Quincee Lilio excited for challenge of facing off against former team
Quincee Lilio‘s first season in garnet and black could not have gotten off to a much better start. South Carolina softball is undefeated through its first 20 games of the campaign, tied for the best mark in program history and the program’s best since becoming an NCAA-recognized sport.
“Winning is great. I just think we don’t even focus on that. We just go out there and play our game, and that’s what I love about this team,” Lilio said. “That’s what makes it so much fun.”
Individually, Lilio has contributed to much of the Gamecocks’ early success. She leads the team in batting average (.583) and hits (33), while adding 19 RBIs and 21 walks. Lilio has reached base in every South Carolina contest this season.
But this weekend, Lilio and the Gamecocks are set to face their toughest test of the year. South Carolina will open SEC play by traveling on the road to take on Oklahoma, the four-time defending NCAA champions and current No. 2 team in the country, according to Softball America.
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Oklahoma also happens to be the school from which Lilio transferred ahead of the 2025 campaign. She spent three years of her college softball career with the Sooners before leaving after her redshirt sophomore season.
Most players competing against their former squads head into those games with a little extra fire under them as they look to prove something to their old coaches and teammates. That is not the case for Lilio, though – she’s just looking forward to seeing what South Carolina can do against one of the sport’s elite programs.
“I’m super excited for this team to go up against the best and to open up at the best place,” Lilio said. “I think it’s a great step for us.”
Even after transferring, Lilio said she remains in contact with her Sooners ex-teammates. But she made it clear that their group chats have not descended into chaotic exchanges of trash talk.
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“We’re just super excited to see each other, whether we’re on the same team or not,” Lilio said. “We’re just super excited to be in the same place at the same time.”
South Carolina’s most recent matchup against Oklahoma came in 2018, well before any current Gamecock joined the program. Because of this, the atmosphere at the Sooners’ home stadium of Love’s Field will be one South Carolina’s players have yet to experience.
“That environment is electric. That place is electric, and you can feel it all,” Lilio said. “I just think our biggest thing is to rely on each other and slow the game down and make the place our home.”
Love’s Field, the stadium the Gamecocks want to make “their home,” is the largest on-campus softball stadium in the country. Playing the Sooners there only elevates the profile of the matchup.
Lilio, however, wants South Carolina to prepare for this game like it would any other.
“At the end of the day, we’re just there to play softball,” Lilio said. “We’re just there to play the game we know how to play and not make the stage bigger than it already is.”
