COLUMBIA, S.C. (Jan. 21, 2025) – For the second consecutive week, a member of the South Carolina Track & Field team will be taking home some hardware. This time, freshman runner Josiah Wrice has earned the honor of the SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.

Wrice ran in his first collegiate 400m race at the Corky Classic this weekend and finished fourth overall with a time of 46.38. His 400m debut ranks sixth in the NCAA and sixth all-time in Gamecock Indoor Track & Field history. The freshman then opened the 4x400m for South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, aiding the Gamecocks in a fourth-place finish with a season-best time of 3:07.46. His opening 400m split of 46.29 helped South Carolina run the fifth fastest time in the country.

Wrice and the Gamecocks will be back in action at the Ted Nelson Invite this weekend in College Station, Texas. The two-day meet will begin on Friday afternoon.

Who was the South Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Week last week?

Each week, High School On SI scours the state of South Carolina and compiles the top performances from the previous week.

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Trinity Delly of Andrew Jackson.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Tuthill scored 19 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 5 steals as Ashley Ridge toppled No. 1 Summerville 52-48.

The Mississippi signee had another big week, averaging 26.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5 steals in three games.

The junior forward had a huge double-double of 20 points and 20 rebounds as the Crusaders beat Ben Lippen 51-36.

Shaw produced a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Blazers beat Midland Valley 49-32. The sophomore forward/center also had 12 points and 14 rebounds in a 53-46 loss to Atlantic Collegiate Academy.

The 6-foot sophomore scored 21 points and got 12 rebounds in a 53-46 win over Ridge View in the MLK Classic at Eau Claire.

Isaac scored 18 points, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, as the Diamond Hornets beat A.C. Flora 47-32.

Goodrich scored 12 points to go along with 10 assists and 5 rebounds as the Wildcats edged Dutch Fork 68-66.

Walker scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while getting 5 rebounds and 5 steals in a 64-12 rout of Brookland-Cayce.

Willis scored 22 points and had 6 rebound as the Eagles overwhelmed St. John’s 121-24. 

Powell scored 26 points, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, as the Blue Eagles rolled to a 64-30 win over Nation Ford.

Dawn Staley says a clause in her new contract means nothing about how long she’ll be at South Carolina.

Following Sunday’s win over Oklahoma, Staley addressed a section of her extension that she signed to end last week. The deal, which made her the highest-paid coach in the history of women’s basketball at approximately just over $25 million over five years, included a portion where she’d owe them nothing if she were to immediately leave for another job in the NBA or WNBA. When asked about it postgame yesterday, Staley had a little fun with the question.

“I don’t know. I might up and leave,” Staley joked.

In seriousness, Staley explained that everything within the contract, like that clause, was just part of the negotiation for both her and for South Carolina.

“Nah, I mean, you got to have something. It’s a give and take, you know,” said Staley. “Like, like, if, you know, there was – it was important for me to have a guaranteed contract. It’s important, you know. But, in having a guaranteed contract, you got to give them something, you know.”

Still, while she could leave Columbia at any time now because of it, Staley has no interest in doing so. She stated that she’d never leave their program for another college team. She also said, if she had wanted to go to the pros, she would have done so long before now.

“I will never leave here to go take another college job. It’s nothing. Like, I have the best of the best here,” Staley said. “And I really don’t have, um, any – like, I don’t have a passion for the next level. I don’t. I would’ve been gone. Like, seriously, like.”

Staley is in the middle of her 17th season with the Gamecocks with her having posted a winning percentage of .771, including a current record of 18-1. That resumé includes 630 total wins, sixteen conference titles, and a dozen straight berths in the NCAA Tournament with five appearances in the Final Four and three national titles.

With that, Staley is one of the best coaches, regardless of level and men’s or women’s, in basketball. She’ll keep coaching at South Carolina from here on, though, despite that wording in her extension.

“So, to have it in there was – it was just something fancy to have you ask me that question,” again laughed Staley.