2024-25 South Carolina men's basketball roster breakdown

College basketball season is upon us.

South Carolina had its first team practice of the 2024-25 season on Monday. The countdown is now officially on as the Gamecocks open up the regular season against North Florida on Nov. 4 at Colonial Life Arena.

While the home opener is still 41 days away, the excitement around the program is buzzing. After surprising everyone and making the NCAA Tournament last season, South Carolina looks to return to March Madness for a second straight year. The last time that happened was 1997-98.

As things slowly start to ramp up, let’s take a look at the Gamecocks’ roster for this season.

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Returnees

Jacobi Wright, senior guard: Back for his fourth season, Wright is the longest tenured player at South Carolina, meaning he’s been around since 2021 when Frank Martin was still the head coach. Wright only started one game last season but was typically the first player to come off the bench for Lamont Paris. Averaging 22.9 minutes per game, the Fort Mill, SC native put up 5.9 points per game on 36.1 percent shooting from the field. He figures to be a key piece of this year’s team and play valuable minutes once again.

Zachary Davis, junior guard: After coming off the bench early in the year, Davis transitioned into the Gamecocks’ starting five and started 17 games. He averaged 5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 22.9 MPG. He shot 43.2 percent from the floor and 25 percent from three-point range. He proved to be one of South Carolina’s better defenders last year and should be in a position to potentially start again this year.

Myles Stute, senior guard: Transferring in from Vanderbilt before last season, Stute battled through his share of injuries but still played a key role in getting the Gamecocks back to the tournament. He scored in double-figures 13 times and averaged 8.3 points per game. He shot 41 percent from three and 38.5 percent from behind the arc.

Austin Herro, redshirt freshman guard: Herro never ended up seeing any playing time in his first season with the program last year. But he was recently put on scholarship at the start of summer workouts. He could definitely help out South Carolina as a key role player who can shoot well from the outside. Back in high school, Herro shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc.

Morris Ugusuk, sophomore guard: Ugusuk never started last year but saw action in 30 games and averaged 2.2 points per game. The Finland native scored a career-high 11 points against Florida A&M on Dec. 30. He should provide good depth off the bench as another guard who can play well in all facets of the game.

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Arden Conyers, redshirt freshman guard: Much like Herro, Conyers was the other first-year player to end up redshirting last year. There’s plenty of excitement surrounding Conyers in year two. He should see much more time on the floor this season as he was very impressive in summer workouts. As a senior at nearby Westwood High School, he put up 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Certainly will be a name to keep an eye on.

Collin Murray-Boyles, sophomore forward: If there’s any player with more hype for this season, it would be Murray-Boyles. After his season was delayed by mononucleosis last year, he eventually became a full-time starter and played big minutes in the team’s run towards March Madness. Murray-Boyles averaged 10.4 points, a team-high 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in 28 games with 19 starts, earning SEC All-Freshman honors.

Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, graduate forward: Once a starter in his first year at South Carolina, “BBV” transitioned into more of a bench role last year and averaged 9.7 minutes per game. He played in 17 games and put up 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds. This will be his third season with the program. According to his bio, he’s one of the only law school students in the country playing Division I basketball.

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Incoming transfers

Jordan Butler, sophomore forward: At the end of last season, it became abundantly clear South Carolina was lacking physical playmakers in the paint. So during the offseason, Paris addressed this need by bringing in Butler, a transfer from Missouri. The Greenville, SC native made 14 starts and played 31 games for the Tigers last year. He averaged  2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game.

Nick Pringle, graduate forward: Further adding to bringing in more big men, the Gamecocks landed Pringle, a key member of Alabama’s Final Four squad from last year. The Seabrook, SC native had a huge performance in the Elite Eight against Clemson where he scored 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting and hauled in 11 rebounds, helping the Tide advance to the Final Four. In his college career, Pringle has made 16 starts and averaged 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.

Jamarii Thomas, senior guard: With the loss of key starters in Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper at guard, South Carolina went out and got Thomas from the portal. He had a breakout year with Norfolk State in 2023-24, averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting, which helped him land MEAC Player of the Year honors. He was impressive on both ends of the floor during summer workouts and should be in line to start at one of the guard spots this year.

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Incoming freshmen

Weston Coggeshall, freshman guard: Coggeshall, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard, joined the program as a walk-on this summer. He played at Philip Simmons (S.C.) High School, averaging 4.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game in two seasons.

Lance Piper, freshman guard: Previously in the Class of 2025, Piper reclassified and will join the Gamecocks a year early.  The 6-foot-6 forward hails from New York but attended The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania. With so many other veteran guards on the roster, Piper might not see much action right away, but he could certainly learn a lot from those players and develop over time.

Cam Scott, freshman guard: As the gem of South Carolina’s 2024 recruiting class, Scott flipped his commitment from Texas and decided to stay home to play for the Gamecocks. The 6-foot-6, 170-pound guard was the No. 1 player in the state of South Carolina coming out of high school. Playing at nearby Lexington High, he averaged 22.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.5 assists per game during his senior year.

Okku Federiko, freshman forward: Federiko was ranked as the No. 93 overall player in the class of 2024, according to On3. He represented Finland in the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B and averaged 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game over the course of the tournament. He wasn’t with the team during summer workouts but should now be with the team as of this month.

Coaching staff

Paris returns for his third year as South Carolina’s head coach. He signed a brand-new six-year contract in March and will make more than $26 million through 2029-30. On his staff, Tanner Bronson and Eddie Shannon return for their third season with the program as an assistant coaches. David McKinley, who was originally hired as Director of Player Development, was promoted to an assistant coach last year and is back in the same role this year. Carey Rich is also back for his third season and serves as special assistant to the head coach.

The only new assistant on Paris’ staff this season is Will Bailey, who actually happens to be a familiar face around the program. Bailey was an assistant for the Gamecocks in Martin’s final two seasons and then spent last year as an assistant at Loyola-Chicago.

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