Former South Carolina forward commits to new school via transfer portal

Former South Carolina basketball starter Elijah Strong has found a new home via the transfer portal. On Saturday, news surfaced that the 6-8 forward had committed to the St. Louis Billikens. Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to report on Strong’s portal pledge.

Following two years at Boston College, Strong transferred to South Carolina last offseason. Now, he will spend his final year of eligibility at St. Louis. SLU lost its top three forwards from last season to graduation or the transfer portal.

During his one year with the Gamecocks, Strong averaged 10 points per game, shooting 44.4% from the field and 27.8% from the 3-point line. Despite being a primary starter down low, he averaged just 2.3 rebounds per contest. He also struggled on defense and battled some intermittent knee ailments.

On the year, Strong started 18 games and saw action in 32. He averaged 17.1 minutes per night.

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Despite revealing an intention to return to the Gamecocks in the immediate aftermath of the 2025-2026 season, Strong was the first player from the program to enter the transfer portal.

The Charlotte, North Carolina native joins Eli Ellis (College of Charleston), Abu Yarmah (Longwood), and Christ Essandoko (Bowling Green) as former South Carolina basketball players who have already found new homes this offseason.

Following another tough season in Columbia, South Carolina will have a very different roster next year. With five graduates and seven announced transfer portal entries (plus multiple staff changes), the Gamecocks nearly experienced complete turnover.

So far, four players have pledged their services to Lamont Paris’ team out of the transfer portal. Kory Mincy (George Mason), Camden Heide (Texas), Aleksas Bieliauskas (Wisconsin), and Shane Blakeney (Drexel) have committed as of the time of this writing.

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