Dawn Staley’s second birdie revealed her identity, as Saniya Rivers announced her commitment Saturday.
Rivers has been reported to be the first of Dawn Staley’s four “birdies,” her term for committed recruits, back on May 11. Three more birdies followed over the next two weeks. Guard Bree Hall (ranked #26) announced her commitment Monday, becoming the Gamecocks’ first public commitment, and that may have opened the floodgates.
Rivers is from Wilmington, NC, a 6-0 guard who is the third-ranked prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz, and second-ranked by Prospect Nation. Rivers began her high school career at Laney High School before transferring to Ashley before her junior year. She is a two-time player of the year in North Carolina and also runs track. Rivers has good size for a guard and is considered an outstanding athlete who excels on both ends of the court. Rivers’ is known for her ability to get to the rim off the dribble, especially in transition. She fits the mold of former Gamecock Tiffany Mitchell, a two-time SEC Player of the Year.
Rivers and Hall fill the Gamecocks’ need for big guards/small forwards. Both have good size at their position, and when they enroll current guards Destanni Henderson and Destiny Littleton will be seniors. If the other two birdies are a point guard and a post player, the Gamecocks will have fully restocked the roster.
Rivers is currently the third-ranked recruit in the nation. If that ranking holds through the end of next season, she will join future teammate Aliyah Boston as the third-highest ranked recruit signed by Staley. A’ja Wilson leads the way as the top overall prospect in 2014. Kelsey Bone was the second-ranked recruit in 2009 (Bone played one season with the Gamecocks before an acrimonious transfer to Texas A&M).
Other top ten prospects signed by South Carolina include Zia Cooke, who was ranked fourth in 2019. Destanni Henderson was ranked sixth in 2018. Jatarie White was ranked seventh in 2014, and played two injury-plagued seasons before transferring to Texas. Laeticia Amihere was ranked tenth in 2018. And then there is the curious case of Kayla Brewer, who was ranked eighth in the 2011 class, but graduated high school a year early to enroll at South Carolina in 2010, but left the team after playing seven games, embarking on a nomadic and nondescript career that went through Texas and then a graduate transfer season at Tennessee Tech and totalled just 65 games and 155 points.
South Carolina also got a pair of top ten recruits as transfers. Kaela Davis was ranked second in 2013 and signed with Georgia Tech. Allisha Gray was ranked seventh the same year and signed with North Carolina. Both transferred after two seasons and started on the 2017 national championship team before declaring for the WNBA Draft.
