Coming off a historic season, South Carolina is making sure coach Lamont Paris remains in Columbia.
According to ESPN sources, South Carolina agreed to a new six-year contract with Paris, who won the SEC Coach of the Year award in 2023-24.
The deal will extend him through the 2029-30 season and will average more than $4 million a year, according to ESPN sources. The deal is pending board approval, which is scheduled for tomorrow, according to sources.
Paris' name came up in Ohio State's search and likely would have in others, and the deal ensures he will be off the market as the coaching carousel heats up in the coming weeks.
The decisive move by athletic director Ray Tanner marks a strong commitment to men's basketball in South Carolina, which has played in just one NCAA men's basketball tournament since 2004.
This year, Paris has South Carolina on the cusp of its first NCAA appearance since 2017. South Carolina is 25-6 this season and is a projected fifth seed in the NCAA tournament.
That came after South Carolina was picked last in the SEC in the preseason. The Gamecocks finished one game behind overall regular-season champion Tennessee among four tied teams with a 13-5 record in the SEC. Paris entered this season as the lowest-paid coach in the SEC, earning $2.3 million this year.
Paris became the first South Carolina coach to win the league's coach of the year award, as the 25 wins were the most in a regular season in school history in South Carolina.
With that success came some outside interest. Paris' experience in the Big Ten as an assistant coach sparked Ohio State's interest in his open position. It was expected that as jobs opened up across the country, he would receive more calls.
Paris came to South Carolina after five seasons in Chattanooga, which included an NCAA tournament appearance in his final year there. South Carolina went 11-21 in his first season there last year, and this year moved up to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll.
