South Carolina’s basketball programs are heading into the 2026-27 season with dramatically different expectations. While Dawn Staley’s powerhouse women’s team has been picked to capture another Southeastern Conference championship, Lamont Paris and the men’s squad have been projected to finish at the bottom of the league standings.
The SEC released its preseason media poll Monday, placing the Gamecock women at No. 1 after five consecutive regular-season conference championships. Meanwhile, the South Carolina men landed in 16th place, setting up another challenging campaign for a program desperate to climb the standings.
The contrast could hardly be sharper. One team enters the season chasing another piece of history, while the other faces mounting pressure to prove it can compete in one of college basketball’s toughest conferences.
South Carolina Women Chase Sixth Consecutive SEC Championship
For the Gamecock women, the preseason prediction reflects a program that has established itself as a dominant force in the SEC.
Staley’s team has captured the conference’s regular-season title in each of the past five seasons, and voters believe South Carolina has the talent and experience to extend that remarkable run.
The Gamecocks return much of the roster from a team that won last season’s SEC championship and advanced to its third consecutive national championship game. With established contributors and promising young talent, South Carolina appears well-positioned to remain among the nation’s elite programs.
A sixth straight SEC regular-season title would further strengthen the program’s legacy. South Carolina has won 10 conference regular-season championships across 13 seasons, and another would add to an already impressive record of sustained success.
The Gamecocks were also unanimously selected as the SEC’s preseason favorite in USA Today’s poll, reinforcing expectations that they will enter the season as one of the teams to beat nationally.
Joyce Edwards Leads South Carolina’s Preseason Honors
Forward Joyce Edwards headlines South Carolina’s representatives on the preseason All-SEC teams after earning first-team recognition.
Guard Tessa Johnson and forward Chloe Kitts also received preseason honors, giving the Gamecocks three players on the conference’s first and second teams.
Edwards received one vote for SEC Preseason Player of the Year, an indication of the respect she has earned entering the new campaign. However, Vanderbilt star Mikayla Blakes collected the most votes for the individual award.
Blakes enters the season with significant expectations after averaging more than 30 points per SEC game last year, making her one of the conference’s most dangerous offensive players.
The preseason All-SEC selections are:
First Team
- Madison Booker, Texas
- Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
- Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
- Clara Strack, Kentucky
- Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Second Team
- Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
- Talaysia Cooper, Ole Miss
- MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
- Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
- Chloe Kitts, South Carolina
The presence of former Gamecock players MiLaysia Fulwiley and Talaysia Cooper on the second team adds another storyline to the upcoming season. Both began their college careers at South Carolina before moving to other SEC programs.
SEC Women’s Basketball Preseason Rankings
South Carolina sits atop a competitive 16-team conference, with Texas and LSU expected to provide some of its biggest challenges.
The complete predicted order of finish is:
- South Carolina
- Texas
- LSU
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Mississippi State
- Alabama
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- Georgia
- Missouri
- Auburn
- Arkansas
Although preseason polls do not guarantee results, South Carolina’s experience and recent championship record explain why voters have placed the Gamecocks ahead of the field.
Attention will soon shift to the national rankings. The first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season is scheduled for release at noon on October 20, and South Carolina is expected to be a serious contender for the No. 1 position.
Staley, Edwards, Kitts and Jordan Lee will represent South Carolina at SEC Tipoff on Tuesday, offering an early opportunity to discuss the team’s expectations and preparations for another demanding season.
South Carolina Men Picked to Finish Last in SEC
While the women’s program celebrates another preseason endorsement, the men’s team faces a far less encouraging outlook.
South Carolina was selected to finish 16th in the SEC preseason media poll, placing the Gamecocks last among the conference’s 16 teams.
The prediction is disappointing but not entirely unexpected. South Carolina finished last or second-to-last in the standings over the previous two seasons, leaving the program with plenty to prove as it prepares for another year under head coach Lamont Paris.
Some observers expected the Gamecocks to be placed above LSU, which had yet to announce a complete, eligible roster when the preseason projections were released. Instead, South Carolina once again finds itself at the bottom of the conference predictions.
For Paris, the upcoming season carries considerable importance.
The coach enters his fifth season in charge after receiving a vote of confidence from athletic director Jeremiah Donati last year. That support followed two disappointing campaigns after South Carolina won 26 games during the 2023-24 season.
The roster has also undergone significant changes. Much like last season, the Gamecocks will need to bring together a largely new group of players and establish chemistry quickly if they hope to outperform expectations.
SEC Men’s Basketball Preseason Rankings
Florida leads the men’s preseason poll, with Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee rounding out the top four.
The complete predicted order of finish is:
- Florida
- Texas
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Texas A&M
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Mississippi State
- South Carolina
Florida forward Thomas Haugh was named SEC Preseason Player of the Year. He also headlines the first-team selections alongside teammate Rueben Chinyelu, Tennessee’s Juke Harris, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner.
South Carolina will be represented at SEC Tipoff by Paris and players Cam Heide, Kory Mincy and Jakub Necas.
The preseason poll leaves the Gamecocks with a clear challenge: prove that last season’s struggles do not define what comes next.
Two Programs, Two Very Different Challenges
South Carolina’s basketball programs begin the new season on opposite sides of the SEC’s preseason expectations.
Staley’s women are chasing a sixth consecutive regular-season championship and another deep run in the national tournament. Paris’ men, meanwhile, must overcome a last-place prediction and demonstrate that their rebuilt roster can deliver better results.
Preseason rankings are only projections, and the real answers will come when the teams take the court. Still, the expectations are unmistakable.
For fans tracking the South Carolina Gamecocks basketball SEC preseason rankings 2026-27, the women’s team has another championship target in sight, while the men’s program faces an important opportunity to silence its doubters.
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