Dawn Staley Makes Request After South Carolina Announcement

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks had a disappointing end to the 2025-26 women's college basketball season. After finishing the regular season with a 31-3 record and going 15-1 in SEC play, South Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the national championship for a third straight year, but fell short of a title in a 79-51 loss to Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins.

While Staley and the Gamecocks may have lost some key players for next season, including Raven Johnson and Ta'Niya Latson, they should still be in the mix for another national championship run. South Carolina returns several key contributors, such as forward Joyce Edwards and guard Tessa Johnson, and now has another potential star coming in.

Oliviyah Edwards, a 6-foot-3 power forward out of Elite Sports Academy (Tacoma, Washington), is a five-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2026 (247Sports). Not only does she rank as the fifth-best overall player in her class, but she is also ranked the top power forward and the best player from the state of Washington.

Edwards received a few different offers from some of the top women's basketball programs in the country, including Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers and the USC Trojans, where she could have teamed up with JuJu Watkins next season. But instead, on Thursday, Edwards elected to commit to South Carolina, joining Staley's team for the foreseeable future.

Following her commitment, Staley took to social media to share her excitement about Edwards joining the team, urging South Carolina fans to follow their newest star.

"@GamecockWBB FAMs you know what to do…." Staley wrote on X. "go get her followers up up up! Welcome our newest birdie…."

@GamecockWBB FAMs you know what to do….go get her followers up up up! Welcome our newest birdie….

— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) April 23, 2026

Edwards isn't the only top prospect coming to South Carolina in 2026, as five-star guard Jerzy Robinson, the No. 3 overall prospect, has committed to the Gamecocks as well.

Related: USC's JuJu Watkins Reacts After Transfer Portal Decision

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 2:40 PM.