South Carolina, UCLA, Duke and Texas will play in a round-robin tournament in Las Vegas next year during Thanksgiving week.

The Players Era Women’s Championship will allow the opportunity for athletes on each team to engage in at least $1 million of NIL activities with the title group and sponsors.

“Players Era is creating the first-ever tentpole women’s college basketball MTE with an unbelievably loaded field and fascinating storylines, early season matchups that are sure to set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Players ERA CEO Seth Berger. “Our women’s championship includes the same level of guaranteed NIL opportunities for the players as the men’s championship.”

The event will coincide with the men’s Players Era Festival that debuted at MGM Grand Garden Arena last month. Oregon won the men’s championship by topping Alabama 83-81.

Each of the women’s teams will play the other three teams. South Carolina faced Duke and UCLA already this season and will play Texas in-conference as the Longhorns moved to the SEC this year.

“We’re excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to play in the Players Era Women’s Championship,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “This innovative event brings together everything we’re looking for – quality games early in the season, a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and NIL opportunities for our players.”

The four teams are currently in the top 10 of the poll, with UCLA and South Carolina 1-2. Texas is sixth and Duke is ninth. The Bruins topped the Gamecocks in November to end the defending champions’ 43-game winning streak.

“As a program striving to consistently compete at a championship level, it’s essential to measure ourselves against the best,” said UCLA coach Cori Close. “We’re excited for a rematch with South Carolina and the opportunity to compete against other exceptional programs at the Player’s Era Women’s Championship. This will be the premier out of conference tournament with a national audience to boot. It is a great honor to be included in this elite event.“

Justice Haynes, the No. 1 running back in the transfer portal, has rescheduled his visit to South Carolina for Thursday, December 19, per multiple reports. Originally planned for today and tomorrow, the former Alabama standout will now head to Columbia later this week.

Haynes, a five-star recruit in the 2023 class, remains one of the most sought-after players in the portal. South Carolina continues to be in the mix for the talented back as programs across the country look to secure his commitment.

Stay tuned to Gamecock Digest for further updates on Haynes’ recruitment.

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On Sunday, seven former South Carolina football stars faced off in one NFL contest between the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. For Carolina, defensive back Jaycee Horn, EDGE players Jadeveon Clowney and DJ Wonnum, and wide receiver Xavier Legette represented the Gamecocks. For Dallas, it was running back Rico Dowdle, wide receiver Jalen Brooks, and defensive back Israel Mukuamu.

The game wasn’t particularly close (the Cowboys won 30-14), but the former Gamecocks stood out all day.

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For the winning Cowboys, Dowdle continued his strong play. For the third straight game, he ran for 100 yards and set a new career-high yardage total. This time, he went off for 149 yards on 25 carries. No other player in the game had more than 32 rushing yards.

Jalen Brooks had just one catch on the day, but it was a big one. For the first time in his NFL career, Brooks found the end zone. In the 3rd quarter, quarterback Cooper Rush found the former USC pass-catcher in the back of the end zone for a diving catch.

On the other side of the ball, Mukuamu had a pair of tackles. However, he also picked off a Bryce Young pass just in front of the end zone. The turnover came in the 4th quarter and sealed the victory for his Cowboys.

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In defeat, Horn was good for the Panthers. He was an obvious focus for the Cowboys’ offense as they intentionally motioned away from him and threw to the opposite side of the field a lot. Because of that, he didn’t have a huge statistical output in the box score. Even so, for the game, he knocked away one pass and picked up a sack in the 1st quarter.

Clowney and Wonnum showed some flashes for the Carolina defense. The two veteran defensive ends combined for six tackles and knocked down three passes. Clowney also made the hustle play of the game by chasing down Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb on a big gain.

1st round pick Xavier Legette is playing injured (wrist) and was limited to just two touches for nine total yards.