WBB recruiting: Looking down the road
SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The state of South Carolina has a large group of talented underclassmen who have been targeted by the Gamecocks. Who are the young players that are dominating the state?
Dawn Staley has built the program in large part by getting local talent to stay home. Beginning with Aleighsa Welch and Khadijah Sessions, and then moving on to Alaina Coates and, of course, A’ja Wilson, Staley’s teams have had typically had a lot of South Carolinians. Even in the 2019 class, with a Canadian, a native of the Virgin Islands by way of Massachusetts, and two midwesterners, Staley managed to convince Lexington’s Olivia Thompson to turn down scholarship offers from smaller schools to be a preferred walk-on.
Thompson notwithstanding, there has been a bit of a dip in the in-state talent over the past few years, and Staley has had to go elsewhere for talent. But that is about to change and Staley has been very active in targeting young, talented local players.
By my count, the Gamecocks have already offered four players in the class of 2022, three of whom are from South Carolina. The Gamecocks have also offered in-state players from the class of 2023 and 2024.
The 2022 class is led by Ashlyn Watkins, a 6-3 post from Cardinal Newman. Watkins is currently the only South Carolina player in the 2022 top 25, ranked 12th in the nation. Watkins has gained notoriety for her dunking ability - she first dunked in the eighth grade. There has been a steady stream of major college coaches visiting Cardinal Newman to see her.
Talaysia Cooper also has offers from a bunch of major programs, including Louisville, Kentucky, Oregon, Florida State, and more. A 5-10 point guard from East Clarendon, Cooper is an outstanding ball-handler and scorer who led the Wolverines to a state title in 2018 as an eighth-grader.
The Gamecocks offered Irmo’s Maliyiah Mason on July 30. Mason is a 5-9 forward who was a solid rebounder for Irmo last season. Mason is under-the-radar compared to Watkins and Cooper, and the Gamecocks are expecting her to continue to develop as a player.
Looking ahead to 2023, Milaysia Fulwiley is the headliner. A physical, 5-5 point guard, Fulwiley led Keenan to the 2019 state championship game as an eighth grader. Staley was in attendance for that game, although Fulwiley looked nervous. After scoring 30 points in the upper state championship, she had just 18 in the loss to Bishop England. Fulwiley first picked up offers from South Carolina and Ole Miss as a seventh grader, and she is on the ESPN watch list for 2023.
The Gamecocks also offered Camden’s Joyce Edwards in July. Edwards was a starter on the varsity team last season as a seventh grader, averaging over 13 points and four rebounds. Edwards is already 6-1 but runs the court well and has guard skills. South Carolina is currently Edwards’ only offer.