South Carolina announced on Thursday afternoon the signing of free-agent placekicker Ethan Sanchez to the 2026 roster. Sanchez kicked for the University of Houston last season and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. He also earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
Sanchez, a native of Dallas, GA, is not expected to play this weekend due to the NCAA five-day acclimation rule. He was in a spring mini-camp with the San Francisco 49ers and is returning to the college game via the new five-for-five rule.
Last season, Sanchez connected on 21 field goals, second most in Houston history. He had a 52-yarder against Colorado, the second-longest field goal of his career.
Before Houston, Sanchez kicked at Old Dominion, where he was 35-for-46 on field goals with a career-long of 53 yards.
Sanchez won’t be a stranger to Williams-Brice Stadium. He was with ODU in 2024 when the Monarchs played the Gamecocks in Columbia. His two third-quarter field goals that day from 40 and 33 yards gave ODU a 19-16 lead before the Gamecocks scored a touchdown with 6:11 to play.
Sanchez also has a connection to the USC staff as his former special teams coach at Houston, Michael Krysl, is now at USC as an assistant special teams coach.
The Gamecocks have had three other placekickers competing in camp, but earlier this week Shane Beamer said the coaching staff had not determined a starter. Max Kelley is in his second season with the Gamecocks, while Upton Bellenfant and Malik Orsan were offseason free agent signings from other schools.
Sanchez 2025 Stats
Field Goal Statistics
| 2025 | 13 GP | 21 FGS | 26 FGA | 52 LONG | 80.77 PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 13 | 21 | 26 | 52 | 80.77 |
Ethan Sanchez bio from Houston
As a Senior (2025)
- Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
- All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
- Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year Honorable Mention
- Phil Steele Magazine All-Big 12 Fourth Team
- Dave Campbell’s All-Texas First Team
- Three-time Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honoree
- Big 12 All-Academic Team
- Second in UH single-season history with 21 field goals made
- Three game winning field goals tied the Big 12 record with under 3:00 minutes in regulation or overtime (Oregon State, Arizona, UCF)
- Three game winning field goals tied for national lead with under 3:00 minutes in regulation or overtime
- Five made field goals against Colorado were second most in a single game by a Cougar,
- Five made field goals against Colorado marked the fifth time a Houston player has kicked five-or-more in a single game and first time since 2013
- Five multi field goal games
- One of six FBS kickers with two or more 4+ field goal games
- One of 25 FBS kickers with three or more 3+ field goal games
- 52-yard field goal against Colorado marked second-longest field goal of his career
Prior to Houston
- Spent three seasons at Old Dominion (2022-24)
- 36 career games played
- 35 of 46 on field goals for career
- 101 of 106 on extra points for career
- Appeared in 12 games at place kicker in 2024
- 11 of 12 on field goals
- 11 of 11 on fields goals inside 50 yards
- Only miss was a 58-yard attempt at Bowling Green (Sept. 28)
- 91.7 made field goal % ranked 12th in FBS (min. 10 attempts)
- 2 for 2 on field goals in opener at South Carolina 40 and 33 yarder (Aug. 31)
- Career-long 53-yard field goal in the 30-27 win at Bowling Green
- Eight kickoff attempts including one onside attempt
- Touchbacks in five of seven kickoff return opportunities
- 4.08 average hangtime ranked second in Sun Belt (min. 5 attempts)
- Average hangtime ranked 16th in FBS (min. 5 attempts)
- Played in all 13 games during 2023
- ODU’s primary kicker, handling kickoffs, extra points and field goals
- For second-straight year did not miss an extra point (36 for 36)
- 14 for 21 on field goals with a career long of 49
- 10 of 12 on field goals include 39 yards
- In win over Louisiana, hit 39-yard field goal and was 5 for 5 on extra points (Sept. 9)
- Career long 49-yard field goal against Wake Forest (Sept. 16)
- 5-for-5 on extra points against Marshall (Sept. 30)
- Knocked in 47-yarder in win over App State (Oct. 21)
- 38-yard field goals against Coastal Carolina (Nov. 4) and Liberty (Nov. 11)
- Game-winning 23-yard field goal on the final play vs. Georgia Southern (Nov. 18)
- Finished season with 16 touchbacks
- 11 games as the kicker for field goals and extra points in 2022
- 28 for 28 on extra points and 10-for-13 on field goal attempts
- Led team in scoring with 58 points
- 2 for 2 on field goal attempts in win over Virginia Tech (Sept. 2)
- Made 34-yarder against Liberty (Oct. 1)
- Season-long 44-yarder against Georgia Southern (Oct. 22)
High School
- Prepped at North Paulding
- 32 for 32 on extra points as a senior
- Long field goal of 47 yards
- Selected to play in 2022 Polynesian Bowl
- First-Team All-County and First-Team All-Region
- No. 2 ranked kicker in the country (Chris Sailer Kicking)
Personal
- Nickname: none
- Hobbies: golfing, weightlifting, running and content creating
- Dream job: pediatric oncologist
- Something most people don’t know: good at soccer
- Chose UH because of the great coaching staff, facilities, and teammates
- One word to describe himself on the field: confident
- If he could eat one food for the rest of his life: steak
- Biggest motivation for working hard: the ones who supported him through it all
- Favorite childhood memory was visiting Disney World
- Sports hero: Christiano Ronaldo because of the way he carries himself
- Most memorable athletic accomplishment: being selected to be 1 out of 2 kickers in the country to play in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii
- Unique fact: he has twin brothers
- Game day ritual: drinking a cup of coffee, eating a bowl of fruit, and praying
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