Trio of Gamecocks selected to preseason All-SEC squads, SEC preseason media poll released

2025 SEC Media Days are officially in the books after four jam-packed days in Atlanta. Rounding out the week, the SEC released its preseason media poll and All-SEC team selections on Friday.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers and EDGE Dylan Stewart were named to the All-SEC First Team. Defensive back Jalon Kilgore made the All-SEC Second Team.

The Gamecocks were selected to finish fifth overall in the conference’s preseason media poll. They also received five votes to win the SEC Championship.

Here’s how the entire poll shaped out.

SEC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
SEC Championship votes in ()

Texas (96) 3060
Georgia (44) 2957
Alabama (29) 2783
LSU (20) 2668
South Carolina (5) 2109
Florida (2) 1986
Ole Miss (1) 1979
Texas A&M 1892
Tennessee (1) 1700
Oklahoma (3) 1613
Auburn (1) 1272
Missouri 1170
Vanderbilt (2) 936
Arkansas 764
Kentucky 512
Mississippi State 343

Around this time last year, South Carolina, which had finished 5-7 in 2023, was picked by the media to finish 13th in the conference standings. However, the team surpassed those low expectations and went 9-4 (5-3 SEC), good for an eighth-place finish in the SEC.

“Last year, when we were at this event in Dallas, nobody thought we were worth a crap and weren’t saying very good things about us,” head coach Shane Beamer said at SEC Media Days. “We didn’t listen to it then. We don’t need to be listening to it right now as well.”

Even with higher expectations this year, Beamer’s message to his players is reminding them that the rankings and polls don’t matter. It’s the territory that comes with having a season like the one they had last year.

“There’s going to be high expectations for teams automatically every year,” Beamer said. “The ones that typically had a good season the year before and return their quarterback, there’s naturally going to be picked high. And we’re no different. We embrace those expectations, but it’s also understanding that right now, people are saying good things about us.”

South Carolina opens the 2025 season on Sunday, Aug. 31, against Virginia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

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