South Carolina adds transfer commitment from former second-team All-CAA guard
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
South Carolina played to yet another disappointing campaign in 2025-26, its third losing record in four seasons of the Lamont Paris era. The Gamecocks will hope their latest transfer addition — a native of the Palmetto State — can aid in their quest to return to respectability.
Shane Blakeney, who was a second-team All-CAA performer at Drexel in 2025-26, has committed to the Gamecocks. His agents relayed the news to DraftExpress’s Jon Chepkevich on Sunday afternoon.
Blakeney, from Rock Hill, S.C., was a member of Drexel’s 2023 recruiting class. After 22 games as a freshman, he emerged as a consistent bench option in 2024-25, averaging 7.5 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 24.6 minutes.
He broke out in 2025-26 as a junior, leading the Dragons in scoring with 14.2 points while starting all 33 of their games. He also posted 5.1 rebounds as he was named second-team All-CAA.
South Carolina was always going to be in for a busy offseason. Seven players entered the portal, including fourth-leading scorer Elijah Strong (10.0 ppg) and top bench option Eli Ellis (8.6 ppg in 26.7 minutes). Meanwhile, the Gamecocks’ top three scorers — Meechie Johnson (17.2 ppg), Mike Sharavjamts (10.9 ppg), and Kobe Knox (10.8 ppg) — have exhausted their eligibility.
Blakeney joins three other portal commitments for the Gamecocks: power forward Aleksas Bieliauskas (Wisconsin), small forward Camden Heide (Texas), and point guard Kory Mincy (George Mason).
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
