South Carolina Basketball: Three Gamecock commits on national high school player of the year list

In addition to being America’s scariest team through the first two weeks of the college basketball season, South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley has one of the country’s best recruiting classes coming into Columbia next year.

5-star versatile forward Joyce Edwards, 5-star point guard Madisen McDaniel, and 5-star post player Adhel Tac are among the best high school players in the country, and they have all (deservedly) been nominated as finalists for the Naismith High School Player of the Year award.

Edwards, who just announced her commitment to the Gamecocks on Wednesday, has bounced back and forth between the #1 and #2 spot in the 2024 recruiting rankings. She is the best defensive player in the class and can shut down players at all five positions. Her offensive game is solid, as well, as she can score at all three levels.

Like her future head coach during her playing days, McDaniel is a do-it-all point guard who can score, pass, dribble, and defend. She is lightning-quick with or without the ball, and she has a chance to develop into a top-tier facilitator. There’s no better person in America to coach McDaniel than Dawn Staley.

Tac has length and strength that can’t be taught. Down low, she is a force who dominates the paint as a rebounder, post scorer, and block defender. Though not quite as tall, she compares favorably to current Gamecock Kamilla Cardoso. At 6’5″, she will still be taller than almost anyone she plays against.

In addition to the three South Carolina basketball commitments on the Naismith watch list, Gamecock targets Sarah Strong (5-star forward), Jaloni Cambridge (5-star guard), Aaliyah Chavez (5-star guard in the class of 2025), and Zakiyah Johnson (5-star wing in the class of 2025).

Strong and Cambridge are expected to end up elsewhere, but the Gamecocks are firmly in the mix in the recruitments for ’25 prospects Chavez and Johnson.