Ahead of SEC Media Days, where South Carolina ranked in previous preseason polls

SEC Media Days are this week. With that, Shane Beamer, LaNorris Sellers, Nyck Harbor, and Peyton Williams will be in Tampa, Florida to preview the 2026 season for South Carolina. (You can read here GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri’s breakdown of what will most likely be asked of the Gamecocks on Tuesday.) In Tampa, the media will also conduct its preseason voting. Award lists, all-conference teams, and projected order of finish (predicted standings) will all come out in the coming days. Other preseason voting this summer has been varied on Gamecock opinions. Some outlets have listed South Carolina as high as sixth in the SEC, while others have dropped USC down to 12th. Players like LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart, Nyck Harbor, Jacarrius Peak, and Vicari Swain have made most preseason All-SEC predictions. Other players like Brady Hunt, Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, Fred “JayR” Johnson, Justin Okoronkwo, Peyton Williams, Judge Collier, and Mason Love have popped up, too. The SEC media will get its preseason opportunity to vote on the record this week. But how has recent SEC Media Days voting treated the Gamecocks? And how accurate were those prognostications? Questions about this story? Kevin Miller is discussing it with subscribers on The Insiders Forum. Below are the SEC Media Days preseason voting results during the Shane Beamer era. Following each year’s prediction will be the end-of-season results and AP All-SEC team. 2025 Predicted5th in SEC (five first-place votes)QB LaNorris Sellers (first team), DL Dylan Stewart (first team), DB Jalon Kilgore (second team) ResultsTied-for-13th in SECDL Dylan Stewart (second team), DB Jalon Kilgore (second team), AP/Returner Vicari Swain (third team) 2024 Predicted 13th in SEC (one first-place vote)RB Rocket Sanders (second team), LB Debo Williams (second team), DL Tonka Hemingway (third team), DB Nick Emmanwori (third team), LS Hunter Rogers (second team) ResultsTied-for-4th in SECDL Kyle Kennard (first team), DB Nick Emmanwori (first team), RB Rocket Sanders (second team), DL TJ Sanders (second team)Shane Beamer (Coach of the Year), Kyle Kennard (Defensive Player of the Year) 2023 Predicted 3rd in SEC East (three first-place votes; one first-place SEC Champion vote)P Kai Kroeger (first team), KO Mitch Jeter (first team), WR Juice Wells (second team), TE Trey Knox (third team), DL Tonka Hemingway (third team), K Mitch Jeter (third team), AP Dakereon Joyner ResultsTied-for-5th in SEC East, tied-for-8th in SECWR Xavier Legette (second team), TE Trey Knox (second team), LB Debo Williams (second team) 2022Predicted 5th in SEC East (three first-place votes; three first-place SEC Champion votes)DL Zacch Pickens (second team), DB Cam Smith (second team), WR Josh Vann (third team), TE Jaheim Bell (third team) Results3rd in SEC East, tied-for-5th in SECP Kai Kroeger (first team), WR Juice Wells (second team) 2021Predicted 6th in SEC East (one first-place vote; one first-place SEC Champion vote)DL Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare (first team), RB Kevin Harris (second team), TE Nick Muse (third team) ResultsTied-for-4th in SEC East, tied-for-9th in SECDB Jaylan Foster (first team), DB Cam Smith (second team)