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5-star prospect visiting South Carolina women's basketball for top 5 matchup against LSU

by:Kevin Miller•about 11 hours•

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Oliviyah Edwards

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has some big-time irons in the class of 2026 recruiting fire. One of them is 5-star power forward Oliviyah Edwards from Elite Sports Academy in Tacoma, Washington.

As GamecockCentral readers know already, Edwards is on campus this weekend for an unofficial visit. South Carolina was scheduled to take on LSU on Thursday night, but the poor weather moved the game to Friday.

The Gamecocks made Edwards’ top 10 list last summer and appear to be a real contender in her recruitment. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers, LSU Tigers, North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Southern Cal Trojans, Washington Huskies, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish all are involved in courting the 5-star recruit as competition to South Carolina.

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As a prospect, Edwards is a dynamic and explosive athlete. She shares a lot of traits with current South Carolina women’s basketball forward Ashlyn Watkins. Listed at 6’3″, she has a much longer wingspan and is a much more proficient leaper than most others in the women’s game. That leaping ability translates to Edwards being a comfortable dunker and a big-time rebounder.

However, she is becoming a more skilled player on offense, as well. Her jumper is improving, and her ballhandling is good enough that she can utilize her unmatched athleticism to win off the bounce when matched up against slower post players away from the basket.

On the other end of the court, she can guard virtually any type of opposing player. Edwards’ quick feet let her do a better job chasing smaller guards than most high school bigs. Her length also allows her to guard even the biggest players on other teams. She’s a ridiculous shot-blocker and manages to get her hands on seemingly every loosely-dribbled ball or lazy pass that comes near her.

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In the latest On3 player rankings update, Edwards is the No. 6 overall national prospect. She also is the No. 2 power forward and the No. 1 player from the state of Washington.

Edwards plans to take her official visits (including one to South Carolina) at a later date. According to Edwards, herself, she will announce her college choice following those official visits. That should come before her senior season begins next November.

Edwards should be on hand for this weekend’s big-time matchup against LSU. The Gamecocks and Tigers will tip off at 5:00 p.m. on Friday night at Colonial Life Arena. ESPN will broadcast the game, and the ESPN app will make it available for streaming. Because of the weather-mandated changes, College GameDay will not be part of the broadcast as originally scheduled.

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