Nov. 13, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head men’s tennis coach Josh Goffi announced that Harrison O’Keefe (Salem, Va./Laurel Springs School) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play for the Gamecocks. O’Keefe will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.

“Harrison is a big, tall kid, and his game plays like that – huge serve, huge forehand,” Goffi said. “His backhand is phenomenal, and he’s developing his forehand into a weapon. If we can continue that success that he’s had building his game around that big forehand, big serve mentality, then his upside is huge. He’ll be a top contender in college.”

Rated a blue chip, five-star recruit by Tennis Recruiting Network, O’Keefe is currently ranked No. 22 in the nation and third in the Middle Atlantic Region. Performing well against the country’s best, the 6-foot-4 right-hander is 12-5 against other five-star rated recruits and has been ranked as high as No. 17 in the nation behind a 41-16 overall record. He has played the last two seasons at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, S.C., after helping his high school team to the 2011 VHSL Group AA championship by yielding just one game in singles throughout the run to the title. O’Keefe has two USTA titles to his credit in 2013, including the USTA Regional in Mobile, Ala., and reached at least the quarterfinal of four other events this year.