Edwards, Johnson Cement Legacies as USBWA Adds to South Carolina’s All-America Haul
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The accolades continue to pile up for South Carolina women’s basketball, as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) released its 2026 All-America teams, recognizing sophomore Joyce Edwards on the second team and senior Raven Johnson as an honorable mention. The dual recognition underscores the depth of individual excellence powering the Gamecocks’ run to a seventh-consecutive SEC Tournament title game appearance.
Joyce Edwards: Building a Consensus Case
At just 20 years old, Joyce Edwards is doing something rare in college basketball — she’s forcing a consensus. The sophomore forward has now earned second-team All-America status from multiple outlets this season, cementing her status as one of the most efficient and productive frontcourt players in the country.
The numbers back it up. Edwards ranks 22nd nationally in scoring at 19.6 points per game and sits among the top 15 in the nation in field goal percentage at .587 — a remarkable combination that speaks to both volume and efficiency. She’s not padding statistics in blowouts, either. Against ranked opponents, she’s averaged 16.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, showing she elevates when the competition demands it.
Her contributions have been historic in a program context. Edwards’ 667 total points rank seventh in a single season in South Carolina history, and her 19 outings of 20 or more points place her fifth in program single-season history — remarkable for a player who hasn’t yet reached her junior year.
“She ranks fourth in the SEC and 22nd in the nation in scoring,” the program noted, and that efficiency extends to the postseason stage. At the SEC Tournament, Edwards posted 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, earning All-Tournament Team recognition and serving as the engine behind South Carolina’s deep tournament run.
She’s also a finalist for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award, a nod that acknowledges not just her production, but her positional dominance. If she maintains this trajectory, Edwards could be a frontrunner for national Player of the Year conversations before she ever reaches her senior season.
Raven Johnson: The Defense That Drives Everything
If Edwards represents South Carolina’s offensive ceiling, Raven Johnson is the foundation the entire system is built on. The senior point guard’s USBWA honorable mention selection adds to a portfolio that already includes 2026 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC Second Team — recognition that reflects her value across every facet of the game.
Johnson’s fingerprints are all over South Carolina’s identity. Her 3.41 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth in the nation, a figure that signals not just playmaking ability, but elite decision-making and ball security. With 5.4 assists per game, she orchestrates an offense that functions with precision — and she does it while being a genuine scoring threat at a career-best 10.3 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting.
Those numbers sharpen in big moments. Against ranked opponents, Johnson averages 11.6 points per game on 53.0 percent shooting while dishing 5.7 assists per game — a complete statistical profile that challenges the narrative that she’s purely a facilitator.
At the SEC Tournament, Johnson was arguably at her peak. Shooting 60.0 percent from the field, including a sizzling 5-of-8 from three-point range, she averaged 12.7 points per game as the Gamecocks advanced to the title game. Her shooting performance from deep — which isn’t typically the focal point of her game — gave South Carolina an entirely different dimension.
Historically, Johnson’s legacy is already secure. She is fourth in program history in career assists with 594 and holds three of the program’s top seven single-season assist-to-turnover ratios. For a program that has graduated elite point guards under Dawn Staley, that kind of placement is significant.
The Bigger Picture
South Carolina enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4/4 nationally, with two All-Americans whose skillsets complement each other almost perfectly — a dominant interior scorer in Edwards and a cerebral, defensively elite playmaker in Johnson. The Gamecocks open play Saturday, March 21, at Colonial Life Arena, facing the winner of the First Four matchup between Southern and Samford in a 1 p.m. tipoff on ABC.
For a program accustomed to deep March runs, Edwards and Johnson represent exactly the kind of veteran-sophomore combination capable of sustaining another one.
2026 USBWA All-America Teams
First Team: Lauren Betts (UCLA), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Azzi Fudd (UConn), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Sarah Strong (UConn)
Second Team: Madison Booker (Texas), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU)
Third Team: Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), Toby Fournier (Duke), Rori Harmon (Texas), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Olivia Olson (Michigan), Kiki Rice (UCLA)
Honorable Mention: Shay Ciezki (Indiana), Jazzy Davidson (Southern Cal), Maggie Doogan (Richmond), Ava Heiden (Iowa), Raven Johnson (South Carolina), Liv McGill (Florida), Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss), Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State), Clara Strack (Kentucky)
