Ranking the Top 10 moments in South Carolina athletics from 2024

2024 is officially in the books. And for South Carolina, it was a good year in athletics with a lot of great moments.

As the new year begins and we turn the page to 2025, let’s take one last look at some of the best moments from 2024.

No. 10: South Carolina baseball throws combined no-hitter against Miami (Ohio) (Feb. 18)

In Roman Kimball’s first outing back from Tommy John surgery, he pitched two hitless innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. From there, four relievers pitched the rest of the way without surrendering a hit to complete the eighth no-hitter in program history.

Read the full story here.

No. 9: South Carolina men’s basketball beats No. 25 Clemson in overtime (Dec. 17)

In a truly wild game, the Gamecocks and Tigers both traded blows, with Clemson tying the game in the final seconds of regulation on a three-pointer by Chase Hunter. Then in overtime, South Carolina took care of business to earn its signature win of this season thus far. It was a win that helped the university move to 4-0-2 in the Palmetto Series this year. Just a great basketball game.

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No. 8: Blake Jackson’s walk-off homer vs. Kentucky (April 26)

Trailing by three runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning, South Carolina hadn’t provided much hope that a comeback would be possible with a lack of offense all night long. But Blake Jackson led off the frame with a solo homer to cut the lead down to two. Then with one out, Dalton Reeves and Gavin Casas both came in to pinch-hit and launched solo shots to tie the game at four.

In the 10th, Jackson hit a lofty fly ball into left field that looked like it might be a routine fly out. But with the wind blowing out, the ball kept carrying and eventually left the ballpark. Jackson’s two-run walk-off homer gave the Gamecocks an emphatic win to kick start a big series win over Kentucky.

Read the full story here.

No. 7: South Carolina football upsets No. 10 Texas A&M with fans storming the field (Nov. 2)

After coming out of halftime all tied at 20, South Carolina dominated the second half and shutout Texas A&M to roll to a 44-20 upset win. Just like they did when the Gamecocks beat Tennessee in 2022, the fans poured out onto the field, making for a sea of garnet and black. A night that will always be remembered at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Read the full story here.

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No. 6: South Carolina MBB stuns No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville (Jan. 30)

You could argue this was the best win of the season for South Carolina. There’s a good case for that to be true. The Gamecocks were on a roll, winning three straight games after suffering an ugly loss to Georgia. While they didn’t have their best shooting day in Knoxville, the defense did a great job at shutting down Tennessee, holding Zakai Ziegler to two points. Even with a 31-point showing from Dalton Knecht, he went 11-for-24 from the field and missed four critical free throws, which were the difference in a 63-59 win for South Carolina.

Read the full story here.

No. 5: South Carolina MBB makes a big statement and blows past No. 6 Kentucky (Jan. 23)

Up to this point in the season, the Gamecocks had surprised a lot of people with their early success. Still, not many believed they were a legit threat as they were coming off a miserable 11-21 season the year before. But when No. 6 Kentucky came into town, South Carolina showed it was for real, defeating the Wildcats 79-62.

Gamecock fans poured onto the floor, celebrating with a court-storming victory. This was the game that started to shift the tide for the program in what turned out to be a 26-8 season, ending with an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Read the full story here.

No. 4: Rocket Sanders’ go-ahead touchdown propels Gamecocks over Missouri in final seconds (Nov. 16)

What a wild game this was. Trailing by three with 22 seconds to go, South Carolina stood in the red zone against Missouri. The Tigers had just reclaimed the lead not once but twice after trailing for most of the game. But when it mattered most, the Gamecocks came through.

On a shovel pass play akin to what the offense ran at one point against Alabama, LaNorris Sellers flipped the short pass off to Rocket Sanders who lowered a shoulder and plowed his way into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown to take the lead again with 15 seconds to play. Williams-Brice was shaking. It was insanity. This would end up being the game-winning score in a 34-30 win for the Gamecocks.

Read the full story here.

No. 3: Kamilla Cardoso’s buzzer-beating shot to beat Tennessee in SEC Tournament

We’ll get to the big win for women’s basketball in just a second. But without the No. 3 spot on this list, there may not have been what happened later in the season. With South Carolina trailing 73-71 to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals, the Gamecocks had time for one more play with 1.1 seconds to go.

As Raven Johnson prepared to make the in-bound pass near mid court, she could’ve thrown the ball to any of the main shooters on the floor. Instead, she passed to Kamilla Cardoso, who was supposed to then pass to Te-Hina Paopao for a shot. But since there wasn’t enough time, Cardoso took matters into her own hands and pulled up from behind the arc.

The Volunteers didn’t even think about covering her as the nearest defender stood inside the paint. Cardoso’s shot clanked off the backboard and went through the net to propel South Carolina to an improbable 74-73 win to advance to the championship game. To add to this incredible story, this was the first career three-pointer of her career.

Read the full story here.

No. 2: Back on top! South Carolina women’s basketball completes perfect season to win National Championship (April 7)

Just one year after Iowa defeated South Carolina in the Final Four, the Gamecocks returned the favor and beat Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes in the National Championship game this year. The 87-75 win completed a perfect 38-0 season for Dawn Staley’s crew. This was the program’s third title since 2017.

Read the full story here.

No. 1: South Carolina completes late comeback and takes down in-state rival Clemson in Death Valley

Did you expect anything else to take the crown for the top spot? After trailing all afternoon long, South Carolina found itself with a chance to either tie or take the lead over Clemson late in the fourth quarter. But the Gamecocks faced a daunting 3rd and 16 at the 20-yard line.

However, with just how lethal Sellers proved to be in the run game, he was able to scramble around defenders until he found his way into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown. This go-ahead score gave South Carolina a 17-14 lead with 68 seconds remaining in the game. It capped off a legendary performance in which Sellers ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Still needing to get one more stop to complete the comeback, Demetrius Knight Jr. picked off Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik to seal the deal on a 17-14 win over their in-state rival.

Read the full story here.

Have any thoughts on this Top 10 list? How right or wrong was it? Be sure to share your thoughts on The Insiders Forum. Happy New Year!

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