Joyce Edwards is a special player. The future Gamecock can guard any position on the floor and has a well-enough developed offensive game that she outscored (by herself) all of her Camden Bulldogs' opponents during their run to the 3A South Carolina Basketball High School League state championship.
She was invited to three separate national all-star showcases (McDonald's All-American Game, Nike Hoop Summit, and Jordan Brand Classic) and brought home MVP honors from all three games. She also won at least three National Player of the Year trophies, as well.
This week, she added another accolade to her resume as she was named to the SLAM High School Girls All-American team.
Edwards was joined on the SLAM All-American squad by Sarah Strong (committed to the UConn Huskies), Kateryna Koval (committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish), Jaloni Cambridge (committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes), and Kiyomi McMiller (committed to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights).
The South Carolina basketball roster is loaded with talent, but Edwards is a shoo-in to have an important role in the team's rotation, even as a true freshman. Her size and versatility will all Coach Dawn Staley to mix and match with her frontcourt.
That front court is expected to be one of the best in the entire sport once again as Edwards will be joined by Ashlyn Watkins, Chloe Kitts, Sania Feagin, Adhel Tac, and Sakima Walker. Edwards, Watkins, Kitts, and Feagin all have positional flexibility, as well, meaning Edwards could play alongside any of those players at the 3-5 positions.
Edwards is one of three 5-star prospects who signed with the Gamecocks in the class of 2024. 6'5" post player Adhel Tac enrolled early so that she could be with the team as she rehabbed a knee injury suffered in high school, and dynamic point guard Maddy McDaniel will be arriving in Columbia this summer along with Edwards.