South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks land commitment from TaQuan Woodley

South Carolina basketball lands 4th pledge for 2021 class.

Frank Martin picked up a commitment from New Jersey forward TaQuan Woodley on Wednesday, bumping the Gamecocks’ class of 2021 total to four members. Woodley made the announcement via social media, unveiling his choice on Twitter.

Woodley is viewed as a four-star prospect, and the sixth best player in the state of New Jersey. The 6-foot-7 forward is the 29th best player at his position, according to ESPN.

Woodley originally committed to Penn State back in May, but backed off of that pledge three weeks ago amid uncertainty surrounding the Nittany Lion coaching staff. The Gamecocks jumped at the opportunity, having had a scholarship open up following the departure of freshman Patrick Iriel. Iriel left the program for personal reasons, withdrawing from the university shortly after enrolling in August.

Woodley chose the Gamecocks over his other finalists St. Joseph’s, St. John’s, Temple, Rutgers, LaSalle, and Georgia.

Woodley joins Gamecock commits Devin Carter, Jacobi Wright, and Carlous Williams. All four players rank among the nation’s top 300 high school prospects, giving South Carolina a class ranking of 46th in the NCAA. That mark is good for the ninth best class in the Southeastern Conference.

Here’s what head coach Frank Martin had to say about the pickup.

"“We are super excited to add TaQuan Woodley to our signing class. He is a 6’8″, 240-pound skilled forward who plays with tremendous aggression and strength. He is a high-profile player who had been committed to Penn State, and when Patrick Iriel made his decision it made us as coaches understand that we needed to get depth at the front line. TaQuan is someone we had recruited earlier, and when he made himself available we jumped on it right away. He is a high-level rebounder, who plays with exceptional strength and skill offensively. TaQuan understands how to pass, how to score and plays with a brute force that is much needed for our team.”"

Woodley should be the final commitment for the 2021 class barring any unexpected departures.