South Carolina Basketball: ESPN ranks Gamecocks’ recruiting class 2nd in the country

South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley is one of the best recruiters across all of college athletics. That fact has been shown this year as the class of 2024 is shaping up to be an elite one for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

So far, Carolina already has received signed National Letters of Intent from three 5-star prospects.

5-star point guard Madisen McDaniel was first. McDaniel announced her commitment publicly back in August, locking in with Staley and USC despite offers from all over the country.

5-star post player Adhel Tac chose the Gamecocks in October. The 6’5″ forward was a 5-star who moved down in the rankings after getting hurt, but she earned her way back into the realm of the elite with a strong summer after healing from her injury.

Then, last week, 5-star forward Joyce Edwards joined the party. Considered by some to be the best defender in the ’24 cycle, Edwards elected to stay home despite some (alleged) massive NIL opportunities that were illegally presented to her from LSU.

USC also was dangerously close to picking up another top-10 commitment from Kennedy Smith, but she elected to sign with the “other USC.”

South Carolina basketball was ranked as the 2nd-best recruiting class in college basketball by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. The only class ahead of them (Southern Cal) has six commitments. The Gamecocks have the best average player rank of all teams that have at least three players in the class.

It is unclear if the Gamecocks are completely done in the class of 2024. The Gamecocks are finalists for two more top-3 players in the class, forward Sarah Strong and guard Jaloni Cambridge. While it is never safe to count out Dawn Staley, South Carolina basketball does not appear to be leading for either player at this time.

Kamilla Cardoso is the only current Gamecock who is completely out of eligibility, but Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker are both in their 4th year of competition, as well. All three of those players are eligible for the 2024 WNBA Draft and graduation, and Cardoso and Paopao would be selected if they declare. USC also has just 11 scholarship players on the team this season.

If Cardoso is the only Gamecock who leaves, the roster still will not be full with the additions of the three 5-star freshmen next season. Any additional WNBA Draft, graduation, or transfer portal attrition would open up additional scholarship roster spots for further prep talent or transfer portal takes, though Dawn Staley has operated under the 15-scholarship limit multiple times.