3 USC players among most marketable in college basketball. Aliyah Boston ranks No. 1
Some of college basketball’s most recognizable stars reside in Columbia.
ESPN published a list of college basketball’s 25 most marketable players, and three Gamecocks — two from the women’s team and one from the men’s squad — received nods.
Aliyah Boston ranked first on the list, with her teammate Zia Cooke at 17th overall. For the men’s team, freshman phenom GG Jackson was No. 20.
ESPN’s list took into account on-court success and social media followings. It also accounted for the caliber of companies the athletes signed deals with as part of name, image and likeness partnerships.
Boston holds NIL deals with Bojangles, Under Armour, Crocs, Octagon and Bose, among others. She bolstered her on-court resume tremendously last season, winning the national championship, unamimous national Player of the Year honors, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Female Athlete of the Year, among other awards.
Cooke partnered with an initiative last year through H&R Block called “A Fair Shot,” which intended to provide support for women in college sports. She has deals with Dick’s Sporting Goods Bojangles. Cooke also released a song called “Winning” on the NFT platform Vault.
She made the All-SEC second team last season, averaging 10.2 points per game and helping the Gamecocks win their second national championship.
Jackson was the No. 1 men’s basketball recruit in the Class of 2023 before decommitting from North Carolina, reclassifying to the 2022 class and enrolling at USC this summer. Since making the switch, he’s signed a deal with the Carolina Rise NIL collective.
