ICYMI: SEC Announces Permanent Opponents For Gamecock Baseball

Beginning in 2025, South Carolina's baseball program will have two annual conference rivals, and those rivals were announced on Thursday.

The baseball program for the South Carolina Gamecocks is one of the most closely watched in the entire sport. There are a couple of reasons for this: the rich history and tradition, the future MLB talent on the roster, and most importantly, the games that they play every single year. Watching Carolina baseball is a treat for the Gamecock faithful themselves because they know they will see Top 25 matchups scattered throughout the schedule, whether it involves the Palmetto Series against Clemson or an SEC series against Vanderbilt, Florida, or Georgia.

Beginning in 2025, however, the schedule for South Carolina's baseball team will look vastly different due to the league possessing sixteen member institutions with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas. In the interest of having some continuity and traditional rivalries remain in place, the conference is moving toward a model where every team has two annual opponents, which were revealed on Thursday morning.

🚨SOURCES: The @SEC has decided on two permanent opponents for baseball beginning in 2025.

Alabama: Auburn, Tennessee
Arkansas: Ole Miss, Missouri
Auburn: Alabama, Georgia
Florida: Georgia, South Carolina
Georgia: Florida, Auburn
Kentucky: South Carolina, Vanderbilt
LSU:… pic.twitter.com/CUq3YZ993H

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) November 9, 2023

As you can see, the Gamecocks' annual SEC opponents beginning in 2025 will be the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats. South Carolina and Florida, when at their best, are two of the best teams in the conference and provide entertaining series' for all college baseball fans. While not possessing as rich of a history in baseball, Kentucky is a team that has been a constant thorn in the side of the Gamecocks for a long time, even in years where the matchup on paper looked lopsided.

Regarding the quality of the opponent, I would say Carolina got a decent draw, as Florida and Kentucky are typically on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the SEC standings at the end of any given season.

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