Good morning. Ashlyn Watkins threw it down last night!

What else is mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

👀 Houston, we drafted Heather
🔔 Answer the bell
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

It’s almost that time! We’re counting down to the Thursday night premiere of Changing Expectations: Chapter 3. Still need a Gamecocks+ subscription to enjoy our docuseries chronicling the incredible run our Gamecock men’s basketball team is on?

👉 Sign up for the Gamecocks+ TRUST Bundle and you’ll get access to Gamecocks+, the Gamecock Club, and support the Garnet Trust all at once!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Staying Perfect. Gamecock women’s basketball climbed to 16-0 on the season with a 98-36 win over the Kentucky Wildcats in a game that saw Ashlyn Watkins throw it down for a dunk. MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao led the team with 14 points apiece, while Kamilla Cardoso added yet another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Gamecocks will take on Texas A&M on Sunday on the road at 5:00pm ET.

🔼 Undefeated Weekend. Gamecock women’s tennis finished up the Carolina Kickoff with a perfect 3-0 doubles record and a 5-2 record in singles matches on the last day of competition yesterday. Ayana Akli and Olympe Lancelot went undefeated in singles and competing together in doubles. Read more about the great performance here.

🔼 Houston, We Drafted Heather. South Carolina’s Heather Hinz is heading to Houston! The Houston Dash selected the fifth-year Gamecock 38th overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft. Hinz will join Ryan Gareis and Jyllissa Harris on the Dash.

🔼 Answer The Bell. Gamecock men’s basketball picked up a huge overtime road win against Missouri on Saturday night. Here’s what the SEC Network’s Ron Slay had to say about South Carolina following the W:

“It always leads back to who is the leader of this group. You heard it by Jacobi that it is a collective, together group of guys that are all leading at the same time. I want to give credit to B.J. Mack. But, defending that ball on the last inbound. These are the things that don’t show up in the stats. Zachary Davis, when he is going, and it doesn’t show up in the scoring, but seven rebounds. He makes all the intangible plays. Him and Stute being able to be interchangeable is big time for these guys moving forward. You can do this with Meechie Johnson sitting on the bench, their leading scorer and still have people answer the bell? That’s huge.”

🔼 What A Start. South Carolina Track & Field opened 2024 with a bang on Saturday afternoon, picking up eight wins and setting four facility records in the squad’s home opener. The Gamecock women stole the show with five wins and three records. Judy Kosgei picked up where she left off, setting a program and facility record with a 2:46.04 in the 1,000 meter, while Ford ran the 300m in 36 seconds, setting a facility record. Hannah Togami and Aalliyah Francis picked up two other individual wins for the South Carolina women, and the squad closed it out with a victory in the 4×400 meter relay.

For the men, George Luke set a facility record in the 1,000 meter with a time of 2:27.72, while Anthony Greenhow won in the men’s 200m, and Dylan Taggart took home the victory in the men’s shot put.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Draft Ready. Heather Hinz was drafted during the 2024 NWSL Draft. Do you know how many other Gamecock women’s soccer players have been drafted to the NWSL?

Got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the right answer!

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Gamecock Brew? The first thing you should do is thank them. Then, hit subscribe below to receive the Brew in your inbox every weekday morning; it goes great with your first cup of coffee.

📬 A LOOK AHEAD

Tuesday 1/16

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Georgia @ 9:00pm ET on ESPNU | Tickets

Friday 1/19 - Saturday 1/20

🏃 Track & Field @ the Carolina Challenge (Columbia, SC)

Saturday 1/20

🏃 Track & Field @ the New Balance Collegiate Showdown (Boston, MA)

🏊 Swimming & Diving vs. Duke @ 11:00am ET

🏊 Swimming & Diving (Women Only) vs. UNC Asheville @ 11:00am ET

🏀 Men’s Basketball @ Arkansas @ 1:00pm ET on SEC Network

Sunday 1/21

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Coastal Carolina @ 12:00pm ET | Live Stats

🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Virginia @ 1:00pm ET | Live Stats

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Presbyterian @ 4:00pm ET | Live Stats

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ Texas A&M @ 5:00pm ET on SEC Network

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Hinz became the fifth NWSL draft pick in South Carolina program history — and the third straight to land with the Dash.

🤙 Have a good Tuesday, y’all.