletes to show off their best attire and the latest styles.

Several student-athletes received special awards, including beach volleyball senior Shannon Williams, who was presented the prestigious President’s Award for academic and athletic achievement. Williams collected 16 victories in 2019 and has a schoolrecord 75. She has also received several academic and communityservice awards.

Here’s a look at all the award winners:

SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Award Nominees: Emma Barksdale (swimming & diving), Fynn Minuth (swimming & diving) SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award Nominees: Allie Mueller (track & field/cross country), Jack Smith (swimming & diving) Freshmen of the Year: Jana Johns (softball), A.J. Lawson (basketball) New Student-Athlete of the Year: Wadeline Jonathas (track & field) Scholar Athletes of the Year: Ingrid Martins (tennis), Cody Bekemeyer (swimming & diving) Athletes of the Year: Aliyah Abrams (track & field), Fynn Minuth (swimming & diving) Dodie Academic MVP Award: Chris Silva (basketball) Impact Team of the Year: Beach volleyball Inspiration Award: Will Miles (golf) Gamecock Leadership Award: Simone Wark (women’s soccer/track & field) President’s Award: Shannon Williams (beach volleyball)

Dr. Harris Pastides and wife Patricia

May 2019

Chris Silva

GAMECOCK GALA

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Honoring Gamecock Greats South Carolina retires jerseys of former stars in three sports From staff reports • Photos by Allen Sharpe

W

hen he was building South Carolina baseball into a national championship program, Ray Tanner always believed in recognizing and honoring the history and tradition of Gamecock baseball and its former stars.

When he became the school’s athletics director, he continued that tradition and expanded it to include all South Carolina sports.

That tradition continued this spring when South Carolina retired the jerseys of four former Gamecock greats from softball, track & field and baseball.

“We have a hall of fame, but I thought it was very important that we recognize studentathletes from their respective sports in different capacities. I think it’s a great initiative,” said Tanner, who added the university will continue to retire jerseys in each sport.

On April 6, South Carolina softball retired the jersey of Trinity Johnson, the 1997 National Player of the Year. Johnson was an All-American and SEC Player of the Year after leading the

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nation with a 0.38 ERA and 399 strikeouts while posting a 34-4 record as the Gamecocks reached the 1997 Women’s College World Series. She was inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

A week later, the South Carolina track & field program retired the jerseys of Miki Barber and Terrence Trammell at the Shiela & Morris Cregger Track.

Barber was a 20-time All-American, fivetime NCAA champion and eight-time SEC champion. She was a 2000 Olympian and a gold medalist in the 100 meters at the 2007 Pan American Games and as part of the 4x100m relay in the 2007 World Championships. She is part of Carolina’s school record-setting indoor 4x400m relay and 4x200m relay teams. She has competed in 19 USATF Championships and was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2015.

Trammell was a 13-time All-American, six-time NCAA champion and eight-time

GAMECOCK ATHLETICS • JERSEY RETIREMENTS

SEC champion. He was a silver medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and a seven-time World Championships medalist, including two gold medals. He was voted the 1999 SEC Athlete of the Year and won the 1999 Cliff Harper Trophy as the SEC Championships leader in points scored. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

On May 4, South Carolina baseball retired the jersey of Earl Bass posthumously. Bass, a two-time All-American, holds the school record for career win-loss record (34-3), career shutouts (10) and earned run average (1.34). He set a then-national record by winning 23 consecutive games in 1974-75. He led the Gamecocks to a 48-8 record in 1974. The following season, he pitched South Carolina to within one game of the NCAA championship at the College World Series as the Gamecocks finished runner-up to Texas in their first-ever CWS appearance.

May 2019

May 2019

JERSEY RETIREMENTS • GAMECOCK ATHLETICS 9

Spurs Up Muschamp entertains fans, brings optimism to Gamecock Club visits

North Augusta

By Jeff Owens and Josh Hyber • Photos by Allen Sharpe, Jeff Owens & Josh Hyber

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hen Will Muschamp walks into the Catawba Fish Camp in Fort Lawn, S.C., he is greeted with a big cheer from more than 200 members of the Lancaster County Gamecock Club.

Everywhere he goes on his annual Spurs Up Tour, he is more than just a football coach.

He is treated like a celebrity or an important dignitary. And to his supporters, he is. During the offseason, he is more politician than head football coach of the University of South Carolina.

As he sits behind a table signing autographs and posing for photos, he is in close contact to the fan base that supports Gamecock football and fills Williams-Brice Stadium almost every Saturday.

Asked what fans have to say to him on this year’s tour, Muschamp grins and says, “I can’t say on camera. … I can’t tell you.”

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GAMECOCK CLUB • SPURS UP TOUR

Then he adds, much as he does during his formal presentation, “You know what, this fan base is as loyal and as passionate as they come. I’ve been a bunch of places and it’s awesome. I want people to be pissed off at 7-6. I’m pissed. I think its awesome. That’s the type of fan base we have and we need to continue to have that mindset moving forward.”

There are plenty of laughs and light moments on Muschamp’s eight-stop tour through the Carolinas and Georgia. He mixes in some humor with a detailed analysis of his team’s roster and an honest assessment of where the program stands going into his fourth season at South Carolina.

Then comes the fun (sometimes) part.

When he opens up the program for questions from fans and Gamecock Club members, there’s no telling what he might be asked.

Asked before the kickoff event in North Augusta if he prepares for the Q&A sessions, he

says, “Nah, at the end of the day, we’re talking about our football team, I ought to be able to answer questions alright. Our fan base is outstanding and so supportive of us.”

Asked if he expects to get some whacky questions along with the serious Xs and Os stuff, he just laughs. “Every now and then, but that’s alright. Depends on how much booze they’ve had.”

NORTH AUGUSTA

The Spurs Up Tour kicks off at SRP Ballpark in North Augusta, where the South Carolina baseball team is playing Charleston Southern. The event, hosted jointly by the Aiken and Augusta Gamecock Clubs, takes place on the concourse in right field, with the green outfield grass and the beautiful minorleague park as a backdrop.

“It’s awesome. A great crowd. What a beautiful facility they have there,” Muschamp

May 2019

said afterward. “We had a great night, it was a lot of fun.”

Muschamp kicks off the event by telling a story about pro football hall of famers Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley speaking to his team earlier that day. He uses part of their message to sum up his attitude about his program and the 2019 season.

“Haley said, ‘hoping and dreaming and wishing aren’t going to get you anywhere in life,’” Muschamp said. “Our guys ain’t hoping, they ain’t dreaming and they ain’t wishing. We are going to get it done.”

Coming off a 7-6 season, Muschamp told fans there are plenty of reasons to be excited about 2019 and the future. Off the field, there’s the new Cyndi and Kenneth Long Family Football Operations Center that opened in January and facilities that he says are “one of the best situations in the country.” In the classroom, there are 21 current players who have either already graduated in May or will do so in December.

“That’s why you’re going to college,” he said.

On the field, he is excited about having more depth than he’s had in his four years at South Carolina and strong veteran leadership.

“At multiple positions, we have a deeper roster than we have ever had going into our fourth season,” he said. “I think we have recruited well and I think at multiple positions, we have really good competition for playing time. When you know you have to bring your A-game every single day to practice, every single day to the weight room and meeting rooms, it creates consistency in your performance as a player. That’s where we are making some strides and that’s what good programs have.”

He also singled out veteran leaders like quarterback Jake Bentley, defensive end D.J. Wonnum and linebacker T.J. Brunson, who have each been named permanent captains, as well as seniors Bryan Edwards and Donell Stanley.

“We have really good leadership on our football team,” he said. “The key to having a good team is having a deep, competitive team, which I think we have improved that, and having the right kind of leadership in place that can really get us through May, April, June and July. To have that, to me, is really exciting.”

The Gamecocks will face one of the toughest schedules in the country next season, highlighted by games against Clemson, Georgia and Alabama, plus the normal slate of other challenging SEC games. It is a daunting schedule that has created both anxiety and excitement among Gamecock Nation.

Muschamp tackles the issue head-on at every stop and is not fazed by talk of the brutal schedule.

“Everybody asks me about the schedule.

The schedule is hard every year,” he said.

“Everybody says it’s hard this year; it was hard last year and the year before that. It is what it is.

“They are looking at the schedule and saying, ‘Damn, we have to go to Williams-Brice.’

That’s what I want them to say.”

MIDLANDS

At every stop, there is at least one colorful fan that likes to poke fun at Muschamp or initiate some playful banter. At the Midlands event, hosted by the Lexington County Gamecock Club, it’s an elderly fan wearing a Bear Bryant-style fedora. He’s sitting in the corner

Lancaster

May 2019

next to Athletics Director Ray Tanner and can’t wait for Muschamp to call on him.

He’s no stranger to this game and often has the crowd in stitches with his rambling soliloquies that seem to go nowhere. Tonight, he pontificates about how he would love to see the Gamecocks upset Alabama like they did back in 2010.

“I would like to see Carolina beat Alabama. … I would love to see that in the third game of the year. … I’m looking forward to that.”

Muschamp looks at him like’s he’s lost his mind.

“I appreciate that. Thank you very much,” he said. Then he notices his headgear. “Look at the hat you got on,” he says, pointing out that it could pass for an Alabama hat.

Not missing a beat, the fan keeps right on.

“I hope we can beat them. … Then I think we can … I think this year we can beat Clemson and Georgia and Alabama.”

As the crowd roars with laughter, Muschamp is speechless. He hopes they can beat all three, too, and is certainly planning to do so, no matter how far-fetched it might seem.

“I’m all for it. Next question,” he says.

While Muschamp enjoys the easy banter with fans, things can also turn serious in a hurry in a roomful of die-hard fans.

Such was the case in The Zone at Williams-Brice Stadium when a fan demanded to know what went wrong during the Belk Bowl, when South Carolina lost to Virginia, 28-0.

Did the team just not care, he asked. Was it wide receiver Deebo Samuel sitting out and not playing? Or did the team just not play hard?

Muschamp handled the moment with typical savvy and professionalism, but he did not agree with the latter line of questioning.

“I’m going to disagree with you. I don’t want to confuse not playing well and not playing hard,” he said. “… We had guys who gave really good effort. We didn’t play very well and that’s my fault and I took responsibility after the game.”

The Gamecock offense had their worst game of the season against Virginia, managing just 261 yards of total offense and turning the ball over twice. And with a rash of injuries and inexperience on defense, they couldn’t keep the Cavaliers out of the end zone.

Muschamp said there were several reasons for his team’s poor performance.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with Deebo Samuel not playing in the game,” he said. “I think it had to do with we don’t convert a fourth-and-1 to start the game, we don’t convert a third-and-1, which we should have. We missed a field goal and we ended the half and we don’t get points and we had five possessions in the first half.

“When you play Virginia, it’s a lot like playing an option team, you have to make every possession count, which we didn’t. In the second half, offensively we pressed instead of staying with the run game. … We made some mistakes and we were careless with the SPURS UP TOUR • GAMECOCK CLUB 11

Lancaster

football and then they were able to stay on the field on third down and we couldn’t get off the field on third down, and we didn’t stay on the field offensively. Those were the two critical factors in the game.”

Muschamp, who led the Gamecocks to a win over Michigan in the 2017 Outback Bowl, understands the frustration over the season-ending loss. No one was more disappointed than he and his team.

“I agree, it’s disgusting,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I don’t want to confuse we didn’t play hard and we didn’t care.

I saw a bunch of guys giving a really good effort. Unfortunately, when you don’t play well, it’s easy to say we didn’t care and we didn’t play hard. I disagree with that.”

Myrtle Beach

LANCASTER

North Augusta

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GAMECOCK CLUB • SPURS UP TOUR

The Lancaster Gamecock Club provided another unique setting for the Spurs Up Tour with a large crowd packed into a popular, old-fashioned fish camp.

The venue made Muschamp hungry.

“It’s tough to speak when I’m on an empty stomach and I got that fish [cooking] back here,” he said. “It’s always great to come here, we always have a great turnout.”

The Lancaster stop was one of the most entertaining on the tour.

It also featured perhaps the most bizarre question.

Muschamp was talking about an incoming freshman when he was interrupted by a fan who asked: “Coach, have you ever asked Kirby Smart if that’s his real hair?”

Muschamp, who played with the Georgia head coach in Athens, was momentarily speechless.

“I’ve got to think about that one a little bit,” he said. “I have to be careful, we have some reporters in here.”

After finishing his analysis of the incoming recruit, Muschamp said, “I think it is his real hair.

I’m not positive, but I can ask him.”

The conversation then turned to South Carolina’s rivals up the road and in the SEC. One remarked that he had a son-in-law who is a big Alabama fan, to which Muschamp responded, “I’m sorry.”

The fan then asked, “What kind of ride home is that going to be for him?”

“It will be a good one for you, the way I look at it,” he said.

Another fan then asked a loaded question, one that drew applause from the Gamecock faithful. “If your team went to a bowl game and three of your players tested positive for PEDs, what would you expect the NCAA to do and what would you do?”

“Obviously, in that situation, the players are deemed ineligible because of the positive test, and that’s what would have happened in our situation as well.” Muschamp said before pausing. “… I know where you’re coming from.

That’s a live bullet right there.”

Muschamp was then asked, “What kind of relationship do you have with that coach up there?”

“We have the same profession,” he said, leaving it at that.

ROCK HILL

Prior to meeting with the York County Gamecock Club, Muschamp was asked again by reporters about the frustrations over the Belk Bowl loss.

He reiterated his remarks from in Columbia and insisted the game and all bowl games are important to him and his program.

“They are all important, they are all damn important, and this last bowl game was really important to us too,” he said. “We

May 2019

practiced [just like we practiced] when we beat Michigan in the Outback Bowl. I have heard some fantastic rumors that we didn’t practice. … It’s very important, but we didn’t play well, that’s the bottom line.”

He understands the frustration of South Carolina’s loyal and passionate fan base.

“Our first year we weren’t a very good team and there were 80,000 strong in the stands supporting us and I know our players felt that and as a staff we felt that,” he said. “And I will never forget that.”

Inside Rock Hill’s American Legion Post 34, Muschamp finally got the other question he knew he would face on the tour.

When is South Carolina going to beat Clemson again, and how close is his team to closing the gap on the defending national champions?

His response drew applause from the Rock Hill crowd.

“We have improved from day one to where we are now; it’s night and day, and we’re a much better football team,” he said.

“These next months are going to be critical for our development [but] I feel very good about ourselves going into every game next year.”

SUMTER

At nearly every stop, Muschamp was asked about the team’s quarterbacks — the improvement of Bentley and the development of freshmen backups Dakereon Joyner and Ryan Hilinski.

“Quarterback is a lot like the head coach, you get way too much credit when it’s going right, and you get way too much blame when it’s going wrong,” he said in Rock Hill. “But that’s part of it, that’s part of the job and I tell them all the time, we didn’t hold a gun to your head and make you be a quarterback. You wanted to be the quarterback at South Carolina, and that’s part of it.

[Jake] understands that as well as anybody.”

At the Sumter County Civic Center, the discussion once again centered on quarterbacks in the wake of a CBS Sports report that ranked South Carolina fourth in the country in terms of quarterback succession plans. From Jake Bentley to Hilinski and then to a 2020 recruit, the Gamecocks have

May 2019

a “rare case of veteran leadership and back-to-back young talent,” the report read.

“We’ve changed the room and feel really good about the future at that position,” Muschamp said.

“We feel really comfortable.”

While Bentley, who threw for 3,171 yards and 27 touchdown passes as a junior last year, returns, Joyner and Hilinski are battling for the No. 2 job. Muschamp said Joyner “from year one to year two really improved.

I really like the things he’s bringing to the table.”

He said Hilinski, a high school All-American and fourstar recruit, “had a really good spring” and “can really spin it.”

did the same thing when he committed.”

During a section of his speech about injuries, Muschamp commented how receiver OrTre Smith was lost because of a genetic issue that affects his knee.

“That’s his mom’s fault,” the coach joked. “Not our fault. I tell [his mom] that all the time.”

Then a young boy asked, “Do we have a good chance of beating Clemson this year?”

“Absolutely!” Muschamp responded.

He joked in response to other fan questions and ended with a

question about whether freshman defensive back Shilo Sanders can be better than his dad, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

“I don’t know about that,” Muschamp said. “We don’t need to start those expectations. His dad was special. [But Shilo] is a good football player. We’re excited to have him.”

— Editor’s Note: The May 9 event in Atlanta and the May 14 event in Charleston were after the Spurs & Feathers May deadline.

See the June issue for coverage of those events.

Rock Hill

MYRTLE BEACH

Muschamp was more comedian than politician on May 8 in Myrtle Beach. With the Atlantic Ocean as his backdrop, the head coach traded jabs and one-liners with fans at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

Muschamp joked about getting complaints from fans via email, but also rolled with the punches with fun fan questions and comments.

He began a 26-minute talk by comparing his weight loss with a fan in attendance who went on the same diet at the same time he did two years ago. When fans clapped after Muschamp made a comment about the day receiver Bryan Edwards committed to South Carolina, he quipped, “I

Midlands

SPURS UP TOUR • GAMECOCK CLUB 13

GAMECOCKS BOAST SOME OF BEST STUDENT-ATHLETES IN SEC, NATION

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor

Photos by Alan Sharpe, Jenny Dilworth, SC Athletics

Aliya Abrams, track & field

Abrams was ranked 11th nationally in the women’s 400m and finished ninth at the SEC championships. But she stepped up her game big-time in the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Abrams finished second at the national championships, earning a silver medal and All-American honors with a personal-best time of 52.27, the seventh-best indoor time in South Carolina history. She was the highest Gamecock finisher in the event since Natasha Hastings won the national title in 2007.

It was part of a huge meet for Abrams, who also ran the second leg of the 4x400m relay to win the national championship in that event and earn her fifth career All-American honor.

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Mackenzie Boesel, softball

S

outh Carolina continues to produce some of the best athletes in the SEC and in the country.

Spurs & Feathers put together a list of 20 of Carolina’s top athletes in 2018-19, which was not an easy task with dozens to choose from. The athletes on this list, which spans 13 different sports, boast some impressive credentials and represent not only South Carolina’s best, but some of the top student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference.

Of the 20, 13 were named All-SEC (with more honors likely to come). Nine are All-Americans.

Three won individual SEC championships in their respective sports, while two others led their team to an SEC championship. Four teamed up to win an individual national championship.

There is an SEC Player of the Year, an SEC Defensive Player of the Year, a second-round NFL Draft pick and a Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Here’s a look at 20 of South Carolina’s top athletes.

GAMECOCK ATHLETICS • TOP ATHLETES OF 2019

Boesel has been a leader of the Gamecock softball team since her impressive freshman season. She continued to build on that this year by leading South Carolina in several statistical categories.

With a .349 batting average and .467 on-base percentage when the team entered NCAA Tournament play, Boesel tied for the team lead in hits and runs scored and was first in walks and doubles while also chipping in with eight home runs and 35 RBI.

May 2019

Emma Barksdale, swimming & diving

Barksdale became just the second female swimmer in Carolina history to win an individual SEC title, capturing the 400 IM at the SEC Championships with a school-record 4:01.52. She backed it up by earning firstteam All-American honors at the NCAA Championships, becoming just the seventh female swimmer in program history to be named an All-American in the same event for three straight seasons.

A senior, Barksdale capped her Gamecock career by earning first-team All-American honors in three individual events — 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 breast — at the NCAA Championships. She won almost every time she entered the pool in 2018-19, winning 19 total races and setting school records in the 200 free and 200 breast and lowering her record times in the 200 and 400 IM. She was also part of two record-setting relay teams in the 200 and 400 free relays. She finished her career with five individual school records and four relay records.

Paige Cline, women’s tennis

Cline had been a solid performer at South Carolina for three seasons, but had excelled primarily in doubles, earning All-American honors in 2016 and ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation.

But in 2019, the senior became a dominant singles player, helping the Gamecocks to a SEC championship and No. 3 national ranking.

Cline was 21-7 in singles, including 12-4 in dual matches and 7-1 in the SEC. She finished 12-4 at the No. 2 singles position and went 7-3 against ranked opponents to climb to No. 16 in the national rankings, giving the Gamecocks two top-20 singles players. She was one of three Gamecocks to make the All-SEC first team.

Grace Fisk, women’s soccer

Though she doesn’t fill up the stat sheets, Fisk’s value to the South Carolina soccer team is immeasurable. A two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, she was named an All-American and first-team All-SEC for the second straight season.

Fisk started 16 of the 17 games she appeared in after starting the season by winning a bronze medal with England’s U20 National Team at the U20 Women’s World Cup. The team captain, she helped the Gamecocks lead the SEC in shutouts (12) and goals against average (0.56). With Fisk in the lineup, South Carolina had six straight shutouts and went 28 days without allowing a goal.

Fisk played 90 minutes or more in 12 matches, including every minute of the final eight matches as the Gamecocks returned to the NCAA Tournament. Named to the Mac Herman Trophy Watch List for the nation’s best player, Fisk is just the fourth Gamecock in program history to be named a two-time All-American.

May 2019

Lois Kaye Go, women’s golf

Go had already made international headlines, winning the Philippine Amateur in January and helping her country to a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.

In 2019, she put her name in the Gamecock record books. With 12 rounds of par or better, her 72.77 stroke average was sixth-best in school history and her career stroke average of 72.58 is second in program history. With four top-five and five top-10 tournament finishes, Go led South Carolina to a No. 11 national ranking and a secondplace finish in the SEC Tournament. She also led the team to its first-ever match-play victory in the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic.

Ranked No. 24 in the nation, Go was named to the All-SEC First Team and was named the SEC’s Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Quincy Hall, track & field

A junior-college transfer from California, Hall wasted no time making an impact on South Carolina track & field, winning the SEC Indoor Championship in the 400m with an indoor record of 45.69. He became the first Gamecock to win the event and the first to win an indoor SEC title since 2009.

Hall finished fourth in the 400m at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn firstteam All-American honors. His time of 45.25 set a new South Carolina record and his fourth-place finish was the best in the indoor event since 2003.

Hall didn’t stop there. When the outdoor season began, he set his sixth school record, running the 400m in 44.53, the fastest time in the world this season and breaking the school record set in 2003.

Ty Harris, women’s basketball

Harris had already written her name into Gamecock lore as the starting point guard on Dawn Staley’s 2016-17 national championship team. She added to her resume in 2018-19, moving into fourth in program history in career assists.

Harris once again proved to be one of the best point guards in the nation, averaging 5.3 assists (third in the SEC and 30th in the nation). She was eighth in the nation in assists/ turnover ratio at 3.2.

Playing with a new frontcourt and multiple backcourt mates, Harris averaged 10.9 points to earn second-team All-SEC and honorable mention All-American honors. She was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s best point guard. She had three 20-point and 17 double-digit scoring games to lead South Carolina to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.

TOP ATHLETES OF 2019 • GAMECOCK ATHLETICS

15

Jana Johns, softball

Johns started her Gamecock career with a bang last season, turning in an impressive first season to make the SEC All-Freshman team and All-Defensive team at third base.

She became one of the league’s best players, period, in 2019. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Johns was batting .374 with a team-leading .523 on-base percentage. She also led the team with 15 home runs and 44 RBI, while playing her usual stellar defense.

She earned second team All-SEC for

her accomplishments.

She also showed she is willing to do whatever it takes to reach base, walking 26 times and reaching base a team-high 21 times after being hit by a pitch.

Ingrid Martins, women’s tennis

Martins had been a strong performer in both singles and doubles throughout her career, making the SEC All-Freshman team in 2016 and All-SEC as a junior. But the senior from Brazil took her game to another level as a senior, climbing to a program-best No. 4 in the nation in singles and teaming with junior Mia Horvit to form one of the best doubles tandems in the nation (No. 7).

Martins finished the regular season 26-6 in singles, including 14-2 in dual matches and 8-1 in the SEC. And she saved her best for last, beating three top-24 opponents in the SEC Tournament. Her three-set victory over No. 1-ranked Katarina Jokic clinched a 4-3 victory over No. 1 Georgia to give the Gamecocks their first-ever SEC championship.

Martins was named the SEC Player of the Year and was one of three Gamecocks named first-team All-SEC.

Will Miles, men’s golf

Paul Jubb, men’s tennis

After a breakout sophomore season, Jubb entered 2019 ranked No. 7 in the nation in singles. Even then, he was underrated.

Jubb had a phenomenal junior season, finishing the regular season 31-4 in singles and ranked No. 4 in the country.

He went 19-2 in dual matches, the highest winning percentage in school history, and a program-best 11-1 in the SEC. His 17 wins over ranked opponents is also a school record.

Jubb was one of three South Carolina players on the All-SEC team, joining freshman Daniel Rodrigues on the first team.

Miles had made steady progress throughout his career, earning three top-20 tournament finishes as a junior. But he broke out in a big way as a senior. Miles won two tournaments, earning SEC Men’s Golfer of the Week twice.

The Hilton Head native scored his first career win on March 12, winning the Cleveland Palmetto Intercollegiate with a 13-under-par 197, the second lowest 54-hold score in program history. A month later, he won the Southern Intercollegiate with a 8-under 136 in the 36-hole event to win by four shots over teammate Scott Stevens. He shot 65 in the final round and led the 85-man field with 14 birdies.

With two wins, Miles joined All-Americans Keenan Huskey, Matt NeSmith and Kyle Thompson as the only players in program history two win multiple events in one season. He had 18 rounds of par or better for a scoring average of 70.57, the fourth-lowest in program history, and is sixth in career scoring average at 72.42.

Mikayla Krzeczowski, women’s soccer

After a record-setting sophomore season in leading South Carolina to the College Cup Final Four, Krzeczowksi backed it up with another outstanding season as a junior.

The Gamecock goalkeeper started all 21 games and had a 0.59 goals against average that was second in the SEC and 21st in the nation. Her nine shutouts gave her the most career shutouts in South Carolina women’s soccer history with 34. She shut out five NCAA Tournament teams and had a careerhigh 10 saves against Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Krzeczowski earned national player of the week honors three times and was named first-team All-SEC and to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region team.

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GAMECOCK ATHLETICS • TOP ATHLETES OF 2019

Fynn Minuth, swimming & diving

Minuth capped his South Carolina career with a record performance, winning his third straight SEC championship in the 500 freestyle to become just the second swimmer in Carolina history to win there straight conference titles in the same event.

He also set a new school record in the 200 butterfly at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors in both the 500 free and 200 fly. He won 11 total races with 18 top-three finishes as a senior.

A six-time All-American, Minuth finished his career as the school record holder in four different events.

May 2019

Dixie Raley, softball

After an outstanding first season (145, 2.09 ERA), Raley became the staff ace as a senior.

In 28 appearances entering the NCAA Tournament, she was 11-5 with a 2.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in a teamhigh 106.1 innings. She also had four saves as opponents hit just .215 against her.

For her efforts against No. 4 Alabama, Raley won SEC Pitcher of the Week, becoming the first Gamecock to receive a conference pitcher of the week since 2017 and just the 11th player in program history to do so.

Raley went 2-0 on the week with both wins coming over No. 4 Alabama. The wins helped the Gamecocks to their first series victory over the Crimson Tide since 2009.

Deebo Samuel, football

All Samuel needed was to stay healthy to prove he was one of the best players in the country.

Samuel capped his highlight-reel career by leading the Gamecocks with 62 receptions for 882 and 11 touchdowns as a senior. He scored 13 total touchdowns, including a record fourth kickoff return for a touchdown, and also threw a touchdown pass. He was named All-SEC as both a kick returner and all-purpose performer while also garnering All-American honors.

Samuel once again showed his consistency and big-play ability, tying the school record with three straight 100-yard games. His best was his last — a 210-yard, three-touchdown performance against rival Clemson, the second-best receiving day in school history.

Samuel was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Chris Silva, men’s basketball

After an outstanding junior season, Silva’s challenge as a senior was to do it again.

He did just that, leading the Gamecocks with 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game to be named first-team All-SEC and to the league’s All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.

After a slow start while adjusting to new teammates, Silva picked up his game in conference playing, leading the Gamecocks to an 11-7 mark in the SEC. He had 23 double-figure scoring games, 12 double-doubles and led or shared the team lead in scoring 13 times.

Silva, who was part of South Carolina’s Final Four team in 2016-17, became the first player in school history to record at least 700 career rebounds and 500 career free throws. He finished his career 10th in scoring with 1,509 points.

Shannon Williams, beach volleyball

Williams continued her assault on the school record books in 2019, teaming with grad transfer Cadie Bates for a 16-10 overall record at the No. 1 position, setting a program record for most wins at the top spot in a single season.

Williams and Bates had wins over No. 2 Southern Cal and No. 18 Georgia State and were named to the CCSA’s All-Conference team, the first Gamecocks to earn the honor in the four seasons South Carolina has been a member of the conference.

Individually, Williams won her 75th career match, the second Gamecock ever to reach the milestone. She also won the school’s prestigious President’s Award for academic and athletic excellence.

Women’s 4x400M Relay, track & field Mikayla Shields, volleyball

Shields made the All-SEC team for the second straight year, making her just the ninth Gamecock to do so since South Carolina joined the conference in 1991.

The junior led South Carolina with 3.22 kills per set and hit .272 while leading all hitters with 837 total attacks. She became the fifth junior in program history to reach 1,000 career kills and currently ranks in the top 10 in program history.

Shields also was solid as a defender, leading the team with eight double-doubles and ranking second on the team with 2.38 digs. She also set a career-high with 26 service aces to help lead South Carolina (19-9, 10-8) to its first NCAA Tournament in 16 seasons.

May 2019

South Carolina’s 4x400M relay team of Stephanie Davis, Aliya Abrams, Tatyana Mills and Wadeline Jonathas had finished second to Texas A&M twice during the indoor season, including in the SEC championships.

But the Gamecock foursome surged to the front when it mattered most, beating the Aggies to win the 4x400m national championship at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The title was the 47th in program history and the seventh in the 4x400m relay.

Davis staked the team to an early lead with a split of 53.17 on the first leg and Abrams kept the Gamecocks in front with a 51.89 second leg. The race tightened on the third leg, but Jonathas finished off the championship run with a 51.59 on the last leg. She was third with just 50 meters remaining but passed both Texas A&M and Arkansas runners in the final strides.

Jonathas, a former Division III runner, won her 10th NCAA national championship. Abrams earned her fifth All-American honor while Davis earned her second and Mills her first.

TOP ATHLETES OF 2019 • GAMECOCK ATHLETICS

17

GAMECOCK ATHLETES DESTINED FOR STARDOM

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Alan Sharpe & Jenny Dilworth

W

hile South Carolina has a wealth of accomplished athletes throughout its 19-sport athletic department, it also has a host of new stars on the way.

Here’s a look at 12 fast-rising stars who appear to be destined for greatness.

Karly Heath, softball

Heath arrived at South Carolina to great fanfare as the South Carolina High School Player of the Year. She quickly proved why, emerging as a valuable twoway player for the Gamecocks.

On the mound, Heath was 8-0 with a 2.48 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched, with three complete games in her first 11 starts entering the NCAA Tournament.

She also proved valuable at the plate and in the outfield, hitting .324 with five home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI.

18

GAMECOCK ATHLETICS • FUTURE STARS

Destanni Henderson and VictAria Saxton, women’s basketball

Despite a deep and experienced roster, Dawn Staley had two freshmen emerge as key contributors on her Sweet 16 team.

Henderson, a freshman point guard, played in 31 games and started nine, including all three NCAA Tournament games. She averaged 5.5 points per game and raised that average to 7.5 in SEC games. She was third on the team with 40 assists.

Saxton started just one game, but was a key contributor off the bench in the frontcourt, averaging 4.1 points, three rebounds and 1.3 blocks. She grabbed a key offensive rebound and hit two big free throws in South Carolina’s NCAA win over Florida State to advance to the Sweet 16.

Both players had their biggest games Feb. 3 against Arkansas, each scoring a career-high 19 points. Both Henderson and Saxton made the SEC All-Freshman team.

May 2019

Jaycee Horn, football

Horn went from highly-touted freshman to impact player in a hurry. The son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee started the season-opener at cornerback and wound up playing in 11 games, with 10 starts (he missed two games with injury).

Horn proved to be one of South Carolina’s best defensive backs, collecting 45 total tackles, including four tackles for loss. He also had eight pass breakups and two sacks to make the SEC All-Freshman team.

Brett Kerry, baseball

After the loss of several key pitchers from the 2018 Super Regional team, South Carolina had to rely heavily on freshmen pitchers and newcomers in 2019. Kerry quickly rose above all the rest.

The freshman right-hander emerged as a dominant reliever for the Gamecocks.

Through 44 games, he had a 3-1 record with a 2.74 ERA, five saves and 52 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched as South Carolina’s bullpen ace. His best outing was one of his first, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn his first save in a 5-4 win in Game 1 at Clemson.

A.J. Lawson, men’s basketball

Lawson skipped his senior year of high school to join Frank Martin’s team, and it’s hard to imagine where the Gamecocks would have been without the sensational freshman.

Lawson started 28 of the 29 games in which he played, averaging a team-high 30.5 minutes per game. Lawson finished second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game while also grabbing 4.3 rebounds. He was also second on the team in assists and steals.

Lawson was at his best in SEC play, with nine double-figure scoring games in league play to become the first South Carolina freshman since Sindarius Thornwell to make the SEC All-Freshman team.

Selma Sol Magnusdottir, women’s soccer

A member of the Iceland Women’s National Team, Sol Magnusdottir had an impressive freshman season for South Carolina, tying a school record with six game-winning assists.

Magnusdottir was second on the team in scoring with 15 points, including four goals, and was third in shots with 33. She was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

Grady Lyman, Equestrian

Lyman was named Ariat All-American honorable mention for Equitation on the Flat after an outstanding freshman season.

Lyman went 5-1 with one MOP award during the regular season and also claimed another victory and MOP honor in an exhibition meet. She had five straight victories at one point, including wins against No. 6 TCU, No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Texas A&M.

Raphael Lambling and Daniel Rodrigues, men’s tennis

Rodrigues and Lambling, both freshmen, helped lead South Carolina’s young team back to the NCAA Tournament and established themselves as future stars.

Rodrigues, from Funchal, Portugal, was the only freshman to be named first-team All-SEC, joining junior Paul Jubb to give the Gamecocks two first-team all-conference players for the first time since 1999. Rodrigues, who also made the SEC All-Tournament team, had the third-most singles wins by a freshman in school history, going 31-10 overall and 17-7 in dual matches.

Joining Rodrigues on the SEC AllFreshman team was Lambling, a true freshman from Paris, France. Lambling was 27-12 overall and 15-9 in dual matches. Their selection marked the first time in program history that South Carolina had two players on the All-Freshman team.

May 2019

Emily Price, women’s golf

A freshman from Ludlow, England, Price emerged as one of the top freshmen in the country, climbing to No. 11 in the national rankings, the highest ranked freshman in the SEC and second-highest in the nation.

Her 72.78 stroke average is a freshman record and the seventh-best single-season average in program history. She finished fifth in the stroke play portion of the SEC Championships, the best finish in program history by a freshman.

Price won the SEC Freshman of the year and was named to the ANNIKA Award Watch List for the best female collegiate golfer in the country.

Dylan Wonnum, football

Wonnum arrived at South Carolina as a highly-touted offensive line prospect. He wasted no time living up to the hype.

The younger brother of senior defensive end D.J. Wonnum, Dylan played in nine games as a freshman and started seven. He took over at right tackle in the sixth game of the season and was named to the SEC AllFreshman team.

FUTURE STARS • GAMECOCK ATHLETICS

19

Dreams Come True Three Gamecocks taken in NFL Draft, others get opportunities

By Josh Hyber | Staff writer • Photos by Alan Sharpe & Jenny Dilworth

T

he San Francisco 49ers had just one pass catcher with more than 487 yards receiving last season: second-year tight end George Kittle. Needless to say, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo needed some targets on the perimeter.

Enter South Carolina alumnus Deebo Samuel, who in late April was drafted by the 49ers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.

“You know, the greatest receiver to ever play [Jerry Rice] played there,” Mark Hodge, Samuel’s coach at Chapman High School in Inman, told Spurs & Feathers moments after the pick.

“Maybe we’ll have the next greatest that’s ever played play there.”

Added Hodge, who was at Samuel’s draft party at the Marriott Spartanburg, “He got the call and it was obvious that a lot of years of desires and hopes and frustrations, everything all bottled up in one, emotionally just came out. He was quiet. Just kind of buried his head a little bit. … Then it was just a bunch of hugs. A bunch of thanks and encouragement to him.”

Samuel was one of three South Carolina alumni drafted.

Defensive back Rashad Fenton was chosen in the sixth round (No. 201 overall) by the Kansas City Chiefs, while offensive tackle Dennis

20

FOOTBALL • NFL DRAFT

Daley was drafted in the sixth round (212th overall) by the Carolina Panthers.

The three players selected were the most in one single draft during head coach Will Muschamp’s three seasons at South Carolina.

“That’s better than we’ve been and obviously we are looking to see those numbers continue to increase as we move forward,” the coach said.

Muschamp spoke with Samuel shortly after he was drafted and described Samuel’s reaction as “just pure excitement, joy, relief, whatever adjective you want to throw in there.”

Muschamp said Samuel helped himself with an impressive performance at the Senior Bowl, where he worked with the 49ers coaching staff and spent time with GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan.

For Fenton, getting drafted was the next step toward becoming the next great South Carolina defensive back in the NFL. Before this past season, the Miami native spoke about the players who have come through the Gamecock secondary and gone on to star in the NFL: Stephon Gilmore, Captain Munnerlyn and D.J Swearinger.

“There are a lot of young guys, including myself, who are looking up to them like, ‘Dang, that could be me,’” Fenton said.

Over 48 career games, the 5-11, 193-pounder finished with 122 career tackles, including five

for loss. He also intercepted five passes (three as a senior) and broke up 24 passes.

Fenton was also a factor in the return game.

His 24.8-yard kick return average ranks second in program history. He scored a kickoff return touchdown against LSU as a freshman in 2015.

Daley, a two-year anchor at left tackle after transferring from Georgia Military College before the 2017 season, became the third Gamecock offensive tackle to be drafted since 2015, joining Corey Robinson and Brandon Shell.

The Columbia native played in 24 games, including 23 starts, for the Gamecocks.

While three Gamecocks were drafted, one signed a rookie free-agent deal (Zack Bailey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) while four others (LB Bryson Allen-Williams, Oakland Raiders; OT Blake Camper, Los Angeles Chargers; DB Keisean Nixon, Oakland Raiders; and TE K.C. Crosby, New York Giants) were invited to rookie minicamps.

“It’s exciting and it’s a relief. It’s just a dream come true,” Bailey told Spurs & Feathers. “It’s a childhood dream come true. For this to happen, it’s amazing. It’s surreal.

“Watching the draft, we were just kind of waiting to see what would happen. We knew ahead of time kind of where I was and everything. We were waiting. Excited for everything that was going to come. We were prepared for it if

May 2019

my name didn’t get called. When the drafted ended, I had a couple of teams call with their offers.

“Tampa was the best fit for me.”

Bailey added that the Bucs will move him around on the offensive line and give him a chance to prove himself at different positions.

He also isn’t deterred because he wasn’t picked. He knows he still has a chance to play in the NFL. “This is still a dream come true. I’m still fulfilling my dream,” Bailey said. “Obviously you want to be drafted, but it gets to the point where you kind of have to look past that.

At the same time, you still have an opportunity to show what you can do and prove everybody wrong.”

Muschamp said he was surprised that Bailey, a four-year starter and All-SEC lineman, was not drafted, but was happy to see him get an opportunity.

“Kinda like [defensive tackle] Taylor Stallworth the year before, but Taylor made a team and Zack will make a team,” he said. “Zack’s a really good football player and I’m pulling for him.”

Jeff Owens contributed to this story.

Rashad Fenton

SCOUTING REPORTS 49ERS GM JOHN LYNCH ON SAMUEL:

“We got really familiar with him down at the Senior Bowl. But more than anything, you turn this guy’s game tape on and I think you see one of the elite competitors in college football this year, that I saw. This guy, you’re going to have to fight him. And he’s going to fight for yards. … He’s got real juice. He can catch the ball and break away. … He plays big. He’s strong, but he’s got juice to pull away from people. And he can break tackles.

“There’s a charisma to him. He’s fun to be around. He was instantly one of the guys. … He loves football. He can’t get enough of it. He was catching punts. He’s a fun guy.

“When you watch him on the field, I think the thing that jumps out is the fight. The grit. The toughness. When you mix that with a guy who can catch a slant and be gone, that’s a pretty fun combination.”

CHIEFS GM BRETT VEACH ON FENTON:

“We had our eye on Fenton for a long time. When we went through our draft board and we had guys at different pockets, he was one of those guys that would be right around the [fifth-toseventh-round] range and we liked him in that spot. He was one of the higher guys we had there. We got there in the sixth round, and the value met the need, so you could certainly stick to the best player available.

“He’s really competitive, gets his hands on a lot of balls. [South Carolina] used him in some different coverage roles there. He also played top competition there for four years at South Carolina, too, so this won’t be too big for him.

He’s seen a lot of great wideouts. He’s tough, he’s competitive, has good ball skills and we think he’ll be in the mix to provide depth at that unit.”

PANTHERS GM MARTY HURNEY ON DALEY:

“You’re not going to go through him. I mean, he is stout. He is so stout.

He is strong and he is a guy that we think has a ton of upside. He’s good in the run game. I think he does have good feet and is athletic enough to play left tackle in this league. He is stout and he is strong. He’s got great play strength.”

FT11-1788412-1

May 2019

NFL DRAFT • FOOTBALL

21

BASKETBALL

Dream Catcher Chris Silva reflects on stellar career as he chases NBA goal

By Josh Hyber | Staff writer • Photo by Allen Sharpe

Chris Silva’s ‘Coming to America’ story has been well documented — how he took four plane trips the day after his high school graduation to get from his home country of Gabon, in Africa, to John F. Kennedy airport in New York City.

As the story goes, Silva knew just enough English to tell the high school basketball coach who met him at the airport, “Coach, I go NBA.” That was September 2012.

Almost seven years later, Silva has found himself on the cusp of living that longshot dream.

In seven years, the 6-9, 234-pound forward became a force on the basketball court. At South Carolina, Silva finished his career in the top 10 in program history in points, rebounds and blocks and was the Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18. He became the only Gamecock with an SEC Defensive Player of the Year award and Final Four ring.

“At South Carolina I learned how to grow as a man and how to hold myself accountable every 22

MEN’S BASKETBALL • CHRIS SILVA

day,” Silva said. “I tried to play hard, give everything I’ve got and play with passion.”

It’s because he did — and became a star player in the process — that Silva finds himself on the verge of possibly being selected in the 2019 NBA Draft, which takes place June 20.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to step in an NBA facility and play for an NBA team,” Silva told Spurs & Feathers. “With where I come from, I can’t take any days for granted. I’ve got to give it everything I’ve got.”

In a 25-minute chat in early April, Silva reflected on his career, from his relationship with South Carolina head coach Frank Martin to his career highlights to how he wants to be remembered.

Silva believes the success he had at South Carolina couldn’t have happened anywhere else, and that it happened thanks to Martin’s support and push. Silva stopped in Martin’s office often to chat about basketball, but also when he missed home or was down about his grades.

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“He always gave me a clear perspective on what a solution could be,” Silva said. “Every time I had an issue and went to his office, I left happy. He always helped me through the situation.”

“He’s one of the special people I’ve been put in front of during my coaching career,” Martin said in March. “He has an enthusiasm for life that’s contagious. He came in here as a humble kid, learned from the guys before him and has worked his tail off to carry that torch. He’s special.”

It often gets mentioned how similar the mentor, Martin, and the protégée, Silva, are — how both attack goals and don’t let anything get in their way.

Martin once told a story about an interaction Silva had at a practice with Gamecock assistant coach Bruce Shingler.

“Chris is on one side [of the court] and he messed up. Bruce corrected him. He did it again and messed up the same thing. Bruce said to him, ‘Chris, where is your brain at?’ That dude pointed across the court, I had no idea, pointed across the court at me and said, ‘That’s my brain.’”

“That’s Frank’s son,” Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland said about Silva after the Gamecocks faced the Bulldogs in October 2017.

“That’s Frank Jr.” Martin has said multiple times he coached Silva harder than any other player he has coached during his seven seasons in Columbia.

“He’s hard, but at the same time enjoyable, because in the game he lets you have freedom,” Silva said. “At the same time, he doesn’t let you get casual. He makes sure everything you do is hard.

He makes sure you give everything you’ve got every day. That’s what makes it so special.”

Martin worked with Silva especially on growing leadership qualities.

That point came to a head during a practice in January 2018, when a Gamecock point guard did not run a play Martin called. “Chris blew a gasket,” Martin said at the time. “And I just sat there and smiled, because it’s the first time all year we have had that kind of ownership.”

Earlier that week, when Martin lined his players on the baseline and asked them questions about their effort and enthusiasm. Every time a player could answer positively, he could take a step forward.

“I asked seven or eight questions,” Martin said. “They were all about enthusiasm and positive energy. [At the end], there was one guy standing by himself at the 50-yard line: Chris. Everyone else is close to the baseline. He turned around and looked and was like, ‘Wow.’” A few nights later, Silva had a then career-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting and grabbed a teamhigh eight rebounds in a win over Vanderbilt.

The performance is one among many that stands out during Silva’s highlight-filled career, from all the Silva Slams to the Mutombo-esque blocks.

Silva’s first two points as a Gamecock came on the first Silva Slam on a feed from P.J. Dozier in a

May 2019

blowout win over Norfolk State. “I’ll always remember that,” Silva said.

“I think I stole the ball and it was a fast break. P.J. was ahead of me and I passed him the ball. We just made eye contact and he just threw it up.

“I dunked it and everyone was just like, ‘Whoa.”

Silva’s first of 27 career doubledoubles came as a sophomore in a 70-69 overtime win over Monmouth. “The only reason I remember that game is because P.J. hit a buzzer-beater,” Silva said. “That game was just crazy.”

The obvious memory, or compilation of memories, comes from the Gamecocks’ Final Four run that season. “That Final Four run is going to be marked in my memory forever,” Silva said.

Silva remembers listening to Bob Marley on the bus ride to the team’s Sweet 16 game against Duke. “Everybody was nervous, but nobody was scared,” he said.

Silva, of course, remembers the game, which the Gamecocks famously won 88-81 in Greenville despite trailing by seven at halftime.

“We started tearing it up,” Silva said. “Everybody was making shots.

“By the time there was about five minutes left, we were like, ‘Oh,

we’re about to win this!’ It was crazy. With about a minute left we all started getting really excited. … When the game was over Sin [Thornwell] just threw the ball up in the air and we all ran to the fans.”

Silva also fondly remembers when the Gamecocks overcame a 14-point second-half deficit and upset No. 18 Kentucky at Colonial Life Arena in January 2018, and how he told Martin during a timeout late in the game, “We’re not going to lose.”

From his senior season, Silva remembers South Carolina’s lastsecond 71-69 victory over Florida that he sealed with a last-second dunk after catching a Hail Mary pass from Felipe Haase.

“I’m looking at you,” Haase had told him. “I’m not looking anywhere else.”

Two weeks later, Silva had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds when South Carolina beat eventual Final Four participant Auburn.

“Silva was obviously the difference in the game,” Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl said. “He was dominant. … He fouled out two of our post players and we couldn’t guard him.”

But it was that same Auburn team South Carolina fell to in the

first round of the SEC Tournament, effectively ending Silva’s college career and putting his focus solely on making that NBA dream come true.

“My guy Chris Silva is relentless.

He gives every ounce of what he has to offer,” Gamecock graduating senior Hassani Gravett told Spurs & Feathers. “A great addition to any team no matter the roster. And he brings more to the table beyond ball.

Everyone feeds off of the energy he gives off.”

Silva declared for the NBA Draft after his junior season and had workouts for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder. But he did not hire an agent, and, before a workout with the Charlotte Hornets, announced he was returning to school.

Now, the dream will likely become reality, whether Silva gets taken in the draft or gets invited to play for an organization’s summer league team. Either way, he will add to the growing list of NBA stars from his home continent, like Joel Embiid, Luol Deng and Serge Ibaka.

He will also achieve the goal he set as a child of surpassing the level

of play of his dad, who played for the Gabonese national team.

After his sophomore year at South Carolina, after five years in the United States, Silva returned to visit Gabon. It was an emotional two-week trip, from the time his sister picked him up at the airport and took him to his grandmother’s house for a home-cooked meal until the time he left.

It was two weeks, but it felt like a day. “[Gabon] is so different, you don’t even know,” Silva said.

The trip back home reminds Silva of that first trip to the United States, when he flew from Gabon to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Rome and then to New York. How he got help along the way from a random traveler who happened to be going to Dallas.

“From whenever I can remember until now, I’ve always had a dream of playing in the NBA and getting drafted,” Silva said. “All I could see in that dream was how emotional it would be on draft day and seeing ‘NBA’ and my name called. People back home that didn’t believe in me.

“It’s just a wild dream, and now it’s right here.”

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May 2019

CHRIS SILVA • MEN’S BASKETBALL

23

Healthy Program Despite loss of three transfers, Staley excited about return of Herbert Harrigan, incoming freshmen

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Jenny Dilworth

T

en days after her team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, Dawn Staley began having individual postseason meetings with her players.

She got quite a surprise when four of them informed her they intended to leave her program and transfer to another school, including leading scorer Te’a Cooper and star forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Guard Bianca Jackson and forward Ladazhia Williams also planned to transfer.

The moves were surprising for a team that finished the season 23-10 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight year.

24

“We have a lot of movement in our program, movement in which I didn’t welcome. But that’s the way it is,” Staley said a week later.

“I don’t know the reasons why. …

I wish ’em well and I want them to find their happiness, find their bliss and if I can help them in any way, I surely will.”

A week later, Staley met with Herbert Harrigan and her family and convinced the 6-2 forward to return for her senior season. The other three stood by their decisions, with Jackson announcing she was transferring to Florida State and Staley saying she would not meet with them again.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL • THE FUTURE

“We are going to be move forward with the people who expressed that they really want to be Gamecocks,” she said.

In an age of the infamous transfer portal, which Staley calls college basketball’s version of free agency, players moving from school to school has become more and more prevalent. Still, Staley did not expect to lose three players. But she says the development is more a sign of the times than a reflection on her program.

“Our program is healthy,” she said. “Contrary to what some people may believe, it is healthy. It is in a place where we are thriving

and everybody who continues to be a Gamecock, their dreams will come true. I look forward to our team next year, whoever that is comprised of.”

With four seniors graduating and the three transfers, Staley lost seven players from a team that finished second in the SEC at 13-3. Six players return, including Herbert Harrigan, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds last year but was concerned about her role next season with the arrival of the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.

But after meeting with Staley, the senior forward changed her mind and decided to stay at South Carolina.

“Kiki wanted to revisit how I saw her in our program,” Staley said. “When you don’t know, you tend to think the worst, like I’m not cared for, I’m not needed, and that’s furthest from the truth.

With maturity and growing up and understanding your worth, some players need to hear it. They need you to verbalize to them to make them feel a lot more comfortable. Kiki is one of those players that needed to hear it.

“She’s a tough player. You think she’s tough-minded but she’s 21 years old and sometimes 21-year-olds need to hear it to feel a certain comfort level. That’s on me. I should have done a better job at not allowing that space in which she could think negative thoughts and then give it to her support system. We are going to do a better job at communicating a lot better.”

Herbert Harrigan was suspended for the first half of South Carolina’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Belmont along with senior guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore, her roommate.

Staley said she thought she had a good relationship with Herbert Harrigan, but added that she and Cuevas-Moore “probably haven’t had favorable conversations in their dorm room about me, but I think when you sit down and actually talk to a young person and you figure out what it is that bothers them, what it is that moves them, what is is that they aspire to become, I think the conversations are a lot better.”

Staley makes no bones about her “tough love” approach and the fact that it can be a difficult adjustment for some players.

May 2019

“I’m a truth-teller, and it’s not always something they want to hear,” she said. “But through this process I have learned that I have to sit down and just give them a voice and let them talk and let them figure out what they want in life and we put a plan together and we work toward that.”

Herbert Harrigan will team next season with senior point guard Ty Harris, guard Destanni Henderson and forward Victoria Saxton, who both made the SEC All-Freshman team. They will be joined by the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and one that many consider possibly the greatest of all-time. The group features four players — forwards Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere, wing Brea Beal and guard Zia Cooke — who were all ranked in the top 13 in the 2019 class, as well as South Carolina Player of the Year Olivia Thompson.

Staley believes Herbert Harrigan will fit in well with the new group and have a big senior year.

“I anticipate Kiki to have an incredible season,” Staley said. “I think she’s one of the best players in our conference on both sides of the ball. There is room for her to

grow. … We have to bump her up in [some] areas and get her ready to be drafted in the WNBA Draft next year.”

Staley believes the incoming recruits will have an immediate impact and adapt well to playing for a prestigious program with a big fan following.

“They will be big fish in a small pond, and they welcome that challenge,” she said. “But until you are able to get here and experience it, you don’t really know. You don’t really understand it until you are thrown into the fire, but they are good individuals, they have great character. … I think they kinda understand what they are coming into.”

Staley said she could add a player to the roster, likely a grad transfer that could play right away.

“Whoever can help our team,” she said. “There is a lot out there but we are selective in who we are going after because we have a pretty good group coming in and people have to understand that. … Obviously, guard play is something that we lost and we have to somehow fill a void that we need. … We’ll see how that plays out.”

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan

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May 2019

THE FUTURE • WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

25

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BASEBALL

Journey From Down Under How Aussie George Callil became South Carolina’s slick-fielding shortstop

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Allen Sharpe & Jenny Dilworth

A

fter his freshman year in junior college, George Callil was back home in Australia when his cell phone rang and he noticed the call was from an American number.

“I had no idea what was going on so I said I should probably pick it up,” he said The call was from South Carolina assistant coach Mike Current, and he wanted to know if Callil might like to come to South Carolina and play shortstop for the Gamecocks.

26

BASEBALL • GEORGE CALLIL

“It kinda took me aback,” Callil said.

So began Callil’s second journey to America to become a college baseball player.

It’s been an unusual path for South Carolina’s slick-fielding shortstop, who speaks with a delightful Aussie accent and strides to the plate to walk-up music straight from the Outback — “Down Under” by ’80s rock band Men At Work.

Callil’s first journey from Down Under landed him in Waco, Texas,

where he played shortstop and hit .304 with 11 doubles and 26 RBI as a freshman to help McLennan Community College claim the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference championship and finish fifth in the Junior-College World Series. That’s when he first landed on Current’s radar.

After another solid season in 2018, which included being named a Texas-New Mexico Junior College Association All-Star, Callil signed with South Carolina for the 2019 season.

“I honestly didn’t know too much about the program here and the rich history it has, but after doing my own research and getting in contact with a whole bunch of people asking about all the programs, South Carolina kept coming up as one of the better schools,” Callil said. “After my visit, it was kinda a no-brainer of this is where I wanted to be.”

That Callil is even playing baseball is somewhat of a surprise. He played cricket and Australian rules football as a kid, following in the footsteps of his father, Philip, a professional Australian football player.

George picked up baseball as a way to refine his cricket and football skills.

“Cricket and Australian football were my biggest sports there and having some more skills of running, throwing and catching and hitting, I just thought it would give me a good bit of a heads-up on cricket and give me a bit of a boost,” he said.

He also became attracted to the game through his mother, Etsuko, who is from Japan, where baseball has a long history and rich tradition.

Between cricket, football and soccer, there’s not much demand for baseball in Australia. Callil played club baseball, practicing for an hour once a week and playing a game on Sundays. He played prep ball in Melbourne at Xavier College, a boarding school for boys, where he was club MVP as a senior.

He was good enough to be named to the U18 Australian National team, which finished fourth in the U18 World Cup in Osaka, Japan. While there, Callil got a special treat that only intensified his love for the game.

“Mom’s family kinda supports baseball over there so my family back in Japan got on a bullet train and traveled hours to watch me play in Osaka,” he said. “That was unreal to be able to play in front of my family there in Japan.”

Making the Australian national team convinced Callil to trade his cricket bat for a more American model.

“That’s when I really decided that baseball was what I was going

May 2019

to try to pursue and I had to give up Australian football and cricket to take on this journey,” he said.

His father was not crazy about the idea.

“It kinda broke his heart to say I was going to take baseball instead of Australian football,” George said. “[But] he and my mom have been super supportive of sending me away across the world.”

Callil used an American recruiting service to get his name into college baseball circles. After hearing from about 30 junior-college coaches, he chose McLennan and says, “I couldn’t have found a better place for me to start my college career.”

After two solid seasons in Texas, including the kind of defensive wizardry Gamecock fans have become accustomed to, Callil attracted the attention of South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston and his staff, who lost shortstops Madison Stokes and LT Tolbert to the MLB Draft last season.

“When we signed him we knew there was a chance we might

lose LT and we might lose one of our high school recruits that was a shortstop coming in,” Kingston said. “We thought we better go sign a very good defensive shortstop and whatever he gives us offensively will be a bonus, and that’s exactly what he’s been.”

Callil has made a big impact in his first year at South Carolina.

He started the season on the bench after losing the starting job to fellow junior-college transfer Nick Neville. But after Neville struggled offensively the first 10 games of the season, Callil took over and never looked back.

Though he was hitting just .224 through 38 games, he was second on the team with a .253 average in SEC play and became one of the team’s best clutch hitters. He made enough contact that Kingston moved him into the No. 2 spot in the lineup, where he gave the team some surprising pop.

More importantly, he was one of the team’s best defensive players, fielding his position smoothly and making several highlight-reel plays,

including a leaping grab against Ole Miss that made SportsCenter’s Top 10.

After watching him reach base three times in a win over NC State, Kingston called Callil the team’s most improved player.

“He’s solidified our defense there,” he said. “He makes all the routine plays, but he also makes some big-time plays as well and he gives you a quality at-bat in the twohole. He’s as improved as any player we have this year.”

Callil says playing cricket and other sports growing up helped him develop his defensive skills in baseball. It also helped having a professional athlete as a father who was always challenging him.

“From a very young age, I had my dad throwing me balls from all kinds of angles and I was always trying to protect myself or catch the ball,” he said.

After he became hooked on baseball, he made defense a priority, watching hundreds of videos of major league players and trying to emulate the best shortstops. Callil knew early on that his glove could make a difference in his quest to play American baseball.

“My shortstop skills have been above my offensive skills and I just always wanted to take pride in my defense, no matter what is going on with my offense,” he said. “If I am not doing so hot offensively, I can at least contribute defensively and make every play possible.”

Offensively, Callil has a disciplined, whatever-it-takes approach. Through 38 games, he had the second-fewest strikeouts (29) among players with more than 100 at-bats and was second on the team in getting hit by a pitch.

“I want to do everything I can offensively and take my walks and hit by pitches and get the hits when I can and do everything I can to help this team because I know we have the big guys who can do a lot of damage,” he said. “So if I can do the small things and get myself on any way possible, we have a good chance of doing well.”

In his first year in South Carolina, Callil has settled into the Gamecock infield and fit like a glove. It’s made his journey from Melbourne well worth it.

“I just want to do what I can and ride this opportunity I have got,” he said.

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May 2019

GEORGE CALLIL • BASEBALL

27

TENNIS

Refuse To Lose Ingrid Martins overcomes early challenges to become one of nation’s best, lead Gamecocks back to NCAAs

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Allen Sharpe

S

outh Carolina was one game and just one point away from winning its first-ever SEC championship in women’s tennis, and it had it’s best player on the court.

No. 1 singles player Ingrid Martins was in the midst of a historic senior season, climbing to No. 4 in the nation with a 26-6 record.

28

She had beaten Georgia’s Katarina Jokic, the No. 1 player in the country, before and had her on the ropes 5-4 in the third set.

Her teammates, deadlocked in a 3-3 tie in the SEC finals, were hanging on to every point, every shot.

“We were definitely anxious,” senior Paige Cline said. “But we have seen Ingrid in that situation so

WOMEN’S TENNIS • INGRID MARTINS

many times, we really knew she had the ability to get it done.”

With nearly 20 years experience as a college and professional coach, head coach Kevin Epley remained calm and cautious. But he had seen enough of Martins to know that she would not back down and would find a way to win the championship-deciding match.

“The one thing about her that has been there from the beginning is, when a match gets to the third set and everything is on the line and her teammates are on the side of the court cheering her on, she will not lose. That’s just the way it is,” he said. “That’s something you can’t teach. That’s something where she turns her brain off and she just says, ‘I’m going to do this.’”

So when Jokic’s final shot sailed long, giving Martins a 6-4 third-set win, the South Carolina senior collapsed on the court, overcome with emotion. As her teammates piled on top of her, she was overjoyed at helping her team accomplish one of its biggest goals.

“Oh, my God. There were a lot of emotions,” she said. “I just laid on the court and I was exhausted. But it was great, we did it. We were very happy.”

It was only fitting that Martins won the title-clinching match. She capped a marvelous four-year career with one of the greatest seasons in South Carolina history. The SEC Player of the Year, she was 14-2 in dual matches at No. 1 singles, including 8-1 in the SEC, and 12-2 against ranked opponents. Her No. 4 ranking in singles was the highest in program history.

She also was dominant in doubles, teaming with junior Mia Horvit to go 23-6 and at one point climbing to No. 1 in the nation.

With a strong top three of Martins, Cline (No. 17) and Horvit (No. 86), Epley’s Gamecocks finished the regular season 20-3 and ranked No. 5, another program first. They were 12-1 in the SEC and beat three top10 teams, including No. 1 Georgia, to claim the championship. Epley was named SEC Coach of the Year while Martins joined Cline and Horvit on the All-SEC team. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 national seed and with a run at the national championship in sight.

“It’s just amazing to look back and say we did it,” Martins said as her team prepared for the NCAA Tournament. “It’s been a really fun ride with the girls. For sure, it was tough, but that’s what we like and what we fight for and work for every day. We like the challenge.”

May 2019

Martins knows plenty about challenges, from her rise to the professional ranks in Brazil to her journey to America and adjustment to college life, collegiate tennis and a new culture. Away from home, with a language barrier and few friends to help her, there were many sleepless nights and plenty of tears.

A Sports Family

Martins grew up in what she calls a “sports fanatic family” in Rio de Janeiro. Her mother played volleyball, her father basketball. As adults, they adopted tennis. By the time Ingrid was 4, she was playing volleyball, tennis and, of course, soccer, the most popular sport in South America.

“They put me in every sport. I always loved every sport,” she said.

By the time she was 10, Martins excelled at both tennis and volleyball, but had to pick one. She chose tennis because, well, it was closer to home.

“They were like, ‘We’re not going to drive you to volleyball an hour away, so let’s just play tennis.’

So I started playing tournaments,” she said.

Before long, she was winning tournaments all over South America, climbing to No. 135 in world juniors. She soon realized she may have a future and career in tennis.

“The [Brazilian Tennis] Confederation gave me some support and then I started thinking, ‘Oh wow, that is my life,’” she said.

Martins had to make numerous sacrifices as a junior to pursue her dream. She was home-schooled and missed out on most normal school activities. There were no sleepovers or staying out late with friends.

Instead, she was up early every morning, practicing and playing tennis.

“I had to give up some things, but my parents always supported me, so I was like, ‘Why not? This is what I love,’” she said.

Under the tutelage of former ATP pro and noted coach Ricardo Acioly, Martins was able to turn pro as a teenager and climbed to No. 723 in the WTA in singles and No. 524 in doubles. By the time she was 18, she had already won her first professional match and captured an international doubles title.

Her focus was climbing the WTA rankings and carving out a pro career. She had never heard of college tennis and had no idea she could use her blossoming tennis game to earn a college scholarship and a degree.

“For me, college tennis was like … if you go there, you are going to stop playing tennis,” she said. “And

at 17 and 18, I was playing professionally already.”

But a sports psychologist who was working with Martins at the time suggested it might be the best route to improve her game and prepare for the pro ranks. With an economic crisis putting a strain on families in Brazil, it was an attractive option for her parents.

At first, Martins was not thrilled with the idea.

“My father was like, ‘That’s nice, let’s look at it,’ and I was very angry at him,” she said. “I couldn’t talk to him for a day because it was like, ‘I’m going to stop playing tennis if I go there.’

Eventually, she realized college might be her best opportunity to prepare for professional tennis, while also getting an education and exposure to another part of the world.

“It was the best opportunity at the moment,” she said.

Acioly, Martins’ junior coach, played for the Gamecocks in the 1980s. A member of the 1988 and 2000 Brazilian Olympic teams, he still had connections to the program and reached out to Epley and men’s coach Josh Goffi, a former ATP pro whose father, Carlos, was a legendary tennis coach in Brazil.

In June of 2015, Martins and her family visited South Carolina, getting a tour of campus and the tennis center from a Brazilian player on the men’s team.

“It was just unbelievable,” she said. “It was our first time at a university in the U.S. and I didn’t have a lot of choices because I had to come in August and that was June. It was the only option but always my first option. If I had had others, I would still choose here.”

Martins liked what she saw at South Carolina. Though the idea of college tennis was still a foreign concept, she believed she could develop as a player and a person.

“I liked a lot about the culture of the program and the coaches really care about you and care about your development as a player and a person and also the girls here were really close,” she said. “The city is very calm and very secure, and that is very different than Rio de Janeiro.

“It was a very good choice for me.”

Emotional Rescue

Ingrid Martins and Mia Horvit

May 2019

Though she had a strong freshman season on the court, making the SEC All-Freshman team with a 23-11 singles record, the move to America was traumatizing

for Martins. Barely able to speak English, she had trouble adapting to American culture and college life.

Homesick, she spent much of her time crying or on the phone with her parents.

“I didn’t know if this was the right place for me,” she said. “I was having a hard time with my English and communicating with each other and dealing with the culture.

Everything was just different, the time management, the schedule, the coaches were on me. I didn’t have any friends that I could count on, it was just my family on the phone.

And I was missing home.

“It was very challenging in the beginning but I always kept in mind that it was going to go away and it was going to get better.”

The transition to America can be a huge hurdle for some international student-athletes. As Epley says, it’s an “all-day, every moment of every day” challenge adapting to academics and the demands and pressure of college life and college athletics.

The challenge is even more complex for tennis players. As junior players, they are are used to being on their own, with only their family and coaches to support them.

In college, they are part of a team, with a responsibility to produce and teammates to hold them accountable. Epley says it can sometimes take two years for international players to feel comfortable on and off the court.

“With the energy that is required and the work ethic, there is no room to slip up and no room to have a bad day,” he said.

Martins found a friend and confident in teammate Ximena Luna, a senior from Lima, Peru. Luna helped her with her English and adapting to the different culture.

“The beginning was difficult for me to know that people are different and cultures are different,” she said.

“I didn’t have that perspective. …

Some things really upset me, but it was just how they deal with things here.

“She gave me insights on how it’s going to be and made sure I was staying there and was not going to leave and helped me see that things were going to get better.”

Though she immediately demonstrated the talent to win at the college level, Epley said Martins struggled early in her career emotionally and with maintaining confidence.

“She had sort of a diminished view of the quality of her game,” he

INGRID MARTINS • WOMEN’S TENNIS

29

said. “We call it small Ingrid versus big Ingrid. Her entire journey has been trying to pry big Ingrid out of little Ingrid, and each year it has been an incremental move and there is still more to go.”

Martins admits she struggled at first trying to control her emotions on the court.

“Sometimes my emotions came out on the court because of the things off the court,” she said.

After a solid freshman season, Martins entered her second season ranked No. 12 in the nation. She battled injuries, however, and struggled on the court, posting an 18-17 overall record and slumping to 6-11 in dual matches. Epley called her sophomore season “horrific.”

“She got hurt and she was caught in her head and hyper emotional,” he said. “She just wasn’t enjoying competing.”

But just before the NCAA Singles Championships, Epley delivered a different message.

“I told her to just have fun, just go play tennis,” he said. “And she came out a little bit in that moment.

And then her junior year she picked it up.”

Throughout the struggles, Epley saw signs of bigger and better things for Martins.

“There were moments when the stars aligned and you could see glimpses of who this girl could be,” he said. “It was just a matter of helping her be aware that that’s who she 30

should be and also align that with her goals. … She finally took the ownership.”

Martins bounced back with a strong junior campaign, finishing 17-8 (11-5 in dual matches) and No. 28 in the nation. She was even better in doubles, going 22-8 and 17-5,

WOMEN’S TENNIS • INGRID MARTINS

with 12 of those wins coming with Horvit.

She has taken her game to a new level this season. She started the year ranked No. 45 and steadily climbed the rankings, cracking the top 10 and eventually the top five.

With a 14-2 mark in dual matches, including 7-1 in the conference, she finished the regular season ranked No. 4.

Epley admits he was surprised by the jump.

“The emotional consistency compared to two years ago and the clarity of her purpose, I am surprised by that maturity because it is a big jump,” he said. “She has been able to be more consistent and more committed and disciplined with getting prepared for matches and her self-talk to herself, having a better vision of herself.”

“I’m more consistent, mentally and physically and emotionally,” said Martins, who plans to resume her pro career after the NCAAs in May. “That was the biggest thing that could make me play more aggressive and play with more freedom.”

As she watched her national ranking climb, Martins also had another goal, one that has grown throughout her career. After two straight appearances in the Sweet 16, the team hoped to make a run at the national championship after winning the SEC title.

Martins said she and the team have had a more selfless approach this year.

“You care about the team and don’t think about your own situations and emotions,” she said. “You want to do great things with the team.

“Your senior year you want to be in a place where you can give back everything that you got and you can help people and build a legacy. ... When I leave, I want them to be No. 1.”

That’s what fueled Martins in her thrilling three-set victory to clinch the SEC championship.

“It’s about her teammates supporting her and she feels so grateful for that love and she sees that they care about her,” Epley said. “While she sometimes has this capacity to beat herself up, she looks over at her team and sees how much they care about her and says, ‘Ok, I am going to do it for you guys.’”

As Epley thinks back to the challenges Martins faced early in her career, he feels a deep sense of admiration for a player who has grown from a fragile and emotional freshman to one of the best players in the nation.

“It’s just such a neat thing to see her come out on the other side of her challenges a stronger person,” he said. “That’s why we’re in it.”

May 2019

1

MATCH POINTS South Carolina won its first-ever SEC Championship with three straight wins over top-10 teams. The Gamecocks knocked off No. 1 Georgia in the finals, handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. They clinched the title when Ingrid Martins knocked off No. 1-ranked Katarina Jokic.

2

Martins and Mia Horvit climbed to No. 1 in the nation in doubles before finishing the regular season at No. 7.

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On April 2, South Carolina rose to No. 3 in the national rankings, the highest in program history.

Martins finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the national rankings, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Singles Championships.

The Gamecocks finished the regular season ranked No. 5 in the nation and earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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Senior Paige Cline finished the regular season ranked a careerhigh No. 16 in singles.

South Carolina had 17 wins over ranked opponents.

May 2019

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The Gamecocks finished the regular season 20-3, their third straight 20-win season under Epley. They are also 20-0 in SEC matches on the road the past two seasons.

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INGRID MARTINS • WOMEN’S TENNIS

31

Making A Name For Himself Goffi finds a gem, turns England’s Paul Jubb into one of best players in country

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by SC Athletics & Allen Sharpe

S

outh Carolina men’s tennis coach Josh Goffi was on a recruiting trip in London in the summer of 2016 when a vaguely familiar name kept popping up.

Goffi was recruiting two British players when a friend mentioned a young kid from Hull in the Yorkshire township about 200 miles away.

“A good mate of mine over there said, ‘You need to go check this guy out. I think there is something special there. I don’t really know what it is, but there is something there,’” Goffi said.

The name Paul Jubb rang a bell with Goffi. A few years earlier, Ben Atkinson, a former Gamecock player from Yorkshire, had messaged him about Jubb, who had just won a British national junior tournament as a 15-year-old.

Two years later, Goffi hopped on a train in London and made the trip to Hull.

32

MEN’S TENNIS • PAUL JUBB

What he saw was a young, skinny kid with great balance and coordination. He moved around the court well, and though still developing physically, had the skills and potential to grow into a good college tennis player. But it was what he heard from Jubb and what he saw in his eyes that made him take a chance on a kid seemingly too young for college tennis.

“The determination in his eyes and what he was telling me,” Goffi said. “He’s like, ‘I’m telling you right now, if I have the same opportunities as the other people around me, I will be the best.’”

Three years later, that young, skinny kid from England has turned into one of the top singles players in the nation.

In just his third year in the United States, Jubb is putting the finishing touches on one of the greatest seasons in school history.

The 19-year-old junior finished the

regular season 31-4 overall and is ranked No. 5 in the country in singles. He is 19-2 in dual matches at No. 1 singles, including 11-1 in the SEC to earn first-team All-SEC honors. He led No. 17 South Carolina (18-9) to a win over East Tennessee State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to capture his 32nd win of the season.

Though Goffi was intrigued by Jubb’s athleticism and potential, it was his confidence and determination that convinced him to take a chance on the young recruit.

“The way that he spoke to me was the reason we pulled the trigger on him,” he said. “We took a chance on Paul and, obviously, he is the leader of our squad and one of the best players in the country.”

May 2019

Growing up in Hull, Jubb had never considered college tennis until he won the junior nationals event. That’s when his coach, former ATP pro James Trotman, began talking to him about his future and a possible professional career.

Shortly after that, he met Goffi.

“The process happened really quick, and the next thing I know Josh is in England and I’m over here,” he said.

When they first met, Goffi, a former ATP pro himself, began laying out a plan for Jubb’s development as a player and his future.

“One of the really big things was he was really caring about my future and well-being,” Jubb said. “He made it very clear that I would be taken care of when I came here and he really cared about making me a better person, and then his experience in tennis.”

For Jubb, an aspiring pro, Goffi’s experience was a “huge factor” in him coming to South Carolina. The son of legendary teaching pro Carlos Goffi, Josh was a three-time All-ACC player at Clemson and one of the top college players in the country. After his collegiate career, he played on the ATP Tour, winning a singles tournament in Italy and climbing to as high as No. 121 in the world in doubles.

“He’s so knowledgeable and if you use him as a great resource, there is no way you can’t get better,” Jubb said. “It was clear to see that from the start. It was an instant yes for me, really.”

Jubb arrived on campus in January 2017.

Though he adjusted to college and American life quickly, he was not expected to play much as a freshman who had just turned 17. “He was really young and at that point, he hadn’t proven that he was even good enough to be on our team,” Goffi said.

May 2019

But by midseason, one of the juniors on the team began to struggle and needed a break, so Goffi inserted Jubb into the lineup at No. 6 singles. He proceeded to win 11 of his first 14 matches, finishing 11-3 as a freshman, including 6-2 in the SEC, on an NCAA Tournament team.

“We put Paul in and he put on the afterburners and said, ‘No, no, this spot is mine,’” Goffi said.

As a sophomore, Jubb made a huge jump, finishing 24-11 in singles while playing the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots in the lineup. He won 18 dual matches, seven over ranked opponents, and climbed to No. 56 in the nation. In the 64-man NCAA Singles Championships, he upset No. 45 Benjamin Siguoin of North Carolina in straight sets before falling to No. 6 Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State in a close match.

“At that point, I think he realized he could be one of the greats,” Goffi said.

“Last year I was nervous because I was meant to play 3 most of the season but I ended up playing 2 and finished at one,” Jubb said. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope being at the top of the lineup. But then I started winning more and more matches and I realized, that is my level.”

Jubb entered this season ranked No. 27 in the country, but after a strong fall tournament season, he leaped to No. 7 at the start of the spring.

He has been ranked in the top 10 all season, climbing as high as No. 4 and settling in at No. 5 at the end of the regular season.

“We knew that Paul could make a huge jump and he was ready to be one of the top players in the country, and he got there,” Goffi said.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, he was 17-4 against ranked opponents and won 11 straight matches before falling to Mississippi State’s Nuno Borges in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Three of his four losses came in three sets, two of them to No. 3 Borges.

“Keeping the streak alive through the ups and downs of a season, it was pretty remarkable what he accomplished,” Goffi said. “It’s insane for a guy who really just broke into that upper echelon of college tennis last year at the very end of the NCAA Tournament.”

It was even more remarkable for a 19-year-old player who had never been ranked in the top 10 and entered the spring with a target on his back.

“That’s completely different territory. It’s unchartered territory for a tennis player and really any athlete in an individual sport,” Goffi said. “You have to go through that at least once to be able to learn how to succeed in that environment. And he actually navigated through that almost flawlessly.”

Josh Goffi

Jubb succeeded by maintaining the same determination and single-minded focus that impressed Goffi on his trip to England. He pushed forward and continued to work on his game with a larger goal in mind, even as the competition got tougher and tougher.

“He didn’t let the circumstances around him define what he was going to do. He didn’t care that he had a target on his back,” Goffi said. “We kept telling him and giving him the perspective of, college tennis is awesome, but that’s not what you are here to do. You are here to lead the team, but most importantly, on a personal level, you are here to get developed into a professional. As much as this all feels good and as much as everybody is telling you that you are great, you are still here and pros are up here. There’s a lot of room for you to continue to develop, so here are the things we have focus on in this match and here are the things that need to become the standard that you bring every day.”

Jubb took heed and adopted the same work ethic and discipline that professional players must maintain on the grueling pro circuit.

“Whether he was sick or whether he was tired or his body was hurting, he was able to maintain those things,” Goffi said. “That’s what pros do on a day-in, day-out basis. They play a 35-week program, on the road, where they are on for 35 weeks of the 52 and there are not a whole lot of days off.

Nobody cares that you are hurting.

“The professional mentality is what we were really trying to drive home with him. To be honest, he really took that to heart 100 percent and made it his own.”

He also has taken his on-court game to another level, developing a stronger forehand and becoming a more aggressive offensive player.

While his backhand was his forte as a junior and the strength of a defensive-minded approach, he now has a vicious forehand and improving serve he uses to win points and put away opponents.

“When I was younger, my main thing was just hit the ball really softly and run around and wait for the other guys to miss,” he said. “But becoming an offensive player was a really huge thing to develop and something where you need to be comfortable at if you want to play pro and PAUL JUBB • MEN’S TENNIS

33

be successful. You have to be able to take points out of the other player’s hand and I’ve gotten way better at doing that.”

He also has developed another gear, one that kicks in when he plays top-ranked opponents. He learned that from playing No. 1 singles and 21 players ranked in the top 125 in the nation.

“Champions have gear boxes and they will stay in second gear if that’s all it takes that day,” Goffi said. “If it takes going all the way up to sixth gear, they are going to go all the way up to sixth gear. … That’s what champions do. It’s a very special component of a high-level individual and he’s got it and he understands it.”

“I’m definitely good at raising my level when I need to,” Jubb said. “I haven’t always played great tennis, but when I have needed to, I have. … I’m good at realizing when I need to step things up and play a certain way.”

He demonstrated that in one of his biggest wins of the season, taking down then-No. 11 Oliver Crawford of Florida. After blowing two match-points, he was down 2-6 in a second-set tie-breaker before rallying to win 8-6 to take the set and close out the match.

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“I really wanted to win that match and it was a match where I put a lot of pressure on myself,” he said. “It was one of the only matches this season where I wasn’t sure if I would be able to come out on top, so it gave me big confidence in that aspect.”

That kind of focus has kept Jubb humble and grounded as his ranking has continued to soar.

He maintained the same mindset going in the NCAA Tournament and the NCAA Singles Championships.

“It’s nice to see No. 4 next to your name, but at the end of the day, you can only do your best and beat who is in front of you,” he said. “The rankings are going to be what they are, you just have to keep doing your best and they will come.”

And if he maintains that level of determination, he could reach his ultimate goal of playing professionally.

“He’s young. He’s 19. He came in early so he’s got the benefit of getting out there on tour early compared to most four-year college guys,” Goffi said. “One of his greatest assets is that he can learn and he learns from every match and he continues to grow.”

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MATCH POINTS Jubb’s 11-1 SEC record represents the highest SEC win percentage (.916) in school history. He also has a career SEC winning percentage of .844, also a school record.

5

National ranking at the end of the regular-season, the highest in program history.

4

Jubb was the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, the first Gamecock to earn a national seed since 2001.

Jubb went 19-2 in dual matches to lead the Gamecocks to an 18-9 record.

His .823 winning percentage in dual matches is also a school record.

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May 2019

ANDERSON’S ROSTER BREAKDOWN Lois Kaye Go

“She’s extremely consistent. Very dependable, very consistent, has been all year.

I think she’s top-25 ranked right now. Palmer Cup selection this year.”

Emily Price

“She’s done exceptionally well, once she got settled in here. She and L.K. both finished fifth at SECs. Lots of top-fives, top-tens. She’s in the top 10 or 11 in the golf stat rankings.”

Ana Pelaez

A Long Drive

Ana Pelaez

Women’s golf continues strong tradition with return to NCAAs

By Josh Hyber | Staff writer • Photo by SC Athletics

K

alen Anderson has led South Carolina to 10 NCAA women’s golf tournaments in her 11 seasons as head coach and has mentored an impressive string of All-Americans and SEC honorees. But Anderson’s 2019 crop may have been her best of all.

“It’s one of the most talented groups I’ve had, that’s for sure,” Anderson said in late April after her team placed second at the SEC Championship tournament. “And it’s one of the deepest groups I’ve had. The depth of it, one through five, is really, really strong.”

South Carolina was the No. 3 seed for the Cle Elum (Wash.)

Regional in the NCAA Tournament, where it finished 10th and ended its season just short of the NCAA Championship tournament.

The Gamecocks shot 1-under par (287), their best score of the week, but could not move into the top six to advance.

“NCAA Regionals is always a tough and challenging week, and

May 2019

our team’s history has been strong in the event,” Anderson said in a release. “The last couple weeks this group has experienced a wide range of emotions and adversity. Unfortunately, we didn’t prevail this week.

“Our team had an incredible season, and I’m extremely proud of our overall body of work this season. This group never quit.”

South Carolina battled its way to a tie for sixth at one point during the final round, but a tough front nine of the Tumble Creek Golf Club kept the Gamecocks from holding the top-six position needed to advance.

SC has won five regionals (2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) during Anderson’s tenure.

“It’s experience. It’s experience under your belt knowing how to handle that situation and knowing we can go out there and win it,” Anderson said. “I think it’s different going and feeling like you just want to finish in the top six versus going out there and trying to win the event.

“And that’s our goal, to go win.”

Anderson mentioned several times during her 10-minute chat with reporters in April about her team’s depth — how quality players fill up her entire roster — and about how consistency was not always there this season, but talent was.

Throughout the course of the season, each player’s games got sharper, she said.

SC registered top-five finishes in four of their five tournaments this spring, highlighted by a victory at the 2019 Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

It finished second in both stroke and match-play of the SEC Championships.The Gamecocks finished with three top-10 individuals during the stroke-play portion of the tournament.

Junior Lois Kaye Go said the team was disappointed but encouraged by its performance at the SEC Tournament, which it lost on a fourth playoff hole during the match play portion of the competition.

“She’s really been a spark. She plays with a lot of emotion and is really fiery.

She has the ability to go low, and that’s been a key for us.

She’s gone through some ups and downs in the past year or so. She won regionals as a freshman and struggled most of her sophomore year but has really brought her game back and worked really hard. It’s fun to see her really break through and play well right now.”

Marion Veysseyre

“Very consistent. Doesn’t hit it as far, but exceptional wedge player, short game, putter. She’s kind of the least flashy of them all, but just an incredible competitor.”

Anita Uwadia

“There’s a flashy player for you. Hits it longer than probably most females you’ll see in college golf. Tons of talent. Exciting to watch. She has the ability to really shoot some low numbers and can really add that extra spark for us. She was undefeated for us in match play the last two weeks.”

NCAA TOURNAMENT • WOMEN’S GOLF

35

SOFTBALL

Miss Versatility

Freshman Karly Heath proves she can do it all — almost — for Gamecocks

By Josh Hyber | Staff writer • Photos by Allen Sharpe

I

t took 78 years for there to be a star two-way player in Major League Baseball after Babe Ruth retired in 1935. In 2013, Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher/hitter since The Great Bambino to throw at least 50 innings and hit 15 home runs in a season.

Ohtani arrived to much fanfare, and scrutiny, but lived up to the hype with his smooth lefty swing, right-handed pitching and sleek number 17 jersey.

In Columbia, Gamecock softball has a player even more versatile than Ohtani, and she

36

SOFTBALL • KARLY HEATH

also happens to wear uniform number 17: freshman “utility player” Karly Heath.

Like Ohtani, Heath hits lefty and pitches righty. But unlike the major leaguer, who pitches and DHs, the North Augusta, S.C. native played pitcher, first base, right field, centerfield and designated player this season.

Entering the SEC Tournament in mid-May, Heath had an 8-0 record with a team best 2.48 ERA, 42 strikeouts and just 26 walks allowed. At the plate, she hit .324 with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith said in April that her team often talks about its talent being flexible, and that Heath exemplifies that. But for those who ask, Heath said she tells people she’s just “a pitcher and utility player.”

“Basically, you can put me wherever you need me,” she says.

“I’ll practice and I’ll be at that spot. Except catching.” (More on this later.)

Heath broke onto the scene this season with a game-winning hit against UNC Greensboro in her first at-bat at Beckham Field.

Later that day, in a game against Ohio, she made her first college start in the circle. She went four innings and allowed just two hits in a Gamecock win.

After the game, the freshman spoke about her mentality in the circle. “Just stay focused and not look up,” she said. “Just look straight at the [catcher’s glove] and know I’m going to [make] the pitch. Every time I’m going to hit it.”

But as any freshman season goes, there were highs and lows.

A day later against Campbell, Heath allowed six earned runs and walked four in just a third of an inning.

She responded a week later and threw a complete-game, fiveinning two-hitter for her first college victory.

“This is the true Karly Heath,” redshirt-sophomore Alexis Lindsey said after the game.

In late April, Heath — who throws a change-up, curveball, riseball and a backdoor curveball — was named SEC Freshman of the Week after she hit .778 (seven hits, including two home runs) during a week the Gamecocks went 3-0. Heath had an .800 onbase percentage and had two or more hits in all three games.

She led the way in a doubleheader against UNC Greensboro with five hits (two home runs and a double), three RBI and three runs scored in the two games.

“That offensive production is what we expect from her,” Smith said that afternoon. “She has really come into her own at this point.” “[She] was on fire,” junior second baseman Mackenzie Boesel said.

Heath also started the first game of the double-dip in centerfield, a position she had never started a game at. Ever. On any level.

Three days earlier against USC Upstate she played first base, right field and centerfield.

“I’ll go pitch or play shortstop next inning if you want me to,” she told Smith during the game.

As for practice, Heath makes sure she gets enough repetitions at all the positions she may play during a game. If the Gamecock

May 2019

coaching staff’s practice plan has her pitching and working with outfielders, she makes sure to stay after and get extra infield work. If she practices with infielders, she stays after to shag flyballs.

During one practice, Heath was at first base when Smith told her to go to the outfield. But the head coach didn’t want to waste time, so Heath couldn’t change gloves.

“I was out in centerfield with a first baseman’s mitt.

I looked like I was from ‘Benchwarmers,’” Heath said, referencing the 2006 movie about a misfit three-man baseball team.

Luckily for Heath — who uses the same glove for pitching and outfield and uses

Charlie Guarino

teammate Madison Owens’ glove when playing first base — a ball was not hit her way.

Despite she and her parents’ die-hard fandom for University of Georgia football, Heath committed to South Carolina in the fall of her freshman year of high school.

“Since I was a little girl I wanted to play in the SEC,” she said.

Heath played outfield (center and left) and mostly pitcher when she started playing softball when she was 8.

She also played a lot of second base. In high school she played shortstop and mostly only pitched when her school faced its toughest competition.

As a senior, Heath went 21-2 with a 0.16 ERA and hit .541 with 12 home runs, 30 RBI and 56 runs scored. She struck out 278 batters and issued just 17 walks with 37 hits. But

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the number 17 isn’t a nod to her versatile brethren, Ohtani. It’s a nod to her dad, Chris, who wore the number when he played slowpitch softball.

As mentioned, Heath has never caught in her career. Not even for one batter.

“And I’m not going to,” she said. “I’m scared.”

Even joking around?

“No,” she said. “The only catching I’ll do is for long toss with [Cayla Drotar]. But not squatting. And not putting on any catcher’s gear.”

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When pressed further, she finally gives in.

Her senior year, if she has played nine of softball’s 10 positions, would she ask Smith to make one appearance behind the plate?

“I would go out there for a batter,” Heath admits. “Just a batter. I’ll wait until my senior year to ask her. Talk to me my senior year. We’re going to see it.”

“You know, I’ve never seen her catch,” Smith said. “But I would not hesitate to put her out there at any position.”

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Martin has Gamecock basketball set up for long-term success

By Bill Gunter | Contributing writer • Photo by Jenny Dilworth

S

outh Carolina basketball is usually a forgotten topic this time of year but it continues to be one I constantly think about.

It is my opinion that for the first time in my life time (37 years), the Gamecock men’s basketball is poised to go on a long, sustained run of success.

As of this writing, rising sophomore A.J. Lawson had not made a decision to return for the 2019-2020 season (though he is expected to) or make himself eligible for the NBA draft. Still, the current roster, along with the next few recruiting classes, shows that the program is ready to be a contender for the next several seasons, and with the leadership of Frank Martin, likely long into the future.

Let’s start with the current status of the roster, which features several players poised to make significant impacts next season. The two newcomers — although redshirt freshman Jermaine Cousinard and transfer Jair Bolden are hardly newcomers since they practiced with

the team all last season — should make immediate contributions.

Combining Cousinard and Bolden with the proven production of Lawson, Justin Minaya and Keyshawn Bryant gives the Gamecocks a backcourt that features the length and athletic ability that Martin craves in his guards. Depth should be added by the return of point guard T.J. Moss, plus incoming recruits Trae Hannibal and Trey Anderson.

The frontcourt needs to be addressed and rising senior Maik Kotsar needs to continue to his develop his game. Kotsar can be a serviceable big man as long as not too much stress is placed upon him. Rising sophomore Alanzo Frink showed promise at times during his freshman season.

The Gamecocks will not be not be able replace Chris Silva, who will go down as one of the top three or four post players in Gamecock history. What Silva brought to the table simply cannot be replicated.

The Gamecocks will need production from other post players and that starts with Kotsar, who I believe could be poised to take a significant step as a senior and provide more consistent production. Combine that with the production from Frink and the Gamecocks should be fine in the post. I do think that Martin needs to add a graduate transfer in the post to give the team more depth with incoming freshmen Jayln McCreary and Wildens Leveque.

The non-conference schedule is going to be difficult with road trips to Clemson and Virginia

along with neutral-site games against Rutgers, Wichita State and either Northern Iowa or West Virginia. Add in the game that comes with the SEC/Big 12 contract and once again Martin will have created a difficult nonconference schedule that should be entertaining to watch.

With all that in mind, I think the Gamecocks are poised for a big season and I believe that Martin can make South Carolina relevant in men’s basketball for the long term if he is given time.

I firmly believe that Martin has set the Gamecocks up for long-term success and this coming season is the beginning of that.

Bill Gunter is the co-host of the Early Game on 107.5 The Game in Columbia. Follow him on Twitter @WillGunter.

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May 2019

Who else should have their Gamecock jersey retired?

By Ed Girardeau | Contributing writer • Photo by Allen Sharpe

O

n Saturday, May 4, Earl Bass, a Gamecock pitcher who won a career-high 34 games with a career-best 1.34 ERA from 1972-1975, had his jersey retired, joining Ray Tanner with their numbers (1 and 13) on the left-field wall at Founder’s Park.

It’s hard to imagine a more worthy player. Bass led the 1975 team to the College World Series for the first time in program history as the Gamecocks finished second to Texas with a 56-6-1 record. Bass won 23 straight games in his final two seasons with a 17-1 record in his final season.

He was drafted in the second round by the St. Louis Cardinals but suffered an injury while playing Triple-A ball and retired before making it to the major leagues. He passed away in 2018 at age 65 after a battle with cancer.

Bass is the first Gamecock baseball player to have his jersey retired.

Which brings us to the next logical question. Who’s next?

Since we’re on baseball, you don’t have to look far from Bass’ teams to find Hank Small. What

Bass brought to the mound, Small brought to the everyday lineup.

In 1975, he batted .390 and hit 19 home runs. His 48 career home runs were the best for three decades until Justin Smoak came along.

Small was drafted by the Atlanta Braves.

Another Bass teammate was Jeff Grantz, who still holds the best fielding percentage for second basemen and shortstops at Carolina and was a solid ball player, not to mention one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Grantz could be the best athlete to ever play at SC. I don’t think there was another twosport star who contributed so much to both.

It’s a long time between 1975 and 2010-11, and there have been

a lot of good players, but you can’t talk about retiring baseball jerseys without including Jackie Bradley Jr. and Michael Roth. I doubt anyone has contributed to Gamecock baseball more than those two and with the 10-year anniversary of the first national championship next year, those two need to be on the wall at Founders Park.

It’s impossible to name everyone, but others who should be considered include Mookie Wilson and Randy Martz from the 1977 runner-ups, Adam Everett, Kip Bouknight, Landon Powell, Smoak, Steve Pearce and Whit Merrifield, another star from those national championship teams.

We’re really blessed at South Carolina to have so many fine base-

ball players spend their college years in Columbia.

There also are many in football and basketball, not to mention the other sports.

Fortunately, most have been inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. What this screams for is an actual brick-andmortar hall of fame where fans can learn about these great athletes who played at South Carolina. An allinclusive hall of fame would mean a lot to these players and fans.

Ray Tanner spoke recently about creating a hall of fame at Williams Brice Stadium. Here’s hoping that comes sooner than later.

With loyal devotion, remembering the days …

Ed Girardeau is a 1982 South Carolina graduate and has been a columnist for Spurs & Feathers since 2012. You can reach him at edgirardeau@spursandfeathers.com.

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