Good morning. South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley is among the 15 entries on the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List. She has won the award three of the last four seasons, including the last two.

No. 1/1 South Carolina is back in action this evening, hosting Alabama at 7 p.m. ET at Colonial Life Arena.

What else is mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

🌊 Gamecock women set a new program record in the 200-medley relay
⚾️ On3 looks at Gamecock baseball player Tyler Causey’s comeback
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+: THE COCKTALE HOUR

ICYMI—The CockTale Hour with Jay Philips and Bill Gunter brings you in-depth analysis, exclusive player interviews, and more of the premium content you've come to expect on the Gamecocks+ platform.

Catch tonight’s episode as the two hosts discuss baseball’s scorching hot start this season, the reasons why there’s still plenty to be optimistic about when it comes to men’s hoops, women’s basketball overcoming a couple of challenges, and softball’s trip to Mexico.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Expecting Low Tide. No. 1/1 South Carolina hosts Alabama tonight, with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks have just two regular-season home games remaining.

The Gamecocks are 31-15 all-time against the Crimson Tide, including a 21-0 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09).

Go here for a closer look at the game by the numbers as well as some important fan information—don’t forget to bring your stuffed animal to toss at halftime!

🔼 King of Queens. The University of South Carolina baseball team scored four runs in the first inning and added five in the fourth in a 13-3 win over Queens in eight innings Wednesday night (Feb. 21) at Founders Park.

The Gamecocks had 12 hits on the night, three coming from freshman Ryan Bakes’ bat. Matthew Becker earned the win on the mound, striking out five and allowing two hits with a walk in a two-inning start.

Carolina opens a three-game series with Belmont starting Friday night (Feb. 23) at 4 p.m. at Founders Park. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.

🔼 Rebel With a Cause. As On3’s Peyton Butt writes, “As a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill, [Tyler] Causey saw his first year cut short by the Coronavirus after appearing in only 10 games. In the following season, Causey batted .250 with two home runs and six RBIs.

Just as things were looking up in Causey’s baseball career, an injury to his shoulder caused major setbacks. However, even after rehab, Causey missed the 2022-2023 season and hung up his cleats.

Monte Lee and the Gamecocks took a chance on Causey and recruited him from the transfer portal.

Opening weekend against Miami (Ohio), Causey had three hits and one RBI. Emphatically, just four games into the 2024 season, he hit his first homer as a Gamecock against Winthrop on Tuesday.”

🔼 News Off the Blocks. South Carolina swimming & diving completed the third day of action at the SEC Championships on Wednesday with numerous entries into the program record books. The team had a total of nine individuals qualify for finals appearances with four of them in the B-finals.

The SEC Championships will continue today with the women’s 1-meter, 400 IM, 100 fly, and 200 free. Swim prelims will begin at 10:30am ET, with diving prelims at 1:00pm ET. Finals will start at 6:30 p.m. ET. Live results and streaming link can be found here.

🔼 Making His Mark. University of South Carolina senior Dylan Targgart has been named SEC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Targgart and the Gamecocks open the 2024 SEC Indoor Championships tomorrow in Fayetteville, Ark. The annual conference meet will span two days, concluding on Saturday, with live coverage available on SEC Network+.

🔼 GG on the G League. From 247Sports on GG Jackson’s improvement in 2023-24: “From everything that happened my one year here at South Carolina, which again, I wish I could have done things better,” Jackson said. “Going into the draft, I was expecting a lot of G League play. I thought I was going to be in the G League for a majority, if not the whole year. I just try to take every game like it was an NBA game because ultimately, that's where I want to stay.”

🔼 Fashion Forward. South Carolina women’s soccer sophomore Dru Drake took a break from the pitch to check out the runway for New York Fashion Week. Through a partnership with CLC, the nation’s leading collegiate licensing company, and IMG, a global leader in sports, fashion, events, and media, 27 students from 18 universities around the country were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry.

“We went to the show, and there were so many influencers,” Drake said. “We spoke with a lot of the professionals there, and they talked to us about how they got to where they are now. It was cool to hear from people so high up in the industry. I would say that was my favorite part.”

🔼 Relaying Some Good News. The women’s 200 medley relay was the highlight of the night for South Carolina in Tuesday’s SEC Championships, with Bella Pantano, Annaliese Streeter, Nicholle Toh, and Dylan Scholes combining for a new school record of 1:37.35. The record was .07 faster than the previous record that was set by Pantano, Taylor Steele, Toh, and Janie Smith at the 2022 SEC Championships.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

“Alexa-What’s a Drubbing?” In women’s hoops’ last time out playing Kentucky, it was an absolute rout. How many points did the Gamecocks beat the Wildcats by?

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

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📬 A LOOK AHEAD

Tuesday 2/20 - Saturday 2/24

🏊 Swimming & Diving @ SEC Championships (Auburn, AL)

Thursday 2/22

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

Friday 2/23 - Saturday 2/24

🏃 Track & Field @ SEC Indoor Championship (Fayetteville, AR)

Friday 2/23

🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs FAU @ 11:00AM ET (Tampa, FL)

🥎 Softball vs. UMass @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🥎 Softball vs. James Madison @ 5:30pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

⚾ Baseball vs. Belmont @ 4:00pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

Saturday 2/24

🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs Arizona State @ 8:00am ET (Tampa, FL)

⚽ Men’s Soccer vs. High Point (Exhibition) @ 12:00pm ET

🐎 Equestrian vs. Georgia @ 1:00pm ET

⚾ Baseball vs. Belmont @ 2:00pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. Georgia State @ 2:00pm ET (Tampa, FL)

🥎 Softball vs. South Alabama @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🥎 Softball vs. UMass @ 5:30pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🏀 Men’s Basketball @ Ole Miss @ 3:30pm ET on SEC Network

Sunday 2/25

⚾ Baseball vs. Belmont @ 1:30pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Charlotte @ 2:00pm ET | Live Stats

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ Kentucky @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network

🥎 Softball vs. Charlotte @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network+ | Tickets

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Charleston Southern @ 6:00pm ET | Live Stats 

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: On Jan. 16 of this year, the Gamecocks WBB team by the Wildcats by 62 points!

🤙 Have a good Thursday, y’all