There has always been something different about the way Dawn Staley builds a basketball program. The championships, the recruiting classes, the defensive identity — all of it is by design. But heading into the 2026-27 season, the Gamecocks have added a dimension to their already-dominant roster that no program in the history of women’s college basketball can claim to match: four players who can dunk.
Not one. Not two. Four.
Ashlyn Watkins is the only one to have done it during a college game, but Alicia Tournebize, Oliviyah Edwards, and Agot Makeer have each done it in high school or the French professional leagues. And now, with Joyce Edwards quietly adding her own name to that conversation during USA Basketball warmups, Colonial Life Arena is poised to become the most electrifying building in women’s college basketball — one fast break at a time.
Ashlyn Watkins: The Original and the Standard
If you want to understand what dunking means in the context of South Carolina women’s basketball, it starts and ends with Ashlyn Watkins.
Watkins has dunked in a game three times in her career at South Carolina — at home in Colonial Life Arena against Kentucky in her sophomore season, and on the road against TCU last season. She also won the McDonald’s All-American dunk contest in 2022. Nine women have ever dunked in an NCAA game. Watkins has done it three times alone.
Her return to the Gamecocks for her final season after missing the 2025-26 campaign is significant on multiple fronts. Watkins’ return will bolster a frontcourt that needs depth and experience, and restore a relentless rebounder and shot-blocker to the paint. But beyond the rebounding and the defense, her presence sends a message that has become a defining characteristic of this program — physicality, explosiveness, and a refusal to play below the rim.
Dawn Staley put it plainly back in January 2024 after Watkins threw down her second career dunk: “We dunk in our game… I don’t think it’s anything new, it’s a part of our game.” What was a bold statement then is now simply a roster reality.
Alicia Tournebize: 6-Foot-7 of Unrealized Potential
If Watkins established the dunking tradition in Columbia, Alicia Tournebize is the player who made the entire country pay attention to it.
The 6-foot-7 French forward joined South Carolina in the middle of last season, signing just before Christmas and arriving in Columbia on New Year’s Day. She dunked in a FIBA event for the French national team last summer and dunked in pregame warmups during her brief pro stint with Tango Bourges Basket.
When a video of Tournebize dunking during a drill at South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament first-round practice on March 20 went viral, the internet did not need much convincing. Here was a 6-foot-7 forward throwing down with authority, and the question immediately became not if she would dunk in a game, but when.
Tournebize has said she never wants to force a dunk, acknowledging that the crowd gets excited anytime she gets the ball close to the rim. Her height creates unique situations, but unlike Watkins, there have not been the wide-open fast-break chances that lend themselves to that moment.
In the 2026-27 season, with a faster, more dynamic roster around her, those moments may become impossible to avoid. And when they arrive, Colonial Life Arena may need structural reinforcement.
Joyce Edwards: The All-American Who Just Quietly Added Dunking to Her Resume
Of all the names on this list, Joyce Edwards may be the most understated — which is remarkable considering she is arguably the best player in women’s college basketball heading into next season.
Edwards set South Carolina’s single-season scoring record in 2025-26, averaging 19.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She was on every All-America list released this season, making her just the third Gamecock to earn that status in each of her first two seasons. She is also part of the University of South Carolina’s prestigious Honors College, an environmental science major carrying over a 3.7 GPA.
And now, she can dunk.
While preparing for the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Warsaw, Poland with Team USA, Edwards made her way to the paint during warmups and threw down a thunderous dunk that left players on the court in awe. Former South Carolina player Maryam Dauda was among those who reacted, leaving a one-word comment that captured the moment’s impact.
Edwards has always spoken with the quiet confidence of someone who knows there is more in the tank. When asked what she had learned about herself most recently, she said: “Probably that I’m not there yet. I feel like every time I think that I’m comfortable, every time I think that I get to the point where I want to be, there’s something else that knocks me off just a little bit to keep me going.”
A player averaging nearly 20 points a game, on every All-America team, and now dunking in international warmups — and she still believes she is not there yet. That is a terrifying sentence for the rest of women’s college basketball.
Oliviyah Edwards: The Arrival of “Big Oh”
If one player’s commitment to South Carolina crystallized what the 2026-27 Gamecocks are going to look like above the rim, it is Oliviyah Edwards.
The five-star forward from Tacoma, Washington, formerly committed to Tennessee before decommitting and ultimately choosing South Carolina, announcing her decision with the caption: “Sometimes it takes twice to get it right.” CBS Sports
She told ESPN exactly why Columbia felt right: “I chose South Carolina because it felt like home. Coach Staley, the staff and the team showed me a level of love and belief that stood out. I know I’ll be pushed every single day, and being surrounded by that kind of energy and support means everything to me.”
The recruiting profile speaks for itself. The 6-foot-3 forward is rated the No. 3 player in the Class of 2026, a Naismith All-American and a Naismith Trophy semifinalist. She averaged 30 points, 25 rebounds, and four assists per game in her final high school season at Lincoln High School in Washington.
But it is the dunking that has made her a phenomenon. At the McDonald’s All-American Game dunk contest on March 30, Edwards threw down two signature dunks — the first one-handed, the second a two-handed flush that ended with her swinging her feet up to touch her ankles to the rim as players screamed in excitement.
In the McDonald’s All-American Game itself, Edwards posted 8 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, won the “Thirst for the Crown” 1-on-1 competition, and finished third in the Slam Dunk competition.
Dawn Staley was direct in her assessment of what “Big Oh” brings to Columbia: “Big Oh already has a deep toolbox and elite intangibles. She can score, pass, handle the ball, defend and process the game at a high level. She’s a competitor, a communicator and a good teammate. With that as her starting point, she has the hunger and the work ethic to continue elevating her game. We’re excited to get started with Big Oh.”
What It All Means for 2026-27
Step back and look at what Dawn Staley is assembling, and the picture becomes almost unfair to the rest of the country.
As of April 23, Staley now has three players on her Gamecocks roster who can dunk — Watkins, Tournebize, and Oliviyah Edwards — with Joyce Edwards’ international warmup video suggesting that number may actually be four heading into next season.
The talent of an Edwards-Edwards tandem — Oliviyah’s partnership with Joyce, who is coming off an All-America sophomore season — figures to cause all kinds of trouble for opponents due to their combined athleticism, versatility, and skill. On top of both Edwardses, South Carolina is welcoming back Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, both of whom missed the 2025-26 season with injuries.
The rest of the picture is equally daunting. Tessa Johnson led the SEC in three-point shooting last season. Agot Makeer emerged as one of the stars of the NCAA Tournament — a long, athletic wing defender who can also create her own offense.
The dunks are the headline. But as one writer noted, this isn’t just about dunks. That would be too simple, and South Carolina is anything but simple to figure
What is being built in Columbia for 2026-27 is something women’s college basketball has not seen before — a program with championship pedigree, elite depth, a ferocious defensive identity, and now a frontcourt that can literally play above the rim in ways that redefine what is possible in the women’s game.
Colonial Life Arena is going to be very loud this season. And very, very high off the ground.
