2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	13–19 (4–14 SEC)
Head coach	Lamont Paris (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Tanner Bronson; Eddie Shannon; Will Bailey; David McKinley;
Home arena	Colonial Life Arena

2025–26 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Florida	16	–	2	.889	27	–	8	.771
No. 18 Alabama	13	–	5	.722	25	–	9	.735
No. 14 Arkansas †	13	–	5	.722	28	–	8	.778
No. 16 Vanderbilt	11	–	7	.611	27	–	9	.750
No. 23т Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	24	–	11	.686
Texas A&M	11	–	7	.611	22	–	12	.647
Georgia	10	–	8	.556	22	–	11	.667
Missouri	10	–	8	.556	20	–	13	.606
Kentucky	10	–	8	.556	22	–	14	.611
Texas	9	–	9	.500	21	–	14	.600
Oklahoma	7	–	11	.389	19	–	15	.559
Auburn	7	–	11	.389	19	–	16	.543
Mississippi State	5	–	13	.278	13	–	19	.406
South Carolina	4	–	14	.222	13	–	19	.406
Ole Miss	4	–	14	.222	15	–	20	.429
LSU	3	–	15	.167	15	–	17	.469

† 2026 SEC tournament winner As of March 22, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Lamont Paris and played their home games at Colonial Life Arena located in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2024–25 season 12–20, 2–16 in SEC play, placing them last in the conference. They lost to Arkansas in the first round of the SEC tournament.

Roster

2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Jordan Butler	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	237 lb (108 kg)	Sr	Christ Church Missouri	Greenville, SC
F	2	Christ Essandoko	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	280 lb (127 kg)	Jr	Winston–Salem CA Providence	Clichy, France
G	4	Kobe Knox	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Tampa Catholic HS South Florida	Tampa, FL
G	5	Meechie Johnson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Sr	Garfield Heights HS Ohio State	Cleveland, OH
F	6	EJ Walker	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	253 lb (115 kg)	Fr	Lloyd Memorial HS	Florence, KY
G	7	Abu Yarmah	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Moravian Prep	Roanoke, VA
G	10	Myles Stute	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	221 lb (100 kg)		Gonzaga College HS Vanderbilt	Washington, DC
G	13	Grant Polk	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Fr	St. Albans	Gainesville, VA
G	14	Eli Sparkman	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr	Baylor School	Cleveland, TN
G	15	Eli Ellis	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Fr	Moravian Prep	Hickory, NC
F	20	Hayden Assemian	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Moravian Prep	Greenville, SC
G	23	Cam Scott	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	So	Lexington HS	Lexington, SC
F	24	Nordin Kapic	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	UC San Diego	Vienna, Austria
F	31	Elijah Strong	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Sr	Myers Park HS Boston College	Charlotte, NC
G	55	Mike Sharavjamts	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Int'l Sports Academy Utah	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Head coach

Lamont Paris (Wooster)

Assistant coach(es)

Tanner Bronson (Wisconsin)
Eddie Shannon (Florida)
Will Bailey (UAB)
David McKinley (Ohio)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 14, 2025

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		at NC State	L 86–88	–	23 – Ellis	5 – Tied	4 – Johnson	Lenovo Center (8,000) Raleigh, NC
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+		North Carolina A&T	W 91–72	1–0	14 – Johnson	5 – Tied	5 – Ellis	Colonial Life Arena (12,344) Columbia, SC
November 9, 2025* 6:30 p.m., SECN		Southern Miss	W 83–79	2–0	33 – Johnson	7 – Ellis	5 – Knox	Colonial Life Arena (11,420) Columbia, SC
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+		Presbyterian	W 81–61	3–0	13 – Sharavjamts	8 – Assemian	4 – Ellis	Colonial Life Arena (11,874) Columbia, SC
November 18, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+		Radford	W 87–58	4–0	15 – Strong	10 – Sharavjamts	5 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (11,623) Columbia, SC
November 21, 2025* 2:00 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Butler Greenbrier Tip-Off	L 72–79	4–1	24 – Johnson	6 – Sharavjamts	4 – Knox	The Greenbrier (1,209) White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 23, 2025* 5:00 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Northwestern Greenbrier Tip-Off	L 77–79	4–2	16 – Strong	8 – Sharavjamts	5 – Johnson	The Greenbrier (782) White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 28, 2025* 4:00 p.m., SECN+		Charleston Southern	W 74–62	5–2	22 – Strong	9 – Ellis	7 – Sharavjamts	Colonial Life Arena (9,789) Columbia, SC
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN		Virginia Tech ACC–SEC Challenge	L 83–86 ^OT	5–3	18 – Johnson	6 – Johnson	4 – Knox	Colonial Life Arena (11,420) Columbia, SC
December 6, 2025* 2:00 p.m., SECN+		Stetson	W 82–51	6–3	17 – Johnson	7 – Sharavjamts	4 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (9,055) Columbia, SC
December 13, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+		The Citadel	W 71–55	7–3	19 – Johnson	7 – Sharavjamts	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (10,199) Columbia, SC
December 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Clemson Palmetto Series	L 61–68	7–4	13 – Sharavjamts	7 – Sharavjamts	4 – Johnson	Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC
December 22, 2025* 4:00 p.m., SECN+		South Carolina State	W 95–70	8–4	15 – Tied	7 – Stute	5 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (10,171) Columbia, SC
December 30, 2025* 6:00 p.m., SECN		Albany	W 96–67	9–4	15 – Johnson	5 – Assemian	7 – Sharavjamts	Colonial Life Arena (9,501) Columbia, SC
SEC regular season
January 3, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPNU		No. 11 Vanderbilt	L 71–83	9–5 (0–1)	17 – Strong	6 – Stute	6 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (9,760) Columbia, SC
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at LSU	W 78–68	10–5 (1–1)	30 – Strong	7 – Sharavjamts	6 – Johnson	Pete Maravich Center (6,303) Baton Rouge, LA
January 10, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN2		No. 18 Georgia	L 70–75	10–6 (1–2)	18 – Sharavjamts	10 – Knox	5 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (11,091) Columbia, SC
January 14, 2026 9:00 p.m., SECN		at No. 17 Arkansas	L 74–108	10–7 (1–3)	29 – Johnson	6 – Sharavjamts	6 – Johnson	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 17, 2026 6:00 p.m., SECN		at Auburn	L 67–71	10–8 (1–4)	17 – Johnson	9 – Tied	6 – Johnson	Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 20, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		Oklahoma	W 85–76	11–8 (2–4)	20 – Johnson	7 – Knox	5 – Sharajamts	Colonial Life Arena (10,861) Columbia, SC
January 24, 2026 1:00 p.m., SECN+		at Texas A&M	L 69–92	11–9 (2–5)	26 – Johnson	5 – Tied	5 – Johnson	Reed Arena (10,357) College Station, TX
January 28, 2026 9:00 p.m., SECN		No. 19 Florida	L 48–95	11–10 (2–6)	13 – Ellis	6 – Walker	2 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (12,686) Columbia, SC
January 31, 2026 1:00 p.m., SECN		LSU	L 87–92 ^OT	11–11 (2–7)	21 – Johnson	6 – Sharavjamts	6 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (10,738) Columbia, SC
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Texas	L 75–84	11–12 (2–8)	35 – Johnson	7 – Knox	6 – Johnson	Moody Center (10,286) Austin, TX
February 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., SECN		Missouri	L 59–78	11–13 (2–9)	13 – Johnson	6 – Ellis	3 – Sharavjamts	Colonial Life Arena (10,505) Columbia, SC
February 14, 2026 8:30 p.m., SECN		at Alabama	L 75–89	11–14 (2–10)	26 – Johnson	8 – Sharavjamts	6 – Knox	Coleman Coliseum (13,474) Tuscaloosa, AL
February 17, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		at No. 12 Florida	L 62–76	11–15 (2–11)	22 – Johnson	6 – Sharavjamts	3 – Ellis	O'Connell Center (10,622) Gainesville, FL
February 21, 2026 1:00 p.m., SECN		Mississippi State	W 97–89	12–15 (3–11)	21 – Tied	5 – Tied	9 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (10,265) Columbia, SC
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		Kentucky	L 63–72	12–16 (3–12)	18 – Johnson	5 – Sharavjamts	6 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (11,318) Columbia, SC
February 28, 2026 3:30 p.m., SECN		at Georgia	L 68–87	12–17 (3–13)	20 – Johnson	7 – Sharavjamts	4 – Johnson	Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA
March 3, 2026 6:00 p.m., SECN		No. 23 Tennessee	L 59–78	12–18 (3–14)	20 – Johnson	4 – Tied	4 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (10,517) Columbia, SC
March 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., SECN		at Ole Miss	W 64–61	13–18 (4–14)	17 – Johnson	9 – Sharavjamts	7 – Ellis	SJB Pavilion (7,543) Oxford, MS
SEC Tournament
March 11, 2025 8:30 p.m., SECN	(14)	vs. (11) Oklahoma First round	L 74–86	13–19	20 – Knox	8 – Sharavjamts	5 – Knox	Bridgestone Arena (10,701) Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[1]

References

^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". South Carolina Gamecocks. WMT Digital. Retrieved November 14, 2025.

[1] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". South Carolina Gamecocks. WMT Digital. Retrieved November 14, 2025.

[1]

South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
Venues	College Hall (1908–1912) Carolina Gymnasium (1912–1927) Carolina Fieldhouse (1927–1968) Carolina Coliseum (1968–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)
Rivalries	Clemson
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Garnet Army 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics