And then there were two. South Carolina’s remaining 2022 targets are both in-state prospects.

There may be other targets lurking (for example, second-ranked Janiah Barker hasn’t revealed anything at all about her recruitment), but it appears the only players left on South Carolina’s board are Talaysia Cooper and Ashlyn Watkins.

Commitments from the 2022 class have been trickling in as recruits narrow their choices. South Carolina missed out on one target, Maya Nnaji, wo committed to Arizona on Monday. Roster spots will likely be at a premium for this class, especially at South Carolina (more on that below), leading players to announce their decisions.

East Clarendon’s Cooper is ranked #8 overall and the second-ranked point guard. Cooper has been a riser in the rankings, going from 25th a year ago to the top ten. She has long been on the Gamecocks’ radar, ever since leading East Clarendon to the Class A lower state finals as a seventh-grader. At 6-0, Cooper is big for a point guard, and she is a do-everything player for East Clarendon, even playing in the post to take advantage of her size. Although listed as a point guard she would probably be a two guard for the Gamecocks. Cooper averaged 23.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, eight assists, 3.4 steals and 4.6 blocks per game last season.

Watkins is from Cardinal Newman in Columbia and is ranked #13 overall. She has been a priority for the Gamecocks for a while. Her coach at Cardinal Newman is former Gamecock Asia Dozier, who just completed her first season. Watkins is a superb athlete and she has dunked in a game so many times it has almost become routine. Last summer, Watkins played for the same UAA team as Raven Johnson, FBC United. In addition to Johnson, Kamilla Cardoso played for FBC United, along with Keenan star Malaysia Fulwiley, a Gamecock target for 2023. Watkins led Cardinal Newman to the 2021 SCISA state title while averaging 16.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 2.7 blocks, and 2.1 assists per game.

Signing transfer center Cardoso dramatically changed the Gamecocks’ 2022 needs (or perhaps it was the other way around: knowing all the bigs on their board would be signing elsewhere made the Gamecocks go after Cardoso). Cardoso has four seasons of eligibility remaining, but there is no guarantee she will use all four. She will be eligible for the 2023 WNBA Draft, meaning there is a possibility she only plays two seasons in Columbia.

South Carolina had been heavily recruiting a number of posts and forwards, but has seen them drop off the board one by one. #1 overall recruit Lauren Betts, another 6-7 center like Cardoso, committed to Stanford. South Carolina was also recruiting several forwards. #11 Nyla Harris, whose first offer was from South Carolina, decided to go to Louisville. #19 Shay Bollin decided to be part of the makeover at Duke. #23 Lazaria Spearman, who had South Carolina in her top three, committed to Miami.

A small signing class is probably a good thing. South Carolina is technically over the scholarship limit for next season, although the NCAA has granted a waiver on scholarship limits for next season only. But going forward, roster flexibility will be important.

Traditionally, Dawn Staley has not used all 15 scholarships, believing there isn’t much point in having players on the team if they won’t play. Now there are new reasons why it is wise to keep a couple of scholarships available. First, the NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility to every player that played last season. Not every player will use it, nor would a coach want every player back for a fifth year, but they need to keep some options on the table since the NCAA has not announced any changes to the scholarship limit for 2022-23.

Second, the transfer portal isn’t going away. Coaches will need to keep a scholarship or two open just in case a major transfer player is interested. How badly would Staley be kicking herself if she'd had to turn Cardoso away because the roster was full?

South Carolina currently has four available scholarships for 2022, but also has four seniors (Destanni Henderson, Destiny Littleton, Victoria Saxton, and Elysa Wesolek) who could choose to return for a super senior season, occupying those scholarships. A one or two player signing class helps South Carolina get back to where it has some flexibility under the scholarship limit.

With that in mind, South Carolina would likely be happy to sign Cooper and Watkins and call it a wrap.