Good morning. We’re officially 99 days away from kick-off! Are you ready?

What else do we have mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

🏃 Days one and two
🏀 Fearless rookie
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

Friday Rewind. Cheers to the weekend! Cruise through your Friday and catch up on some of the great content on Gamecocks+, like:

• Stephen Garcia Mic’d Up: Feel all the nostalgia watching some of your favorite former Gamecock football players out on the gridiron for the Alumni Flag Football game.

• In The Zone with Tyler Johnson: We’re talking with the former South Carolina pitcher about how he got into the zone on the mound, and what he’s been up to since life on the diamond came to an end.

• The Follow: Spring is in the Air: Have you seen the premiere episode of this season’s The Follow yet?

• How To Be A Pitcher: Donnie Gobourne wasn't originally a pitcher; this is the story of how she moved from shortstop to pitcher and became Gamecock softball’s first draft pick in the WPF in a decade.

• Small Town, Big Dreams: Darius Rush’s Life Calling: From a small town to the lights of Willy B to the big stage of the NFL, Darius Rush’s journey is one you don’t want to miss.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Days One And Two. The first day of NCAA Regionals treated Gameccock Track & Field well! In the men’s opening round, South Carolina advanced to the quarterfinals tomorrow in five different events, with Filip Demsar, Anass Essayi, Evan Miller, and Anthony Greenhow all moving on.

Day two saw the women compete for the first time, and our Gamecocks showed up and showed out! Silan Ayyildiz, Sylvia Chelangat, Elena Kelety, and Jayla Jamison are all on to Saturday’s quarterfinals!

​🔼 Fearless Rookie. Zia Cooke’s already got a reputation among her LA Sparks teammates, and it’s one that Gamecock fans know well: she’s fearless. Zia put together a fantastic rookie debut performance in front of a crowd packed full of big names such as Billie Jean King, Lisa Leslie, Magic Johnson, and Kamala Harris.

“She’s not afraid of the big moment because she’s played in the big game. She’s ready,” LA Sparks head coach Curt Miller said.

Zia, who thought her first few weeks in the league might look a little different, said she quickly learned the WNBA is a tight-knit community. “When you’re a rookie, you don’t know who you should be,” she said. “But for [my teammates] to let me openly be myself, I’m super thankful for that.”

Read on to find out what Brittney Griner had to say to Zia after her rookie debut.

​🔼 The Future. And speaking of Zia Cooke, she and The Freshies left huge shoes to fill in Columbia. Raven Johnson and Bree Hall are up to the task and ready to embrace a leadership role heading into next season.

After South Carolina’s loss to Iowa in the Final Four, Aliyah Boston told Raven: “This is your team. You’ve been in the system for two years now. Next year, people are going to look to you for that leadership role.”

And Hall is ready to do big things, too.

“This brings a lot of motivation, honestly, knowing that I have to step into a really big role next year,” she said. “I think honestly I’m ready to step into that role. I’m ready to take on that journey to step into that role and become who I’m capable of being.”

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Three Machine. Zia Cooke is fearless from beyond the arc. She’s tied for first place in the Gamecock women’s hoops record books for most made 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with five. Against what opponent did Zia drain five shots from downtown?

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.

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Stanford (4/2/21)

Zia led all scorers with 25 points that afternoon.

Have a good weekend, y’all.