South Carolina women's basketball: Joyce Edwards named a finalist for Gatorade National Player of the Year
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South Carolina signee Joyce Edwards is one of three finalists for the 2023-24 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Jaloni Cambridge and Kennedy Smith join the Camden native as finalists.
The winner will be announced next week.
Edwards is the second-ranked overall recruit and becomes a two-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. A three-sport standout who also plays volleyball and soccer, Edwards averaged 31.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.0 assists as a senior and led Camden to the state championship.
The honor is just the latest in a long list of awards Edwards has captured. She is the two-time MaxPreps South Carolina state player of the year (supplanting current Gamecock MiLaysia Fulwiley) and was named the MaxPreps all-sports National Player of the Year for 2022-23.
Last summer, Edwards also won a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Edwards was one of only two high school players on the roster.
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Edwards is the sixth South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year signed by Dawn Staley, but the first two-time winner. She joins Ashlyn Watkins (2021-22), Talaysia Cooper (2020-21) (transferred to Tennessee), A’ja Wilson (2013-14), Alaina Coates (2012-13), and Asia Dozier (2011-12).
If Edwards wins the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award, she would become the second national player of the year signed by the Gamecocks, joining Saniya Rivers. As a freshman, Rivers won a national championship with the Gamecocks and then transferred to NC State.
Edwards is the star of South Carolina’s second-ranked 2024 recruiting class. The other members of the class are 12th-ranked point guard Madisen McDaniel and 26th-ranked post Adhel Tac. After a knee injury ended her senior season, Tac enrolled in January to rehab with South Carolina’s training staff.
South Carolina is also still in the running for 2024’s top overall prospect Sarah Strong. Strong has kept her process intensely silent but is believed to be deciding between South Carolina, LSU, and UConn. She has not publicly set a date to announce her commitment.
