Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are staying red hot on the recruiting trail. On Thursday, she landed her latest elite addition to the Gamecocks' 2026 class, in the form of 5-star power forward Oliviyah Edwards.
Edwards, the No. 1 overall ranked power forward from the class of 2026, was previously signed to Tennessee until she was released from the program earlier this month. Per the 247Sports Composite, Edwards is the No. 5 player nationally for 2026 and the No. 1 player out of her home state of Washington. She confirmed her commitment on Thursday:
Sometimes it takes twice to get it right ❤️🐔 #Committed pic.twitter.com/JhMT9Di1fO
— Oliviyah “Big Oh” Edwards (@EdwardsOliviyah) April 23, 2026
Staley teased the news on X on Thursday, signalling that Edwards had landed:
A birdie just flew in the nest!! 👹👹👹 pic.twitter.com/sIdIfcTHd5
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) April 23, 2026
Edwards has been a target of South Carolina since she de-committed from Tennessee. Just last week, the five-star was on-hand for an official visit with Texas transfer portal product Jordan Lee, who ended up committing to South Carolina last week.
Here's a look at Jordan Lee and Oliviyah Edwards with Dawn Staley and the #Gamecocks at Founders Park. Lee spending a lot of time talking with Adhel Tac.@abc_columbia https://t.co/z2ribtkGiw pic.twitter.com/yJXYeTEVIH
— Noah Chast (@NoahChastTV) April 14, 2026
As for Tennessee, the Lady Vols roster is in rough shape heading into 2026. The 2026 class has just one member, in four-star Gabby Minus. Meanwhile earlier this month, Lady Vols with remaining eligibility in Alyssa Latham, Lauren Hurst, Kaniya Boyd, Mya Pauldo, Mia Pauldo, and Talaysia Cooper all entered the transfer portal.
Losing Edwards in general was rough for the Vols, but losing her to an SEC rival must sting even more. In the latest move, Staley proved why she is the recruiting queen of the SEC.
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