Oliviyah Edwards commits to South Carolina after Lady Vols basketball decommitment

Oliviyah Edwards committed to South Carolina on Thursday following her Lady Vols decommitment in early April.

“Sometimes it takes twice to get it right,” Edwards wrote in her announcement on social media.

Edwards is the No. 4 prospect in the nation and a five-star recruit, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. She committed to the Lady Vols in October, asked for her release in April and ultimately picked the Gamecocks.

But the 6-foot-3 forward considered the Lady Vols in her second recruitment in the two weeks between her release and her commitment to South Carolina. Tennessee had extensive conversations with Edwards and her team following her decommitment to try to get Edwards to commit to UT for a second time, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Volquest.

Edwards was one of the most sought-after players in the country before she committed to Tennessee. The Tacoma, Washington native chose the Lady Vols over South Carolina, USC, LSU, Florida and Washington when he ended her recruitment initially.

Edwards committed on Oct. 13 while on her official visit to UT.

She asked for her release on April 4 and Tennessee granted it. At the time of her release, the Lady Vols did not have any players on the roster as all eight potential returners had entered the transfer portal.

“This decision was incredibly hard, but after deep conversations with my family I know what’s best for my future,” Edwards wrote on X. “A special thank you to coach Kim Caldwell, Gabe Lazo, Roman Tubner and the entire staff. The relationships we built mean so much to me and they will always hold a special place in my future. This has been a tough weekend as I’ve had to grieve the loss of what I once envisioned for my future.”

Edwards took a visit to South Carolina following her decommitment. She also visited Texas before choosing Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks.

The Lady Vols have signed two high school players in Georgia forward Gabby Minus and guard Irene Oboavwoduo, who is from England.

They have 10 players on the roster after adding eight transfers so far.

Tennessee has added five guards in Harissoum Coulibaly (Auburn), Avery Mills (Liberty), Kaylene Smikle (Maryland) Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia) and Naomi White (Northern Arizona) as backcourt additions. The Lady Vols added three forwards in Zhen Craft (Georgia), Fatmata Janneh (Texas A&M) and Harper Peterson (Stanford).