The South Carolina men's basketball team used the transfer portal this offseason after losing seven players to the portal in the 2024-25 season. The Gamecocks came out with transfers that have experience from all around the conferences and countries to complete their roster fully.
The Gamecocks have six new upperclassman transfers, as well as five new freshmen on the roster and four returning players from last year's team.
One of those transfers is junior forward Elijah Strong, who committed through the portal on April 13, after spending two seasons at Boston College. Strong had his career best last season, scoring 259 points with a 45.2 field goal percentage. When discussing what has stood out in the offseason, Strong pointed out his confidence and experience in the backcourt.
“Our guard play has been really exceptional this offseason, and that is really what gets you across the hump,” Strong said. “We have multiple guys who can control that ship for us and have multiple guys who are willing to take care of the ball (and) willing to move the ball.”
One of these guards is 6'9 senior Mike Sharavjamts. Sharavjamts transferred to South Carolina on April 21, from the Utah Utes. Sharavjamts has also played for the San Francisco Dons and the Dayton Flyers. Joining the Gamecocks, this marks Sharavjamt's fourth school in three years. Sharavjamts is also the first Mongolian citizen to earn a Division l scholarship for basketball.
In his collegiate career, Sharavjamts has scored 680 total points, averaging 6.9 points through his 99 games played. South Carolina men’s basketball head coach Lamont Paris spoke in the June 23 press conference about how Sharavjamts fits in the team with his experience through his game.
“Mike’s feel for the game stands out amongst guys that have a good feel for the game. He is a really skilled guy,” Paris said. “He sees the game through a very reliable lens, and that lens happens to be a similar lens that I see the game through too, which is why he's even a better fit for us.”
Another transfer player with lots of experience is redshirt junior forward Christ Essandoko. Standing at 7'0, Essandoko is now at his third collegiate team of his career. He spent his first year with the St. Joseph's Hawks, where he played in the A-10 conference and averaged 8.2 points in his 25 games. After transferring to the Providence Friars, where he spent a season in the Big East conference, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22 games.
Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson is a familiar face to the Gamecocks, as he played for South Carolina in his sophomore and junior year. He played at Ohio State his freshman year and later returned back to Ohio State in 2024 for his senior year.
Johnson took an indefinite leave of absence in Dec. 2024 and entered the transfer portal on Mar. 28, 2025, where he announced his return to Columbia on April 1. In 2024, he earned Second Team All SEC and was a Lute Olson National Player of the Year Finalist.
Through his three years at Ohio State and two with South Carolina, he scored 1,072 points with 265 assists in his 116 games played, averaging 9.2 points. At an Oct. 2 media availability, he said he has stepped into a leadership role with his return.
“I definitely have been able to be the leader that Coach Paris has wanted me to be. I'm just standing on guys, standing on myself, trying to be as consistent as I can for this program for us to be where we need to be this year,” Johnson said.
Johnson also talked about the similarities he sees from the 2023 season compared to this team now.
“Just from the way we move the ball, guard, talk to each other and hold each other accountable, that team won the most games in school history,” Johnson said.
Redshirt senior guard Myles Stute joins Johnson as the only players left from the 2023-24 starting rotation. Stute’s first year with the Gamecocks was in 2023, as he transferred in from Vanderbilt. Coming into this season, Stute has 972 total points, including 236 three-pointers made.
Stute was injured after the 2025 SEC season opener and was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a blood clot in his leg. At an Oct. 2 media availability, he said he learned a lot about himself as a player during his time sidelined.
“I learned so much about the game of basketball last season because it really allowed me to take a step back and see things from a different perspective," Stute said.
Redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox is now in his fourth college basketball season, playing for the Grand Canyon Antelopes and South Florida Bulls. Knox averages 45.2% of his field goals along with 780 career points.
As a transfer from the UC San Diego Tritons, senior forward Nordin Kapic is able to bring a different background from playing in an NCAA tournament. Kapic helped take the Tritons to the opening round of the 2025 NCAA tournament, after winning the Big West Conference Tournament. Although losing in the opening round, Kapic scored 15 points and eight rebounds, adding to 364 total points in a single season. Before the Tritons, Kapic spent two years at a Division ll school in Florida.
Carey Rich, special assistant to the head coach, also spoke at the Oct. 2 media availability about the upgrade at the perimeter position this year.
“We are older at the perimeter position, and if you look across the landscape of SEC basketball, the teams that were successful had older back courts,” Rich said. “We become one of those teams this year.”
Although South Carolina carries an older group of players, Rich also discussed having a good mix of older players and the five incoming freshmen.
“I think it’s a great mixture because there won’t be a sole reliance on freshmen to carry the load. The older guys kind of serve as the ultimate safety net,” Rich said. “But again, they are not typical freshmen when it comes to being ready to play.”
What's next?
South Carolina opens the season in Colonial Life Arena against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m., and it will be streamed on SEC Network plus.