South Carolina women's basketball: Observations from adidas 3SSB Live Session

I was at the 2025 adidas 3SSB Girls Live Session I in Rock Hill, SC, this weekend. 

There were also events in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, and elsewhere. Not everyone was in Rock Hill, though coaches seemed to try to hit multiple events.

Here’s what I saw from some of the players South Carolina is recruiting, plus a couple of other standouts.

Kaleena Smith, PG, 5-6
2027 HoopGurlz rank: 1
7 Days

Smith and Harpring faced off in the last game of the first day, and they put on a show. Smith is tiny – her listed height of 5-6 might be generous – but she is able to use it to her advantage. Smith is good at going under and around defenders to get to the rim, and she has a quick, accurate release going around screens.

She and Harpring got a little caught up in the individual battle on Friday, when Smith scored 37 points in a win. The rest of the weekend, Smith was more focused on setting up her teammates. She averaged 22.0 points and 4.8 assists for the weekend, leading all players in both categories.

Smith’s size does present some issues. She didn’t have a huge impact defensively, and as a spot-up shooter, defenses can sag off of her and still recover easily due to her height. Those are pretty minor complaints. I was trying to think of another point guard Smith’s size, and then I remembered Virginia had a pretty good one in the early 1990s.

Kate Harpring, PG, 5-10
2026 On3 Industry rank: 2
Southeast All Stars

Harpring scored 28 points against Smith on Friday despite playing most of the game wearing a mask that clearly bothered her. She eventually ditched it in the fourth quarter. Harpring started out guarding Smith, but had trouble staying in front of her. She was much more effective as a help defender, shutting off driving lanes.

Harpring has great size for her position, and she plays big. She can easily start off the ball in college if she isn’t ready to run point right away. Harpring has an impressive array of post moves and turnaround jumpers, and she does a lot of damage in the midrange.

Harpring was the second-leading scorer at the event, averaging 20.0 points. She also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 46.2% from three.

Oliviyah Edwards, F, 6-3
2026 On3 Industry rank: 6
Northwest Greyhounds

Edwards stands out immediately with her size and athleticism. Even when she makes a mistake on the court, it just looks good. She scored 23 points with seven rebounds in her first game, but only averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds for the weekend.

With her size, you’d like to see Edwards be a little more dominant around the basket. She tended to float around the free throw line. I don’t know how much of that was by design. 

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Amari Byles, W, 6-2
2026 On3 Industry rank: 14
Southwest Select

This sounds like faint praise, but it isn’t meant that way. The most impressive thing about Byles is how engaged she was when she wasn’t playing. She was cheering on the bench, listening to coaches, and calling out instructions.

That might be why Byles didn’t get down after a rough opening game and flashed some nice offensive potential on Saturday. Byles only averaged 10.8 points for the weekend, and her defense is ahead of her offense right now. There’s still a lot to like about her.

Nation Williams, F, 6-2
2027 HoopGurlz rank: 14
Utah Lady Prospects

On Friday, Williams had a terrible shooting game and went, unofficially, 2-a-million (I may have stopped keeping stats). She bounced back to average 20.0 points, tied for the second-most this weekend. Williams also averaged 7.8 rebounds, tied for the second-most.

Williams is a tenacious defender and rebounder. Offensively, she is still raw, but you can see tons of potential. She passes extremely well, finishes at the rim, can hit the midrange, and even the three. Williams doesn’t quite have prototypical size, but her potential is off the charts

Eve Long, P, 6-3
2027 HoopGurlz rank: 11
Southwest Select

Byles’ teammate, Long jumped out with her size and versatility. At 6-3, Long has good handles and quickness and finishes well at the rim. Long averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks. That’s nice stat-stuffing.

Despite her high recruiting ranking, Long doesn’t have a lot of offers from top programs. Look for that to change this summer.

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