Local Five-Star Joyce Edwards Commits To South Carolina Women's Basketball

Joyce Edwards, the Camden, S.C. native rated as the No. 2 overall women’s basketball recruit for the class of 2024 by ESPN, committed to South Carolina in a signing ceremony at Camden High School after naming LSU and Clemson as her other two finalists.

The 6-foot-2 forward will be the centerpiece of Dawn Staley’s incoming recruiting class, yet another victory for the two-time National Champion in terms of recruiting elite in-state talent.

Dawn Staley has now signed three prospects in the Class of 2024, and two five-star prospects by ESPN's rating. Guard Madisen McDaniel was the first player to commit; the five-star point guard from Maryland committed back in August and is rated as the No. 12 overall player in the clasas of 2024. In October, four-star forward and No. 33 overall player Adhel Tac announced her intentions to play for Staley's program.

Edwards will join the program just one year after superstar MiLaysia Fulwiley committed to South Carolina from just down the road at Keenan High School in Columbia, and two years after fellow Columbia product Ashlyn Watkins entered the fold.

The Camden product achieved everything there was to achieve at the high school level, and beyond. Edwards was a member of the United States U19 FIBA World Cup team over the summer, averaging 12.6 points per game and playing 18.5 minutes per contest on a team that ended up winning the gold medal. She scored at least 15 points in three out of seven games, including her tournament-best 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting in the quarterfinal win over the Czech Republic.

Not only is she an all-state player in basketball, but soccer and volleyball as well at Camden. She was South Carolina’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2022 after averaging 28.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game and leading Camden to a Class AAA state championship. Edwards is the third consecutive winner of the award to commit to South Carolina, joining Watkins and Tayalsia Cooper.

She is the sixth Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year in South Carolina history to commit to the Gamecocks under Dawn Staley overall, with the previous three winners following behind Asia Dozier, Alaina Coates and A’ja Wilson in three consecutive years from 2012-2014.

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