South Pointe to Columbia: Rock Hill power keeps producing future Gamecocks
South Pointe High School has been good to the South Carolina football program over the years.
The high school, located in Rock Hill and opened in 2005, has produced many future Gamecocks. That trend continued as two more Stallions players, J’Zavien Currence and Anthony Baxter, signed with South Carolina in December during the early signing period.
Currence and Baxter joined the storied list of South Pointe players to have suited up for the Gamecocks, including future NFL players Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore and Devonte Holloman. Clowney was a No. 1 draft pick by the Houston Texans in 2014 and Gilmore was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.
“It means a lot to uphold the legacy that South Pointe has at South Carolina,“ Currence said. “We want to put our name on the stadium hopefully and instill South Pointe as a top school in the nation.”
“Following the legacy of Jadeveon, Stephon and all the great guys here that went to South Carolina, I just want to be the next one up,” Baxter said.
USC coach Shane Beamer knows all about the importance and impact South Pointe has had within the Gamecocks’ program. Beamer witnessed it first hand when he was an assistant under Steve Spurrier more than a decade ago. He helped recruit Clowney, the No. 1-ranked high school player in the country at the time, to the Gamecocks in 2011.
“There have been some great ones, some of the best players to ever play here that came out of that high school. So many of them are in the Rock Hill area,” Beamer said Dec. 3 at his signing day news conference. “And for us, it always starts in the state of South Carolina. We want to keep the best players at home. And it just so happens that South Pointe’s got a couple of them this year, and they’ve got some guys that we’re recruiting in future years, too.”
Beamer hopes that Currence and Baxter can do some special things for the program. The two played their last high school football game Dec. 6 as South Pointe defeated South Florence, 35-14, in the Class 4A state championship game.
Both players have had big roles for the Stallions. Currence started at quarterback and defensive back was one of the five finalists for the state’s Mr. Football award. He was named the S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Currence has racked up 4,403 total yards and 44 TDs, including two in the state championship game, to go along with 85 tackles and four interceptions. He was recruited as a defensive back but said he is open to playing wherever the team needs him.
“I just bring energy, through my hard work and dedication and just make plays when the play comes,” Currence said.
Baxter, 6-4, 340 pounds, is one of two offensive linemen that the Gamecocks signed in the early period and a position of need for the program. He was the first pledge for USC for this year’s class when he committed in May 2024.
Baxter said he didn’t seriously entertain any offers from other schools and felt right at home from the beginning.
“It is just home,” Baxter said of South Carolina. “Every other school I went to didn’t feel like South Carolina. Coach Beamer is a great coach and I can’t wait to help them win a national title.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
