Good morning. Let’s set the scene. The Gamecocks are on the road against the No. 1 team in the nation. It’s a 3-3 tie, a South Carolina freshman is competing in his first dual match, and it’s the final match in the third set, with the Gamecock down 4-5.

Sean Daryabeigi got the win and delivered the upset for South Carolina. See how it all went down.

What else is mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

⚾ Take me out to the scrimmage
🏈 All ball
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

It might not feel like spring just yet, but we're less than a month away from Opening Day at Founders Park in Columbia, and we’ve got scrimmages teed up this week.

The Gamecocks showed everyone they're back to being a national powerhouse after a 2023 season. Now it's time to look forward to 2024 with a returning offensive core, and a pitching staff ready to prove themselves. Hear from head coach Mark Kingston as we preview the upcoming season on this episode of Gamecock Talk.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Take Me Out To The Scrimmage. Speaking of Gamecock baseball, come on out to the diamond this week for a handful of January scrimmages! You’ll have three chances to catch South Carolina in action: Friday, January 26 at 3:00pm ET, Saturday, January 27 at 2:00pm ET, and Sunday, January 28 at 1:00 pm ET. All scrimmages are free and open to the public. We’ll see you there!

🔼 All Ball. Marquel Blackwell spent the last two seasons in the SEC with Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and he’s ready to dive in and make an impact in the Gamecock running backs room.

“The biggest thing is trust, you know what I mean?” Blackwell said of coming into a new program. “Being around those guys. They have to trust you. The next thing is being honest and upfront. Owning a standard, understanding a standard, holding everyone accountable to the standard.”

As for his focus these days?

“I’m all ball. I’m trying to make sure we do the right things in recruiting, getting caught up on that…My wife and kids probably won’t be here until May. So I’ll be all ball and all about the players.”

🔼 Gamecocks Helping Gamecocks. Are you ready to help the Columbia community like only Gamecocks can? Gamecock Athletics announced a collection drive to benefit the Gamecock CommUnity Shop, an on-campus resource that provides free food, supplies, clothing, and toiletries to the university’s staff, faculty, and students.

Gamecock men’s and women’s basketball will host drives in the next few weeks. Your first opportunity to donate is on January 28 when South Carolina women’s hoops hosts Vanderbilt, while the collection drive led by the men’s basketball team will take place on February 10, also against the Commodores.

Fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items like rice, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, canned goods, and more. For all the ways you can donate and for more info, check out this link.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Road Win. It’s Game Day for Gamecock men’s basketball. As South Carolina welcomes Kentucky to Colonial Life Arena tonight, we’re taking a quick peek back at last season’s epic upset over the Wildcats on the road.

Meechie Johnson posted a career-high in last year’s road win. Do you remember how many points he scored en route to snapping Kentucky’s 28-game home winning streak?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

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📬 A LOOK AHEAD

Tuesday 1/23

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Kentucky @ 7:00pm ET on SEC Network | Tickets

Thursday 1/25

🏀 No. 1 Women’s Basketball @ LSU @ 8:00pm ET on ESPN

Friday 1/26 - Saturday 1/27

🏃 Track & Field @ the Razorback Invitational (Fayetteville, AK)

Friday 1/26

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Arizona @ 11:00am ET (Athens, GA) | Live Stats 

🏊 Swimming & Diving @ Georgia Tech @ 3:00pm ET (Atlanta, GA) on ACC Network Extra

Saturday 1/27

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Missouri @ 1:00pm ET on SEC Network | Tickets

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Georgia or USF (Athens, GA) | Live Stats

🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Clemson @ 10:00am ET | Live Streaming

Sunday 1/28

🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. LSU or Louisville | Live Streaming

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Vanderbilt @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network | Tickets

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Meechie set a then-career-high of 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Catch tonight’s game live at Colonial Life Arena (tickets here) or on the SEC Network. Tip-off is slated for 7:00pm ET.

🤙 Have a good Tuesday, y’all