South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks' recruiting class ranked second

South Carolina added two spring signees to its 2026 recruiting class, shaking up the rankings. Now that the roster is finished, where do the Gamecocks sit in the rankings?

ESPN released its revised rankings on May 1, and 247 followed on May 2. Rivals/On3 does not do class rankings.

South Carolina finished second in both rankings, but a different program claimed first. ESPN ranked Southern Cal first, with its class of Saniyah Hall, Sara Okeke, and Sitaya Fagan.

Interestingly, ESPN counted Faga, who enrolled midseason, toward SOuthern Call’s 2026 recruiting class, but did not count Alicia Tournebize, who enrolled midseason, toward South Carolina’s 2026 recruiting class.

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Texas led the 247 class rankings, which favor large classes. 247 did not include Justine Loubens in its rankings for South Carolina. Southern Cal is only 15th on the list. 

Breaking down the ESPN rankings, Southern Cal (no. 1 Saniyah Hall and no. 5 Sara Okeke) and South Carolina (no. 3 Oliviyah Edwards and no. 6 Jerzy Robinson) are the only programs with multiple top ten recruits in the class. They are also the only programs to sign a top-six recruit each of the past three years.

“To a group that already featured a formidable frontcourt, and the most physical guard of the class, Dawn Staley recently made two strong additions,” ESPN wrote. Here’s what ESPN said about each member of South Carolina’s class.

Oliviyah Edwards (6-3 forward):

“She’s a skilled and multifaceted 6-3 forward who creates constant matchup problems. She stretches the floor as a face-up shooter, can attack off the bounce, and has the dexterity to finish with either hand at the rim.”

Jerzy Robinson (6-2 Guard):

“She’s a confrontational competitor on the perimeter who lives at the free throw line, can initiate offense, and has a proven jump shot.”

Kaeli Wynn (6-2 Wing):

“Wynn, a confident and vocal presence on the floor with an exceptionally high basketball IQ, is the daughter of longtime coaches. She is skilled in her offensive game and physical and confrontational defensively.”

Kelsi Andrews (6-3 Forward):

“Andrews is a formidable post presence. She works the offensive glass, can finish with either hand around the rim, and can stretch the floor.“

Justine Loubens (6-1 Wing):

“(U)nderstands spacing and can play all over the floor. A lefty forward, she can knock down the corner 3 or the straight line drive. She moves well without the basketball and is skilled at reading spacing and knowing when to get into position for an easy bucket.”

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As mentioned above, ESPN did not include Tournebize in its rankings, but has called her the “gem” of the recruiting cycle.

The full top ten, according to ESPN, is Southern Cal, South Carolina, Texas, Duke, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Maryland, Indiana, UConn, and North Carolina. According to 247, it is Texas, South Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Florida State, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Clemson, and Indiana. 

According to ESPN, this is South Carolina’s sixth consecutive top-six class. Under Dawn Staley, South Carolina has signed the top-ranked class twice and the second-ranked class three times.

South Carolina made its first major recruiting splash in 2014, when A’ja Wilson headlined the nation’s second-ranked class. The Gamecocks also had the 11th-ranked class in 2016 and 10th-ranked class in 2017, but didn’t become a recruiting juggernaut until the “Freshies” class in 2019. That class was ranked first overall and ended up being one of the best classes ever.

The 2020 class (Eniya Russell) was unranked; nobody was willing to sit behind the Freshies, although Kamilla Cardoso, the fifth-ranked player in the class, transferred in after her freshman season.

South Carolina rebounded with the top-ranked class in 2021. Consisting of the second, third, fourth, and 14th-ranked players and including two national high school players of the year, it was regarded at the time as one of the best classes ever.

The Gamecocks added the sixth-ranked class in 2022, the second-ranked class in 2023 (and Chloe Kitts didn’t count because she enrolled early), the third-ranked class in 2024, and the fourth-ranked class in 2025.

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