Dawn Staley’s South Carolina basketball team is entering into a huge stretch of recruiting. The Gamecocks are hosting #2-ranked national player Joyce Edwards for a visit before a November commitment date, and Coach Staley was just in California to check in on #6-ranked national player Kennedy Smith (who visited recently, as well).
On Friday, it became time for another major South Carolina basketball target to make her college announcement. Adhel Tac, a borderline 5-star post player from Texas, announced her commitment live on Instagram.
In the end, Tac made the decision to pledge her services to Coach Staley and the South Carolina basketball program. She chose the Gamecocks over the Georgia Bulldogs and Louisville Cardinals (the North Carolina Tar Heels were part of her top-4 but were seemingly not in contention on Friday night).
Tac is the second commitment in the class, joining 5-star guard Madisen McDaniel. If the Gamecocks can land Edwards and Smith, the 2024 class could go down as one of the best ever, rivaling the 2019 “Freshies” class. If the ’24 class can match the ’19 class’ on-court accomplishments, South Carolina basketball fans will rejoice.
Tac will step onto campus next year with the opportunity to compete for playing time immediately as preseason first-team All-SEC post player Kamilla Cardoso (who also is on the Lisa Leslie Award watch list and won the SEC’s Sixth Woman of the Year honor last year) will be out of eligibility.
Fellow post player Sania Feagin will have one more year left on campus, and Sakima Walker could return with a waiver from the NCAA. Sophomore Ashlyn Watkins will also return in the front court. However, Dawn Staley likes to play lineups with two bigs, so four or five post players typically get significant minutes on her teams.
Tac’s sister (also named Adhel) plays for the UTEP Miners of Conference USA.
The younger Tac’s game is a bit reminiscent of Cardoso’s. She will have the size advantage in almost any matchup, even in college, and she has long arms that help her get just a bit more reach as she snags rebounds and blocks shots.
You can watch some of her film here.