South Carolina women's basketball: Who's in the nest, and who are the Gamecocks watching in the early signing period

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The first day of the early signing period held few surprises for South Carolina as both of the early commits officially flew into the nest.

Point guard Madisen McDaniel and post Adhel Tac each signed at a ceremony at their respective high schools.

In the nest

Fittingly, it was McDaniel, who was South Carolina’s first commit back in August, who got her Letter of Intent in first. 

McDaniel is the second-ranked point guard and 12th-ranked overall prospect in her class and originally announced her decision at the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game. She was once ranked in the top ten of her class but suffered a torn ACL in February 2021 that caused her to drop.

South Carolina got involved with McDaniel relatively late, but she chose the Gamecocks over Tennessee and Georgia. She took her official visit to South Carolina in June.

McDaniel seems to be fully healthy again and averaged 18.6 points, 5.4 assists, 5.2 steals, and 4.3 rebounds as a junior, earning state player of the year honors from MaxPreps and All-Met honors from the Washington Post on top of being the conference player of the year.

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In a statement announcing McDaniel’s singing, Dawn Staley said:

“I love a point guard who plays to make others better without sacrificing her own talent as a playmaker; and Madisen is that. She has court vision and the ability shoot and get to the rim, but what sets her apart is that she makes good decisions in the moment and has team success as her top priority. Madisen has been well coached and played at an elite level, so I know that she fits our culture and that the FAMS will love to watch her play.”

Tac made her commitment official later on Wednesday. She initially committed on October 27, a few weeks after visiting Columbia.

According to HoopGurlz Tac is the 33rd-ranked prospect in the 2024 class and fourth-ranked post. Tac has only been playing basketball since she was 13, and missed last season due to a foot injury. She was ranked as high as 12th before the injury shut her down. 

Tac is back to full strength and uses her size well and is good at playing with the ball high. She is able to rebound and gather without bringing the ball down, a valuable skill for bigs.

At 6-5, Tac fills a critical recruiting need for South Carolina. The Gamecocks have missed out on several posts in the 2023 and 2024 recruiting cycles. Since signing Aliyah Boston in 2019, South Carolina has only signed one high school post: Ashlyn Watkins, who probably should have been listed as a forward. 

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In a statement, Staley said of Tac:

“Adhel’s interior presence and high motor allow her to impact the game in so many ways. She is more than a gifted basketball player, though; she is an exceptional person who we look forward to having in Columbia. I know the FAMS will fall in love with her, too.”

Still flying

With the known birdies in the nest, South Carolina now waits on a pait of unknowns. Camden’s Joyce Edwards, the second-ranked prospect, took trips to Clemson, Texas A&M, Stanford, and LSU. South Carolina asked for, and received her last visit, the weekend of October 28.

Edwards is widely believed to be deciding between South Carolina and LSU. She had previously indicated she would sign during the early signing period (which lasts until November 15), but recently said she might wait until the spring signing period. 

Kennedy Smith is the sixth-ranked prospect. Staley recently flew to California to attend one of Smith’s practices, and Smith also visited in October. Smith has not said when she will announce her decision. Update: Smith will announce on Saturday.

Counting Tac and McDaniel, South Carolina has 2-5 available scholarships remaining. Kamilla Cardoso, Te-Hina Paopao, and Sakima Walker each have an optional covid season remaining

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