WBB recruiting: Who are the Gamecocks' targets?

SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

With three months to go until the early signing period, the Gamecocks have yet to secure a commitment for 2020. However, the Gamecocks are still in the mix for at least five players ranked in the top 50.

Only 22 of the top 50 have committed, according to the HoopGurlz recruiting rankings.

The biggest name still on South Carolina’s radar is Angel Reese. Reese is the nation’s second-ranked prospect and the highest-ranked uncommitted player (top-ranked Paige Bueckers has already committed to Connecticut). A 6-2 wing from Baltimore, Reese has good size and athleticism for a player who can step out to the perimeter and beat opponents off the dribble. She announced her five official visits on Twitter. Her first visit will be to home-state Maryland the weekend of September 6, followed by Tennessee, Southern Cal, and Syracuse. South Carolina gets the final visit from October 4-6.

Kamilla Cardoso is the fifth-ranked prospect and top-ranked post. She is 6-6 and a defensive presence, whose offensive play is improving. Cardoso is a native of Brazil, but now attends Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, TN, one of three players from southeastern Tennessee that South Carolina is recruiting.

Cardoso’s teammate Treasure Hunt is another. A 6-2 wing, Hunt is ranked 36th and has had a busy summer. She attended the Steph Curry elite camp at the beginning of August and the Slam Summer Classic two weeks later.

Rounding out the three Tennessee players is Madison Hayes, a 5-10 guard who picked up her offer from South Carolina two years ago. Hayes is the 25th-ranked prospect and sixth-ranked guard. Hayes, from Ooltewha, also has a younger sister McKenna (2022), who got her first offer (from Wake Forest) in July.

All three of the players from Tennessee play for the FBC United travel team, coached by Hunt’s mother, Keisha (who also coaches at Hamilton Heights). FBC United won a championship this summer and has become the home to a lot of talented players, including current Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard, the reigning national Freshman of the Year who was heavily recruited by South Carolina. South Carolina would love to turn FBC United into a pipeline.

The Gamecocks have also offered two other players from Maryland. Eniya Russell, ranked 48th, is a 5-10 guard from Baltimore whose top five is Georgetown, Miami, Indiana, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Liz Martino, a 6-0 guard from Upper Marlboro, is not ranked due to injury, but is one of the more intriguing prospects still available. She tore her ACL on July 5, 2018, had surgery six weeks later, and less than a year later led her team to an AAU championship. Martino had offers from a number of programs before the injury, but some of those offers were pulled. As a result, she is one of the more unpredictable prospects available.