The Monthly Catch: March Edition

Diving deep into all of the recruiting developments that have taken place in the last month for South Carolina men's basketball and South Carolina football.

Welcome back to the Monthly Catch. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these articles, and it’s actually been a while, in general, since I have written on Gamecock Digest. I took almost a month-long break from writing and decided the best way to come back is to give readers what they want: a huge article covering the basics of Gamecock recruiting and the return of some #FishBombs, my little spin on predictions. So let’s jump straight into it.

Gamecock Basketball Recruiting

The Gamecocks have been doing great in basketball lately, currently ranked as the No. 18 team in the country, and just recently tying the school record for the most wins in a season. With this on-court success, the Gamecocks have seen subsequent success in basketball recruiting with two four-star commits in the 2025 class: PF Hayden Assemian and PG Eli Ellis, who has had two 50-point games this year and just won the MVP of the Overtime Elite League, becoming the league's all-time leading scorer in the process, passing former record-holder and NBA Rookie Ausar Thompson.

As the Gamecocks continue to build up their basketball base, I took to X a few weeks ago, telling fans I would break down a few names that they should know as time goes on. At the top of the list is five-star forward Jamier Jones from Orlando, FL.

SF Jamier Jones:

The Gamecocks are a huge player here and will receive an OV from Jamier as SC is one of 3 teams deeply in the mix at the moment. Providence is one of the main competitors.

Four-star PF Sadiq White Jr. 

From Myers Park in Charlotte, NC, the Gamecocks have been after White for a long time. The former 5-star has said that Carolina has been recruiting him pretty hard, along with schools like Syracuse and North Carolina State, all of whom are sticking out to him the most at this time.

2025 four-star PF and Gamecock commit Hayden Assemian (left) on an unofficial visit with 2025 four-star PF Sadiq White Jr. (right) at the South Carolina - Florida football game. (14th Oct., 2023) / Fisher Brewer

Five-star PF AJ Dybantsa 

Ranked as the No. 1 player in the country in the 2025 cycle, the Gamecocks have put their names in the pot for A.J., as he’s really good friends with Eli Ellis, although it seems like Kentucky and Auburn have been the teams up front for him. A.J. has been listening to Eli and has seen the success South Carolina has had on the court and has seemed open into checking out South Carolina who is one of his more recent offers.

Four-star SG Jaylen Cross

A top 60 player from Greensboro, NC, Cross has visited the Gamecocks before and left with a good feeling. Jaylen is excited to take an OV with South Carolina when it’s time.

Four-star PF EJ Walker

A top 150 player out of Kentucky who just this week cut his list down to his top 6, which the Gamecocks have made, Walker is a guy who might go down as a underrated pickup for whoever lands him. EJ is a guy Carolina likes a lot, but he's more of a backup option for guys like White.

Gamecock Football Recruiting

The class of 2025 took a very slow start and still sits with just one commit in WR Jayden Sellers, who posted yesterday that he was re-offered by new WR coach Mike Furrey and that he was locked into his commitment to play for Shane Beamer and with his older brother LaNorris Sellers next year. Although the Gamecocks only have one commit, they have started to pick up a pulse in recruiting, trending for recruits such as four stars in QB Ryan Montgomery, OL Jaylen Gilchrist, CB Shamari Earls, DB Damarcus Leach, and WR Malik Clark.

The Gamecocks also just made the top 6 for the No. 2 player in the country in OT David Sanders Jr. from Charlotte, NC.

They also have multiple OV’s set up with top prospects such as:

5-star LB Zayden Walker 

4-star EDGE Jared Smith 

4-star LB Tavion Wallace 

4-star CB Jontae Gilbert 

4-star LB Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng

4-star S JaDon Blair 

4-star EDGE Anthony Addison 

4-star OL Juan Gaston 

4-star OL Cortez Smith 

4-star CB Shamari Earls 

4-star DL Caleb Williams 

4-star WR Malik Clark 

4-star WR Brian Rowe 

3-star WR Jayden Sellers 

3-star LB Justin Rowe 

3-star EDGE Taeshawn Alston 

NR DB Christopher Hatfield

A very impressive list as the Gamecocks still have a few months to go before it’s time for these visits to take place. To add onto these visits, players that we, at this time, expect to take OV’s to South Carolina are Elijah Griffin, David Sanders, and Ryan Montgomery just to name a few.

Fish Bombs      

Y'all have been asking me if I had anything to drop lately and after this new pulse of recruiting and talking to these players and people around them, I have a few to drop with a confidence rating.

*Player | Confidence Level (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest)*

CB Shamari Earls | 8

The Gamecocks look to continue that DMV to USC pipeline as the Gamecocks stand as the early favorite for Shamari. The Gamecocks have their eyes set on getting a CB duo of Shamari Earls and Jontae Gilbert who is starting to currently trend back towards the Gamecocks from Clemson as well.

WR Malik Clark | 7

Clark might be the best player in Carolina for the class of 2025 and has built a strong relationship with coach Beamer. With the uptick in offers, the Gamecocks were the first big school to offer and have him as a top priority, which will make it hard for him to say no to the in-state school.

QB Ryan Montgomery | 7

It’s been a battle between the Gamecocks and Florida for a long time, but the feeling is that Carolina is starting to pull away with this one.

EDGE Anthony Addison | 8

The Gamecocks are one of the only teams to get an OV set up with Addison who’s from SC and will be a player the staff won’t let leave the state easily.

OL Jaylen Gilchrist | 9

The Gamecocks have been one of Jaylen's top teams for a long time, and all signs are pointing towards the Gamecocks winning out versus teams like Penn State and Virginia Tech.

LB Zayden Walker | 5

Everything is pointing towards the Gamecocks being the team to beat right now, which makes sense with his relationship with the staff and his older brother, 2024 four-star CB Jalewis Solomon, being on the team. South Carolina is the first school to get an OV set up with him, but the Gamecocks will still be battling teams like Georgia to land Walker by the end of the cycle.

You Might Also Like:

• 2025 Gamecock MBB Commit Eli Ellis Named MVP Of Overtime Elite League
• In-State Wideout & 2026 Prospect To Visit South Carolina This Spring
• INTEL: 2026 Landon Duckworth Talks Upcoming Visit To South Carolina

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