Coveted 2026 Australian prospect Sitaya Fagan has narrowed her college options, and South Carolina is firmly in the mix.
Fagan announced early Saturday morning (3:00 a.m. EDT, 5:00 p.m. local time in Australia) that she is down to three finalists: South Carolina, Texas, and Southern Cal.
Widely regarded as the most heavily recruited Australian women’s basketball player of all time, Fagan received a staggering 26 scholarship offers—the most ever for a player from her country.
Her breakout came at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup in Mexico, and she has only continued to impress. This past summer, Fagan helped Australia claim the silver medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Brno, Czechia, where she averaged 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was courtside at the tournament, scouting Fagan while also supporting Gamecock commits Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell.
Although Louisville was the first to offer her, the floodgates quickly opened with powerhouse programs across the NCAA joining the race. For Fagan, the college route presents both a competitive basketball opportunity and the chance to pursue a degree—a path that not every Australian player takes on their way to the pros.
Standing between 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4, Fagan is known for her athleticism and versatility, but her defensive intensity has become her calling card.
“I actually prefer playing defence than offense sometimes,” Fagan told basketball.com.au. “In my earliest stages, I was like ‘no, I want to score, I want to drop 20,’ but moving on, you learn that defence wins games.”
Interestingly, if she chooses the Gamecocks, Fagan would become the first Australian player in South Carolina program history.
