The latest South Carolina Gamecocks news from the last week, starting with some updates from the world of football recruiting

The Gamecocks had a busy week of recruiting, especially over the weekend.

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer teased out four different commitments, but just one of those went public.

Blackville-Hilda High School standout Jaquel Holman, a big-time athlete who plays running back, defensive back, and linebacker, pledged his services to USC.

Earlier in the week, Damola Ajidahun announced his top-8 schools, and South Carolina was on the list. The 4-star offensive lineman is from the state of Georgia.

5-star in-state wide receiver Malik Clark has put USC in his top-5.

August 7th will be commitment day for 4-star safety Lagonza Hayward. Officially, he has 7 finalists (the Gamecocks are one), but Carolina has been named a “top-3” and “top-4” team by Hayward recently.

4-star offensive lineman Dontrell Glover will commit on July 1st. He set his decision date immediately following a visit to Columbia. The Gamecocks are a finalist.

Instead of sticking with his previously scheduled July decision date, 5-star EDGE Zayden Walker elected to commit early, and the Georgia native picked the Georgia Bulldogs.

Gamecock dual-sport athlete Nyck Harbor received a huge honor.

The wide receiver for South Carolina football and sprinter for South Carolina track and field was named a Second Team All-American in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints after his showing at the NCAA Championships.

A former Gamecock head coach is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

For the second year in a row, Jim Carlen (1975-1981) is up for induction into the CFBHOF. He also coached at West Virginia and Texas Tech.

Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team has finalized its 2024-2025 roster.

Former walk-on Austin Herro (rising redshirt freshman) is now on scholarship. The combo guard is the 13th and final scholarship player for the Gamecocks’ roster next season.

The Gamecocks also set their season opener.

After recently announcing a game in the non-conference schedule against North Florida, more details came out about the matchup, most notably that it would be the team’s season opener on November 4th.

Dawn Staley’s women’s team made some recruiting news.

The Gamecocks made the top list for 5-star prospect Jazzy Davidson in the class of 2025. Davidson released a top-5, and South Carolina basketball made the cut.

Future Gamecock Joyce Edwards won another big-time award.

The gem of the 2024 recruiting class was named MaxPreps High School Female Athlete of the Year.

After another disappointing year, Mark Kingston is out as the leader of Gamecock baseball.

Kingston was fired on Monday, and an extensive coaching search is underway. Some notable candidates include Monte Lee (assistant coach, South Carolina), Tom Walter (head coach, Wake Forest), Cliff Godwin (head coach, East Carolina), Chris Pollard (head coach, Duke), and Dan McDonnell (head coach, Louisville.

A long-time South Carolina baseball pledge is no longer part of the Gamecocks’ 2025 recruiting class.

In-state pitcher Teddy Garner decommitted over the weekend.

Despite being in the middle of a coaching search, the Gamecocks have landed some new commitments.

Class of 2025 pitcher Luke Roupe (a former Vanderbilt commit) is now committed to the South Carolina baseball program.

Transfer portal hurler Caleb Jones (Winthrop Eagles) also pledged to Carolina this week.

A handful of Gamecocks have left the program via the transfer portal.

Infielders Tristan Salinas, Carson Hornung, and Tyler Zedalis all intend to transfer from the Gamecocks. Salinas and Zedalis were freshmen, while Hornung has just one year of eligibility remaining.

After 14 seasons, South Carolina softball coach Bev Smith has been fired.

Smith had a woeful SEC record during her time in Columbia, and USC made it out of Regional play in the NCAA Tournament just once while she was head coach.

We are just 83 days away from Carolina football, and this will be a big year for the program. It’s crucial that the Gamecocks make it back to a bowl game this year after missing out on one last season. The Gamecocks will be looking to bounce back, having added a lot of talent from both the transfer portal and high school ranks this past offseason. As we get closer, I thought it would be fun to talk about the young talent that I expect to make some noise in 2024.

My Takes:

No.1 Mazeo Bennett

Mazeo, a former four-star recruit from South Carolina and former Tennessee commit, was a big deal coming out of South Carolina. It was a huge accomplishment when the Gamecocks flipped him, and the hype has only grown since. From my own visits to practice this offseason and the spring game, I was able to get a good look for myself and was very impressed each time with his playmaking abilities. From my conversations with coaches and current players, they all agree with me that he could have a very good freshman campaign. As of now, receiver is one of the biggest question marks on the team. There should be a very healthy rotation of different receivers this year, giving him an opportunity to put up some numbers in year one.

– Fisher Brewer

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No.2 Dylan Stewart

I’m sure this one is not a surprise to anyone. A former five-star prospect who was once ranked as the No.1 player in the country and ended as a top 10 player, Dylan doesn’t look like your typical freshman. I’ve seen him up close a couple of times now, and he stands out with his size and speed off the edge. He was very disruptive during the spring game, and I saw the same type of play in practice. I think the entire edge room is in good shape this year and should have a very healthy rotation that gets guys like Dylan and Des involved.

– Fisher Brewer

No.3 Josiah Thompson

Also, probably not a shocker, another former five-star and the No.1 OT in the country coming out of high school, who dethroned Jordan Seaton for that ranking with his performance at the All-American Bowl. Just two months after ON3 said Jordan might be one of the best OL prospects ever, Josiah took that No.1 spot with ease this past January, with multiple recruiting sites making him No.1 after his dominating performance. Like the others, after getting an up-close view, I think Josiah could make a jump into playing a lot in year one. Not sure if he is a day-one starter, but the Gamecocks have been known to sub in and out multiple different OL groups in a game, and I think Josiah has a chance to be in group 1-2 for this team. He was the starting LT for LaNorris Sellers in the spring game and looked the part of an All-American tackle.

– Fisher Brewer

The Gamecocks have a very bright future with this group of young talent. These are just my opinions and my takes for this upcoming season, but these three have an “it” factor to them that I’m personally looking forward to covering this upcoming season at Williams Brice.

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MUMBAI, India — The Indian leader Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister on Sunday for a rare third term after nearly two months of voting in the world’s largest democracy. But for the first time, Modi will lead a coalition after his party was humbled in its traditional stronghold of the Hindi-speaking belt of northern India.

Modi, 73, made history by being elected three consecutive times. The last person to do that was Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the founding fathers of modern India and its first prime minister.

But Modi’s vow that he’d win a supermajority, which would have allowed him to reshape the Indian state that Nehru created, was dashed.

The prime minister will lead a coalition government after voters defied the predictions of exit polls, India’s mainstream media, and the markets that Modi’s BJP party would win a supermajority of two-thirds of all parliamentary seats.

As tallying began on June 4, it quickly became clear that the BJP would not clear a simple majority of 272, although it won the largest number of seats. It won 240 seats, and with its allies, secured 293.

Modi’s coalition now relies on allies, including two kingmakers, to retain power: N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party in southern Andhra Pradesh state, and Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) in eastern Bihar state.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath at India’s presidential palace, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, in the capital New Delhi at twilight after a sweltering summer day. The audience included some of India’s biggest movie stars and its wealthiest businessmen, including India’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani.

The close mingling of business and power appeared to be one of the key reasons why fewer Indians cast their vote for Modi than in the past.

There was a widespread perception among voters that the prime minister had swelled the coffers of big business while ordinary Indians struggled with low wages, high unemployment and rising prices.

Analysts say there was also a swing against Modi’s BJP by Dalits, who form India’s most oppressed castes, particularly in the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

The results were also a cautious relief to many Muslims, who form India’s largest minority. They were often the target of hateful comments by the Hindu nationalist BJP. That includes Modi, who described them as “infiltrators” at a campaign rally.

“They’ve got breathing space, that’s what everyone is saying,” says author and activist Rana Ayyub. “But nobody’s expecting an overnight change in their fortunes.” 

Some analysts say this coalition government might be the best possible outcome for India: Modi, an experienced leader at the helm, but his most authoritarian tendencies curbed by his coalition. “Ultimately, the outcome is the best of both worlds in that it offers a degree of stability and continuity while the weakened mandate restrains the BJP’s ability to pursue its more divisive identity-driven agenda,” wrote Chietigj Bajpaee, a South Asia senior research fellow at Chatham House, a U.K.-based think tank.

Critics say Modi undermined India’s democracy with attacks by Hindu nationalists against minorities, and shrinking space for dissent and free media. He was widely perceived as using state institutions to shore up his power, from security agencies, law enforcement, and India’s election commission.

But restoring the health of India’s democracy — that might take longer. “For 10 years, India has followed a trajectory of de-democratisation,” wrote Christophe Jaffrelot, one of the world’s preeminent experts on Indian politics. “And, nobody can anticipate the techniques that Mr. Modi may resort to, to save his post,” he wrote.

Copyright 2024 NPR