A few big picture items first. In 2021, the men's program underwent the first head coaching change in program history when former coach Mark Berson retired after 43 years at the helm. Ray Tanner turned the program over to Atlanta United Staffer Tony Annan. Berson had some stellar years in Columbia, his teams made the NCAA Tournament 22 times, cultivating with a national runner-up finish in 1993. The Gamecocks' last trip to the tournament was in 2016.

College soccer conference affiliation is strange and is not consistent with the other sports in which Carolina participates. The Gamecocks are entering their first season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Sun Belt Conference consists of Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Old Dominion, Kentucky, Marshall, West Virginia, and the Gamecocks. Carolina was tabbed to finish 4th in the league in the preseason polls behind West Virginia, Marshall, and Kentucky. From 2005 to 2021, USC was a member of Conference USA. Carolina's preseason RPI, which is pretty meaningless at this point, is currently #150.

In Tony Annan's first year on the pitch, Carolina finished 5-9-2. Annan and American Football Coach Shane Beamer face similar challenges. Clemson is the defending National Champion and they are ranked #1 in the preseason coming into this year. The Gamecock program began to slip toward the latter portion of Benson's run. Carolina has had only one winning season in the last five years, an 8-7-1 year in 2020.

The Gamecocks will feature 18 new faces this season while only returning 10 players from last year's squad. Of the 18 new players, five are transfers and 13 are incoming freshmen as Annan continues to remake the Carolina roster. The Gamecocks feature players from seven different countries.

Carolina returns three All-Conference USA performers from last season with a trio of Forwards, Peter Clement, Logan Frost, and Harrison Myring. Frost and Clement both scored four goals and had three assists last season. The duo posted 11 points respectively and are the leading returning scorers.

Tristan Himes is the only returning Goalie. Redshirt Junior Alex McDonald and Freshman Ben Alexander figure to challenge Himes for playing time. Alexander is a member of Canada's U-20 team and McDonald redshirted last season after transferring from Evansville.

Annan also brought in six new defenders to the program this offseason as Carolina allowed far too many goals last season. Two new faces that should see immediate playing time are transfers Will Crain and Jaiden Ramsey-Kelly. Crain started 17 matches for Brown University last season and will be playing his fifth season of college soccer. Ramsay-Kelly is an Oakland University transfer. He was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team in 2021.

The Gamecocks will play five teams currently ranked in the Top 25 with the ultimate measuring stick coming against #1 Clemson on September 2 in Columbia. The Tigers blanked the Gamecocks 5-0 last season. Other non-conference highlights include two season-opening matches in the Wolstein Classic in Columbus Ohio, against Ohio State and Dayton, and a match with Top 25 member Campbell, on September 17, also in Columbia.

Carolina will play eight conference matches, one against every league member. #14 Marshall and #8 Kentucky come to Columbia on October 8 and November 1 respectively. The Gamecocks travel to Morgantown, West Virginia on October 1 to face preseason conference favorite West Virginia. The Gamecocks travel to Conway on October 14 to face Coastal Carolina.

The outlook is a little rosier on the ladies' side of the pitch. Shelly Smith is entering her 22nd season in the Stone Stadium technical area. Carolina was ranked #12 in the preseason Top 25 poll and they were picked to finish 3rd in the SEC. Yes the SEC has women's soccer. Last season, the Gamecocks made it to the Elite 8 before falling to eventually national runner-up BYU. The Gamecocks have made the NCAA field in 14 of the last 15 seasons. They should almost certainly make that 15 of 16 this season.

The Ladies are already two games into their 18-game regular season. The results have been positive thus far. Carolina is 1-0-1 and has yet to be scored upon. Even more impressive is that they opened their season with a 0-0 tie against defending National Champion Florida State. The Seminoles are currently ranked #1 in the nation again this season. South Carolina then defeated East Carolina 2-0 for their first victory.

It all starts in goal with Senior Heather Hinz. Hinz started all 22 games for the Gamecocks last season and is off to a blazing start in 2022. Hinz has seven saves in two games with six coming against the top-ranked Seminoles in front of a packed house of 5,000 spectators. Her highlights against FSU are below. She looks like what Torrian Grey is looking for in his safeties, attacking the ball with no regard for her body.

Joining Hinz in the backfield is All-SEC Defender Jyllissa Harris. In addition to all-conference defensive play, she is also the second leading returning scorer for Carolina. Two other newcomers wasted no time making their mark, Freshman Dru Drake fed the ball to fellow Freshman Shae O’Rourke for the first goal of the season against ECU.

Returning players Corinna Zullo and Samantha Chang are also among the top 5 returning scorers for Smith's Gamecocks. The is a talented roster with a good mix of veterans and young future stars. The Gamecocks do not have one transfer player on their roster.

Carolina has already faced the highest-ranked team on their schedule in FSU. Their only other ranked opponent in the non-conference portion of the schedule is #25 Clemson. Despite being a more successful program, Carolina is currently on the wrong end of a 3-game losing streak to the Tigers. That match is on September 1 in Columbia. USC also plays Virginia Tech and NC State from the ACC.

The SEC is a strong league in women's soccer, but it is probably not as competitive as the league is in basketball or softball. Outside of the Gamecocks, Arkansas (8th), Tennessee (11th), and Ole Miss (18th) are the SEC's only other ranked schools. Carolina plays Arkansas at home and goes to Knoxville. The Gamecocks do not play Ole Miss. The Gamecocks open up SEC play on September 15 at Alabama.