STRecruiting Notebook 7-22: South Carolina lands three baseball commitments; Furman adds one in basketball; Clemson among the favorites with a pair of 2028 targets

2028 SAF CJ Craig-James (6-3 190) of Birmingham has Clemson in his top 12. Others are Auburn, Florida, Cal, Miami, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and LSU.

Clemson is in the final six with 2028 QB Trace Hawkins, he told Rivals.  The others are LSU, Kentucky, Duke, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt.

South Carolina target 2028 RB Caiden Bellard was offered by Indiana.

South Carolina target 2028 WR John Matthews of Newnan, GA was offered by Arkansas.

AC Flora 2028 DE Nasir Walker was offered by Appalachian State.

Camden TE Will Haunert committed to Wofford.

Basketball News

Furman coach Bob Richey has announced the addition of forward Nikos Koulisianis to the Paladin men’s basketball roster for the 2026-27 season. A native of Brno, Czech Republic, the 6-foot-9 Koulisianis played last season for Montverde Academy in Florida.

Baseball News

USC has landed a commitment from Glenbrook North High School (IL) shortstop Ethan Bass. He is the fifth high school player to commit to the program from this year’s class. Bass had been previously committed to Wake Forest since Nov. 15, 2024. Before that, he was committed to his home-state school, Illinois.

South Carolina adds a 2026 commitment from OF/MIF Slaide Burd of Hilton Head Christian. He was previously committed to Georgia Southern and Stetson.

2027 RHP David Cook of Fieldale, VA committed to South Carolina.

LHP Nic Gibson, a former Gamecock commitment, has recommitted to South Carolina, as first reported by John Whittle of Gamecock247.  Gibson is a native of Puyallup, WA, who attended Central Arizona JC.  He committed to the Gamecocks for the 2024 class and then suffered an elbow injury and had Tommy John surgery, and only pitched three innings over the past two seasons.  After getting healthy, Matt Williams, who took his commitment with the Gamecocks, reached out to him for Coastal Carolina, and now he will follow that staff to USC.  In 15 games at JC, Gibson pitched 22 innings and had an 0-1 record with 1 save and a 4.91 ERA.    He worked 22 innings and struck out 31 while walking 17.  He only allowed one homer.

South Carolina target free agent INF Callum Early of Texas chose Florida State.

Former Clemson catcher Steele Burd committed to Charleston Southern. He was at Clemson in 2025. He played last season at State College of Florida. He’s a Hilton Head native.