South Carolina Adds Oklahoma State to 2026-27 Schedule in First-Ever Matchup

South Carolina’s 2026-27 women’s basketball schedule continues to take shape, and the Gamecocks now have another intriguing non-conference opponent on the calendar.

Oklahoma State announced Friday that it will travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 6. The matchup will be the first meeting between the two programs in women’s basketball. The schools are also scheduled to renew the series during the 2027-28 season, with that contest set to be played at a neutral location in Oklahoma that has yet to be determined.

The matchup should provide South Carolina with another meaningful early-season test. Oklahoma State is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 and made significant moves during the offseason, bringing in several prominent transfers to strengthen its roster.

There will also be some familiar connections when the Cowgirls arrive in Columbia. Post player Audi Crooks previously played at Iowa State, where she faced South Carolina in a 2024 neutral-site contest in Fort Myers, Florida. The Gamecocks won that meeting convincingly, 76-36.

Oklahoma State point guard Liv McGill also has previous experience against South Carolina. McGill began her college career at Florida and faced the Gamecocks twice during her time with the Gators, losing both contests.

South Carolina’s Non-Conference Slate Is Taking Shape

The Oklahoma State announcement gives South Carolina another confirmed date on what is already developing into a demanding non-conference schedule.

The Gamecocks currently have seven announced opponents and dates:

• Nov. 2: Maryland in Paris
• Nov. 8: North Carolina in Charlotte — Ally Tipoff
• Nov. 15: Southern Cal in Greenville, South Carolina
• Nov. 21: Providence
• Nov. 24: UConn in Uncasville, Connecticut
• Dec. 3: Duke
• Dec. 6: Oklahoma State

South Carolina will also play its annual rivalry matchup against Clemson.

That schedule gives Dawn Staley’s team several opportunities to test itself against nationally prominent programs before SEC play begins. The Oklahoma State game, coming just three days after the trip to Duke, could be particularly interesting from a preparation and depth standpoint.

HBCU Event Could Add Another Layer to November

There may be even more basketball coming to Columbia before the Oklahoma State game.

Rae Rose Media has teased the PowHER Player Classic, an event centered on HBCU women’s basketball and NIL opportunities. The event has been described as an “HBCU Women’s Basketball Tournament and NIL Marketplace.”

The event is expected to take place in Columbia in November, although organizers have not yet revealed the exact date, venue or tournament format.

A promotional graphic showed four blurred logos, with South Carolina and Tennessee State appearing to be identifiable. Tennessee State is coached by Candice Dupree, the former WNBA standout who played under Staley at Temple.

Another logo appears to belong to Alabama A&M, while the fourth may be NC Central, where former Gamecock Olivia Gaines is the head coach. The identity of that final participant has not been confirmed.

If the event comes together as teased, it could give South Carolina another opportunity to use its platform to highlight HBCU women’s basketball while creating an NIL-focused component around the competition.

Players Era Championship Still Awaits Details

Another piece of South Carolina’s non-conference schedule remains unresolved.

Staley confirmed last November that the Gamecocks would return to the Players Era Championship for the next two seasons. The tournament featured two games last season, but speculation surrounding the event suggested the women’s field could expand to at least three games, with the possibility of additional teams joining.

Organizers have already revealed information for the 2026 men’s event and announced a new volleyball competition, but details surrounding the women’s tournament have yet to be released.

South Carolina also has a return game with FGCU on its obligations for the upcoming season. The matchup is expected to take place in Columbia after the original game was initially described as a standalone contest.

The Gamecocks additionally owe return trips to Penn State and Grand Canyon following home games against those teams last season. Those return contests are scheduled for the 2027-28 season.

SEC Opponents Are Known, But Dates Aren’t

While South Carolina now knows much of its non-conference schedule, the exact dates and tipoff times for its SEC games remain unavailable.

The Gamecocks will face Oklahoma in a home-and-home series this season. The matchup carries extra intrigue after the teams split their two meetings last season. Oklahoma handed South Carolina its lone regular-season SEC defeat, but the Gamecocks responded by eliminating the Sooners in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Based on the conference’s rotating scheduling structure, South Carolina’s home SEC opponents will be:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Auburn
• Florida
• Kentucky
• LSU
• Texas A&M

The Gamecocks will travel to:

• Georgia
• Mississippi State
• Missouri
• Ole Miss
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Vanderbilt

SEC competition is scheduled to begin Dec. 31, with individual game dates and tipoff times expected to be announced later.

A Schedule Built for Tests

The current SEC scheduling model was introduced after Oklahoma and Texas joined the conference ahead of the 2024-25 season. Under the format, each team plays every conference opponent once, while one opponent is played twice in a home-and-home series.

For South Carolina, the designated home-and-home opponent has changed from season to season. Texas occupied that role in 2025, followed by Alabama last season, while Oklahoma takes over for the upcoming campaign.

With Duke, UConn, North Carolina, Southern Cal, Maryland, Oklahoma State and the SEC schedule already on the horizon, South Carolina’s upcoming season is shaping up to offer little room for an easy start.

The Oklahoma State announcement may only be one piece of the puzzle, but it adds another intriguing matchup to what could become one of the Gamecocks’ most challenging non-conference schedules yet.

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