By Sinderella
Opening Day is finally here! The 2025 Paul Mainieri-led South Carolina Gamecocks will open the season versus Sacred Heart as they try to navigate one of the hardest schedules in the country. As it is every year, South Carolina's schedule is extremely difficult, especially in conference play. After a disappointing end to last season that led to the firing of Mark Kingston and the hiring of Paul Mainieri, the 2025 Gamecocks bring back only 14 players on a team that looks much different than what we saw last season. This is a big season, as it is year one for a rejuvenated Mainieri. So let's take a quick look at what the Gamecocks will have to go through this season.
The out-of-conference schedule is a very manageable one outside of the Big Five tough games. It is a schedule from which South Carolina should come out with a good record to potentially take the beating that will be the SEC schedule. Here are last season's records for the out-of-conference teams that the Gamecocks will play:
Sacred Heart: 35-23
Winthrop: 19-29-1
Queens: 14-41
Milwaukee: 19-36
Gardner Webb: 22-31
Clemson: 44-16
Davidson: 24-28
Citadel: 21-32
Morehead State: 37-24
Georgia State: 25-32
College of Charleston: 41-14
North Carolina: 48-16
Presbyterian: 29-27
USC Upstate: 36-24
North Florida: 21-30-1
Charleston Southern: 22-32
This is a favorable schedule outside of the games versus Clemson, North Carolina, and College of Charleston. South Carolina can win those games/series, but if they can make it out of that with a 3-2 record that would be big going forward for the year. Obviously there is always a game teams should not lose that they do end up losing, so with that said my official out of conference record is 21-5.
The SEC schedule for South Carolina is easily the hardest schedule for any SEC team which in turn makes it the hardest conference schedule in the country. They will play the current #1, #3, #4, #5, #10, and #18 teams in the country, and that's just in the SEC. There are a few other teams that are not ranked by D1, but are ranked by other publications like Oklahoma and Kentucky. This will be a gauntlet and we will see how good South Carolina truly is. South Carolina has to take advantage of the series they have a good chance to win and not squander them versus teams like Auburn, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. My official SEC schedule prediction is 14-16.
Oklahoma: 40-21
@ Arkansas: 44-16
Tennessee: 60-13
@ Mississippi State: 40-23
@ Texas A&M: 53-15
Ole Miss: 27-29
@ Kentucky: 46-16
Florida: 36-30
@ Auburn: 27-26
LSU: 43-23
Last year I was very bullish on the Gamecocks, as many were. I predicted a 40-15 regular season record and making it to Omaha. Unfortunately, we know it did not go that way, and they would go 33-21 with an exit in regional play. This year I have them going 35-21. I believe they make the NCAA tournament as a low 2 or high 3 seed in regional play, and that is where it ends. I do not think they make a Super Regional or Omaha. They have the talent to do it, though. If some pitchers take that next step, and the offense and defense is consistent, then anything can happen, but regional play is where I think it ends.
No matter what, with so many new faces plus having one of the hardest schedules in the country this will be a very interesting year for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
All pictures courtesy of University of South Carolina Athletics
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