Good morning. Zia Cooke is out here doing Zia Cooke things in the WNBA!

What else are we stirring into today’s Brew? ⤵️

🪄 Rookie magic
🌵 Diamond in the desert
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

Encore Please. Nick Emmanwori surprised the nation by leading South Carolina in tackles in his first year on campus, earning Freshman All-American honors in the process. What was it like to get thrown into the fire? What does being a leader look like? And what does he have planned for an encore?

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Rookie Magic. Aliyah Boston is a rookie All-Star starter — just the eighth player in WNBA history to do it! Check out some of the best reactions below:

• Sparks superstar Nneka Ogwumike said watching Aliyah is like “witnessing the future of the league”

• Aliyah’s parents sent her a special message

• Aliyah’s Fever teammates react

• Coach Staley’s reaction to Aliyah being an All-Star

• The Indiana Pacers got in on the action

• Tyrese Haliburton congratulates Aliyah from one All-Star to another

• And, of course, the reaction from our girl herself

🔼 Conference Play. SEC opponents are set for Gamecock men’s hoops! South Carolina will host and travel to Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. The Gamecocks will also welcome Kentucky, Florida, LSU, and Vanderbilt to Colonial Life Arena while hitting the road to battle Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, and Texas A&M. Full details here.

🔼 Top In Tennessee. South Carolina women’s soccer incoming freshman Brinley Murphy earned the Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year Award! Murphy and her high school team finished the season 24-0 and won back-to-back Class AAA state titles. Murphy scored 41 goals and tallied 23 assists during her senior season; she finished her high school career with 110 goals and 54 assists.

🔼 Diamond In The Desert. Christian Walker is carrying a career-best hitting streak into the Diamondbacks’ upcoming series against the Rays. Walker extended his streak to 11 games during Sunday’s win over the Giants; he’s now 17-for-39 while hitting .436 over the stretch. He added a stolen base on Sunday to boot, giving him four on the season, the most he’s had since 2019.

🔼 Countdown: 67. Chris Norman is one of the most prolific punters in Gamecock program history. He sits atop the school record book for most punting yards per season — 3,367 yards booted in 1981 — and most punting yards in a career. He racked up a total of 10,677 yards while wearing the Garnet & Black.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

In Elite Company. Aliyah Boston will become just the eighth rookie to start a WNBA All-Star game. Can you name any of the others?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Shoni Schimmel, Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner, Maya Moore, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw

Schimmel was the last rookie to make the start in 2014.

Have a good Tuesday, y’all.