South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecock commit suffers knee injury

South Carolina commit Kelsi Andrews has suffered a knee injury and undergone surgery.

The 2026 post suffered a torn meniscus and torn bone cartilage in her knee. Andrews had successful surgery last weekend and is recovering. A timetable for her recovery is not known.

She revealed the injury in a social media post on Sunday. Attempts to reach Andrews, her mother, and her coach Sunday evening were unsuccessful.

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Andrews committed to South Carolina in a ceremony at IMG Academy on October 7, when she declared she would be joining “Dawn’s Daycare.”

“South Carolina just felt right,” Andrews told ESPN. “The people, the culture, and the way they care about you beyond basketball reminded me why I fell in love with the game in the first place.”

At 6-4, Andrews has been listed as both a post and forward by recruiting services. She is ranked 18th overall by HoopGurlz and 30th overall by Rivals/On3. She fits the mold of a modern post: equally comfortable in the low post or stepping out to hit the three. 

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This is the third major injury Andrews has suffered. She has torn both ACLs, the right in 2022 and the left in 2023. South Carolina began recruiting her in middle school and has stuck with her through the injuries.

“(Jolette) Law was one of the first coaches to watch me play back in seventh grade, and from that moment, they’ve been consistent ever since,” she told ESPN. “Through both of my ACL tears, Coach Staley never left my side – and that meant everything to me.”

Recovery time for meniscus surgery ranges from several weeks to as much as nine months.

If Andrews is able to graduate early, it is possible that she could enroll early at South Carolina and join the Gamecocks midseason to continue her rehab. That is the path used by Laeticia Amihere in 2019 and Adhel Tac in 2024. 

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