The Palmetto Series

A running points total of every Clemson and South Carolina matchup over a school year, across 13 sports. Results for every season since 2015.

  1. '16
  2. '17
  3. '18
  4. '19
  5. '20
  6. '21
  7. '22
  8. '23
  9. '24
  10. '25
  11. '26
6South Carolinaseries titles
2Clemsonseries titles

Each block is one season, labeled by the year it ended. Striped seasons were not contested.

What it is

The Palmetto Series adds up the head-to-head results between Clemson and South Carolina over a full school year. Soccer and volleyball usually produce the first points in August or September. Football comes in late November, basketball runs through the winter, and baseball, softball, tennis, and golf finish it off in the spring. The school with more points at the end gets the trophy, which is presented at one of its home football games the following fall.

The two schools and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture announced the series at the State House in August 2015. The football game is still separate. It's the Palmetto Bowl, it has its own trophy, and in the Palmetto Series it's worth one point, the same as a volleyball match.

How scoring works

Each sport is worth one point. Where the teams meet more than once, the point goes to whichever school wins the majority. Baseball is a three-game weekend, so two wins takes it. Golf is decided by which school finishes ahead at the tournaments both teams play.

Sports in the current format

The less obvious rules

A draw doesn't award a point. The women's soccer match ended 0–0 in 2022–23, and neither school got anything for it.

Under the original rules, postseason meetings counted, and a split could leave each school with half a point. Men's golf split that way in 2018–19, which is why that year finished 9.5–4.5.

Starting with the second year, a tied series leaves the trophy with the defending champion.

Points off the field

Three points under the current sponsor, the South Carolina Education Lottery, have nothing to do with a game. One goes to the school with more LIFE Scholarship recipients, one to the school with more Palmetto Fellows, and one to whichever fan base sends in more entries to the Lottery's Carolina vs. Clemson promotion.

The Department of Agriculture version had two of its own. One went to the higher average student-athlete GPA across the fall and spring semesters. The other went to the winner of a canned food drive for Harvest Hope and Golden Harvest food banks.

Every result

South Carolina won the first five. The two closest finishes were both decided by one point: South Carolina's 8–7 win in 2016–17 and Clemson's first title, 7–6, in 2023–24.

SeasonWinnerFinalPresented by
2015–16South Carolina10–5SC Dept. of Agriculture
2016–17South Carolina8–7SC Dept. of Agriculture
2017–18South Carolina9–5SC Dept. of Agriculture
2018–19South Carolina9.5–4.5SC Dept. of Agriculture
2019–22Not contested
2022–23South Carolina8–5SC Education Lottery
2023–24Clemson7–6SC Education Lottery
2024–25South Carolina7–4SC Education Lottery
2025–26Clemson7–5SC Education Lottery

History

2015–19
The first four series ran as the Certified SC Grown Palmetto Series. The Department of Agriculture used them to promote in-state farms, with a tailgate before the football game and the food drive between the two fan bases. South Carolina won all four, and the 2017–18 title came mostly from its women's teams.
2019–22
No series was scored for three school years, a stretch that covered the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022–23
The South Carolina Education Lottery brought the series back and replaced the GPA and food drive points with the scholarship and fan-entry points. Softball produced its first point that year. It had been on the list since 2015, but Clemson didn't start a softball program until 2020. South Carolina won 8–5, and it was the first time one school took football, baseball, and both basketball games in the same series.
2023–26
Clemson won its first title in 2023–24, 7–6. South Carolina won it back 7–4 in 2024–25, and Clemson took 2025–26, 7–5, with points in football, men's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, volleyball, and men's tennis.

Following this year's series

Each series starts with fall sports in August and wraps up in April or May, and the winner is announced shortly after. Both athletic departments post the running score and the schedule of remaining events on their official pages at gamecocksonline.com and clemsontigers.com. This page is updated once a year, when the new winner is official.

For the football side of the rivalry, see the all-time Clemson vs. South Carolina record, every Palmetto Bowl result, and tickets for this year's game.

Common questions

Is the Palmetto Series the same thing as the Palmetto Bowl?

No. The Palmetto Bowl is the football game. The Palmetto Series is the year-long points total, and football is one of the 13 sports in it.

Why do headlines say a school "won the Palmetto Series" in March?

The annual three-game baseball set between the two schools also goes by the Palmetto Series. A spring headline about winning it is usually about baseball, which is one point toward the overall trophy.

Who has won the most?

South Carolina, with six of the eight completed series. Clemson has two, in 2023–24 and 2025–26.

When is the winner decided?

Usually in late April or May, after the last spring matchup. The trophy is handed over during one of the winner's home football games the next fall.

Does every Clemson and South Carolina game count?

Only the sports on that year's list. In sports with more than one meeting, the overall result earns the point, not each individual game.