Women's Soccer to Retire Savannah McCaskill's Jersey Sunday
Savannah McCaskill (2014-2017) has a long list of individual accomplishments, including being the first South Carolina women’s soccer player to have her No. 7 jersey retired when she is honored before the Gamecocks host Texas A&M this Sunday (October 19) at 6 p.m.
“What I’m most proud of is the history we made as a team,” said McCaskill, who led the Gamecocks to SEC Regular Season Championships in 2016 and 2017 as well as the program’s first Elite Eight and College Cup appearances. “My freshman year, we went to our first ever Elite Eight, which was really special, and then my senior year making the Final Four after back-to-back SEC Championships was the cherry on top for everything we had worked for and the players before us had worked for. It was a real honor to go to the Final Four and experience that.”
McCaskill’s individual accolades were outstanding as well. Her 17 goals as a junior in 2016 were a school record until broken last year by Cat Barry (18) and her 45 points and 10 game-winners that year are still program records. She ranks fourth in career goals (40) and points (114) and second in career assists (34). She earned first team All-American honors in 2016 and 2017 after being a third-team honoree in 2015. She earned first team All-SEC and first team All-Region honors in each of her last three seasons, SEC Freshman of the Year in 2014, and SEC Offensive Player of the Year accolades in 2016 and 2017. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of her last three years.
“(Head coach) Shelley (Smith) and (associate head coach) Jamie (Smith) were a huge part of my success,” McCaskill said. “They always held me, and the team, to a high standard. They instilled confidence in us that we could win and go as far as we wanted while also making sure we were never complacent. That really helped me grow as a person and a player during my three and a half years there. Continuing on with that mindset throughout my pro career has been huge for me.”
Her best memories off the pitch centered around her teammates as well.
“Anytime we were able to hang out as a team was great,” McCaskill said. “Going to football games was so much fun. I really enjoyed being on campus and living on campus. The walk from training to class was pretty easy. The memories with my teammates and other athletes on campus were always fun.”
“The best advice I got when I was picking a school was to pick something that you’re still going to love when you can’t play soccer anymore. It definitely checked all those boxes for me.”
McCaskill graduated in December of 2017 with a degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology and was selected in the first round as the number two overall pick in the 2018 NWSL draft by the Boston Breakers and has been playing professionally ever since. She is currently playing for the San Diego Wave.
“It’s been really cool, and that life comes with a lot of moving and a lot of travel,” McCaskill said. “It’s really fun. I still enjoy waking up and being able to play soccer every day. As long as I keep getting that feeling, I’m going to keep pushing and trying to do that as long as I can.”
Despite the outstanding career numbers, McCaskill wasn’t expecting a call about having her jersey retired.
“I was really shocked and surprised when Shelley told me,” McCaskill said. “I feel really proud because I grew up right outside of Columbia.
“I grew up a Clemson fan, but when I started looking at schools for myself and soccer, I fell in love with Carolina. It took a while to get my family to adjust to it, but we became a Carolina household and never looked back. The best advice I got when I was picking a school was to pick something that you’re still going to love when you can’t play soccer anymore. It definitely checked all those boxes for me.”
Whenever her playing career is over, she has considered getting into coaching, but she also recently started a non-profit, the Green Horizons Collective, with a friend and may consider going into the business world.
McCaskill doesn’t get back to campus often these days, but she can’t wait to share her jersey retirement with family and friends.
“It’s going to be really special because my family will be there,” McCaskill said. “My Parents (Tina and Greg) sacrificed so much for me so I could be where I am today, between driving an hour and a half each way so I could go to club training for maybe eight years and then not missing a game, and all the money it cost to go travel and do that. They came to pretty much every South Carolina game and still come to as many pro games as they can. It’s going to be special to enjoy that moment with them and let them know I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
