Hammond formula for success continues

By WORTHY EVANS

HSSR Contributing Writer

Columbia - As another athletic season at Hammond dawns, the school continues with the formula that has worked for decades.

“We keep high standards for all of our student athletes and coaches, and maintain those standards in the classroom and in the community,” Athletic Director Jeff Barnes said.

Barnes often refers to the formula—hard work, accountability for actions being the foundation for the athletic programs, a formula that has its roots in academics and in community work. It may sound like a generic idea were it not for the fact that every Hammond coach and student buys in, knowing that the school has won 161 state championships in its history, with more to come.

By far the most successful program has been on the gridiron. Jon Wheeler, going into his fifth year as head coach of the Skyhawks, led the team to another SCISA 4A state championship last fall with a 28-21 victory over Porter-Gaud. It was the team’s eighth straight state championship, fourth straight for Wheeler as head coach, and 22^nd in school history.

They’ll take the field in a few weeks as the favorite in SCISA to win it all again, but this fall they’ll be much younger—just three players, all offensive linemen, return on an offense that averaged 45.1 points per game. Five players return on defense.

With an array of younger players contending for the starting positions, Hammond will certainly rely on that foundation of discipline and hard work, and with an experienced coaching staff that includes Barnes as the offensive line coach, defensive coordinator Hamp Smith, and second-year offensive coordinator and former Heathwood Hall and Porter-Gaud coach Rick Reetz, to teach the new players the finer points of starting at the varsity level.

The most visible hire over the past few months was that of head girls soccer coach Ryan Brewer.

Brewer, a former University of South Carolina football standout in the Lou Holtz Era who was most notable in the team’s 2001 victory over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, volunteered for the girls soccer coaching job when head coach Rafael Marquez stepped down just before the 2025 season. Brewer had two daughters on the team, Elle Brewer, who graduated and now plays for Winthrop, and rising junior Brooks Brewer.

The Skyhawks under Ryan Brewer last spring won the Region 1-4A championship. Hammond reached the state championship game, only to fall 6-0 to Porter-Gaud. Five of the Cyclones’ goals came after a controversial decision by the officials to red-card senior goalkeeper Maxine Palisin after an illegal touch.

While the season ended on a sour note, and while Brewer’s time as head coach may have been perceived as an interim effort, Barnes said that his former roommate at USC.

“It started off that way (as a temporary hire), but Ryan enjoyed it so much that we’re trying to get some support around him,” Barnes said. “I think because his daughter’s a junior and she’ll be a part of the team for two more years and a college prospect at that, he may want to stay on at least until she graduates.”

The Hammond swim team has a new coach in Randi Vogel. Vogel, a longtime assistant at USC as well as at Missouri and Cincinnati. She also the Gamecock Swim Camp director from 2012-2016. As an athlete, she earned a scholarship to swim for Tennessee before transferring to Cincinnati.

Hammond girls basketball, which went 1-16 last spring after a 15-6 run in the 2023-2024 season, also has a new coach with a familiar background. Longtime boys assistant Mark Goddard will take over the girls program.

Hammond has made many facility improvements over the past three years, such as installing turf on the football field that is marked for soccer and lacrosse, a new track and a new throwing area for track and field events, and new tennis courts. More recent improvements are a student athlete congregation area beside the tennis courts that includes lockers and a shaded area for cooling down.