Shane Beamer previews South Carolina’s 2026 transfer portal plans
Shane Beamer called his shot on Tuesday.
No one asked him for a prediction, but he made one anyway — in turn, adding loftier expectations to South Carolina’s 2026 season.
Beamer remarked that a year ago at this time, the Gamecocks were 7-3, preparing for a penultimate game against Wofford and waiting for the College Football Playoff selection show to see how far they moved up.
And then Tuesday, like he was Babe Ruth lifting his bat to the sky, Beamer staked his claim.
“We’re going to be sitting here next year on this Tuesday night watching the playoff rankings to see where we are in the ranking show,” Beamer said. “And we’re going to be firmly in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth next year at this time.”
Beyond the sheer boldness of uttering that statement amid a 3-7 season and just days after USC blew a 27-point lead to Texas A&M, things need to drastically change this offseason in order for anyone to seriously say “South Carolina” and “College Football Playoff” in the same sentence.
Beamer needs to nail his offensive coordinator hire. USC needs to hold on to — if not, add to — its 2026 recruiting class.
The Gamecocks need to retain its top talent, notably edge Dylan Stewart and quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Certainly, a good number of Gamecocks are going to move on — and that’s OK. It’s healthy for college football players to transfer in hopes of playing more often. But when starters begin leaving, that’s cause for concern.
And then: Beamer and his staff need to attack the transfer portal like it did two years ago. Remember that? The Gamecocks, coming off a 5-7 season, added RB Rocket Sanders, edge Kyle Kennard, LB Demetrius Knight, OL Torricelli Simpkins from the portal and won nine games.
But remember: Beamer doesn’t think this current South Carolina team is far away from winning games.
“I get it, no one wants to hear it, I don’t care — we’re not far away,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve had a chance to win literally every game this season, and we haven’t gotten it done.”
Beamer said he was recently speaking with a defensive starter about next season and the player noted, “We don’t need a lot in regards to the portal.”
Beamer agreed.
“It’s not like we need to go outside [and get] 40 portal guys and flip this roster,” he said Tuesday. “We don’t. That game on Saturday, we were about two or three plays away from winning and we’ve got the people in our program to do it.”
What Beamer wants from the portal is a handful of “difference-makers” who can strengthen what he believes is an already solid roster.
Now, that doesn’t mean the Gamecocks are only going to sign a handful of players from the transfer portal. No, this is an odds game. To an extent: The more players you bring in, the better the odds you have at finding a handful of difference-makers.
This past offseason, the Gamecocks brought in 18 guys from the portal. The year before, South Carolina added 23 transfers. It seems reasonable to expect the 2026 crop of USC portal additions will be somewhere in that range.
The most important part is hitting on, at least, a few stars.
In 2024, Beamer proved it’s possible. In 2025, he proved that it really isn’t that easy. And now comes 2026, which could determine his own future.
“We got off course a little bit with some different things this year,” Beamer said, “and it’s my job as the head coach to get us back on course, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
