South Carolina basketball signee wins Overtime Elite MVP...again
South Carolina basketball signee Eli Ellis will arrive in Columbia this summer with high expectations. As the highest-rated player in the Gamecocks’ class (according to the On3 industry ranking, he is the No. 70 overall player in the country, the No. 4 player in talent-rich North Carolina, and the No. 21 prospect among all shooting guards), Ellis projects as a potential dynamic scorer at the college level.
He has also logged incredible production at the high school level. For his efforts, Ellis earned All-American honors and will compete in the Iverson Classic All-American Game in May. This week, though, another honor (deservingly) came his way.
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On Wednesday night, news broke that Ellis had won the MVP award for the highly-competitive Overtime Elite league. The honor marks the second year in a row the future Gamecock has won the league’s MVP. On the season, he averaged 32 points, nearly seven assists, and six rebounds and led his YNG Dreamerz squad to the first overall seed in the playoffs. He will compete for the OTE championship over the next two weeks.
Ellis is the all-time leading scorer in Overtime Elite history and has had multiple 50-point scoring outbursts.
As should be obvious by his MVP selection, Ellis also made the All-OTE team this season. His younger brother Isaac Ellis and teammate Kohl Rosario made the All-OTE team, as well. Both the younger Ellis and Rosario are class of 2026 South Carolina basketball recruiting targets. Like his older brother, Isaac Ellis is a crafty combo guard, while Rosario is an explosive wing with an improving shooting touch.
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For Eli Ellis, the road to playing time at USC might be wide open. He plays both guard positions, and South Carolina graduates starters Jamarii Thomas and Jacobi Wright. If he arrives in Columbia and has a good preseason, Ellis might earn a substantial role even as a freshman.
As a player, the 6’1″ guard is a score-first player. Ellis thrives because of his competitiveness and his top-notch skills both as a ballhandler and as a shooter. He doesn’t shoot elite percentages right now, but much of that is due to how difficult his attempts are; Ellis takes (and makes) step-backs, fadeaways, and 30-footers. As he gets put in better situations at the college level, his efficiency numbers should improve.
Ellis finishes well near the basket despite not possessing big-time size or athleticism. This season, in particular, he has shown improvement as a passer and playmaker for his teammates. In addition to his league-best scoring output, Ellis led OTE in assists this year with 6.7 per game.
