COLUMBIA, S.C. – Special Olympics South Carolina celebrated its 2026 USA Games team Saturday in Columbia, honoring the 124-member delegation set to represent the Palmetto State in Minneapolis.

The event at the South Carolina football team’s indoor practice facility brought together athletes, families and supporters as Team South Carolina prepares for the national games.

The celebration served as the team’s final gathering before departure, providing athletes and families with information ahead of the trip. Attendees saw the official team uniform unveiling and met delegation members.

Special Olympics South Carolina President Barry Coats said the athletes have been working and training toward this goal for years as they prepare to compete in Minneapolis.

“Everybody loves a nice-looking uniform, and our staff put some nice stuff together, but they’re there to compete,” Coats said. “They’re true athletes. They’ve been working on this for years. They’re excited. They’re ready to get there and compete.”

The delegation is made up of athletes, Unified partners, coaches, and staff who will travel to Minnesota to compete and represent South Carolina on the national stage.

Team South Carolina will compete in 13 sports: track and field, basketball, bocce, bowling, cheerleading, flag football, golf, gymnastics, pickleball, powerlifting, softball, swimming, and tennis.

The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will take place June 20-26. Team South Carolina departs June 19 from Columbia Metropolitan Airport and returns to Columbia on June 27.

At least 19 people were injured when a stampede broke out at a South Carolina beach early Sunday morning, according to officials.

Horry County Fire Rescue officials said a “reported stampede incident” took place just after 1 a.m. near the stage area in Atlantic Beach in South Carolina, 13 miles north of Myrtle Beach.

Nineteen people were evaluated for injuries, which were deemed non-life-threatening. Three others were transported to local hospitals.

Officials haven’t ruled out the possibility of additional victims who weren’t checked by first responders.

A reason behind the suspected stampede was not revealed.

Atlantic Beach is currently hosting the annual Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival with live music, meet-and-greets, parties and entertainment running between Friday and Monday.

It was not revealed if the stampede victims were associated with the bike fest.

The annual motorcycle rally attracts hundreds of thousands of revelers to the area each year, according to the town’s website.

“Black Bike Week is recently reported to draw crowds in excess of 400,000 people to the area though it is hard to distinguish them from the crowd of spring breakers who have been in Myrtle Beach during the same time.

South Carolina softball’s season came to an end last weekend when the Gamecocks fell to UCLA twice in the Los Angeles Regional, and the push towards 2027 has already begun.

Ashley Chastain Woodard and her staff were holding exit meetings this week, and as of Saturday afternoon, three players have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal.

Junior pitcher Nealy Lamb, freshman pitcher KG Favors, and freshman outfielder Dakota Potter all announced on X/Twitter this week that they’d be entering the transfer portal.

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A former standout and Big South Player of the Year at Charleston Southern before transferring to South Carolina, Lamb has spent the last two seasons in the Garnet and Black.

The 5-foot-11 right-hander appeared in 63 games with the Gamecocks, pitching to a 3.26 ERA last season and a 4.37 ERA this year. Lamb was primarily used as South Carolina’s third option in the circle, behind Sam Gress and Jori Heard in 2025 and behind Heard and Emma Friedel in 2026.

Lamb has one year of eligibility remaining.

Favors and Potter were both in their first year with the program and played sparingly as true freshmen. Each has three years of eligibility remaining, with potentially four if the NCAA’s age-based eligibility reform passes.

The No. 18 overall prospect in her class according to Perfect Game, Favors made 13 appearances this season with a 4.12 ERA.

Potter, ranked the No. 56 overall prospect in her class by Softball America, appeared in 13 games and scored six runs, serving as a pinch runner, but did not register any at-bats.