Why South Carolina Women’s Basketball Recruiting Panic Happens Every Year — and Why It’s Premature
For Gamecock fans, late summer brings a familiar mix of traditions: waiting on NCAA clearance for a football player, wondering if the tight end will see more action — and worrying about the state of women’s basketball recruiting.
Every year, the panic sets in. And every year, South Carolina ends up signing a top-five class.
So why the annual anxiety?
Summer commitments are rare. Maddy McDaniel is the only recent pledge to choose the Gamecocks during this window. Most prospects are focused on AAU play, not official visits. Those visits pick up in August through October — when classes are in session and football Saturdays provide the perfect backdrop — and commitments usually follow.
In recent years, more top players have even bypassed the November signing period, opting to commit in the spring.
Still, fans notice when big names go elsewhere. Last week, two top-10 prospects — Kate Harpring (North Carolina) and Jayla Jordyn Jackson (Maryland) — committed elsewhere, Jacy Abii removed South Carolina from her finalists, and the No. 1 recruit, Saniyah Hall, pledged to Southern Cal.
But the Gamecocks are still in the mix for six of the top 10 players in the 2026 Rivals and ESPN rankings, plus another 5-10 highly regarded prospects outside that group.
Why missed targets are normal
Football and basketball recruiting aren’t the same. A football class can have 25-plus signees. Basketball classes rarely exceed five. Even a big class comes with higher risk for attrition — which can backfire. If you recruit 20 prospects and sign five, you’re missing on 75% of your targets. That’s normal.
The unpredictable 2026 cycle
This class is a wild card for everyone. Just as programs were adjusting to NIL’s impact, revenue sharing entered the picture.
Some smaller schools are spending more on women’s basketball revenue share than SEC or Big Ten programs. Many are also promising NIL money — but those promises can be hollow. “The NIL money has to be approved by the College Sports Commission, and to date, that has been a quagmire,” one insider noted.
That’s why more recruits are likely to delay signing until the spring, waiting to see how programs navigate the new rules. “Let someone else be the guinea pig,” has become the quiet sentiment.
And when programs dangle unrealistic NIL figures, the fallout can be ugly. Expect some high-profile freshmen to hit the transfer portal when the promised deals don’t materialize.
Signing is only half the battle
Retaining talent is just as critical. UCLA lost its entire fourth-ranked 2024 class after one season. Southern Cal, despite a No. 1 class, kept just one of its three five-star recruits.
So while South Carolina might aim for a four- or five-player 2026 class, it’s only valuable if they can keep them.
The transfer factor
As one insider told me when I mentioned fan concerns: “Why? Dawn Staley only recruits the elite players she wants, and then she goes and picks whatever else she needs in the portal.”
It’s not entirely that simple — but it’s not far off.
Even the 2024 national championship roster wasn’t purely homegrown. Kamilla Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao were transfers. In 2023, the “Freshies” senior year, starting point guard Kierra Fletcher came from the portal. Before transfer rules loosened, the 2017 championship squad had Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis, both transfers.
The bottom line: Don’t panic — at least not yet. The recruiting cycle is just getting started, and history says South Carolina will be fine.
