PHOENIX — The national championship game tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Madina Okot’s decision deadline arrives 48 hours after the final buzzer. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, the NCAA still has not given South Carolina an answer.
The uncertainty surrounding one of the Gamecocks’ most important players has become one of the defining subplots of this Final Four weekend — and the clock is running out.
Where Things Stand
Okot is currently listed as a South Carolina senior. She played her first two years of college basketball at Zetech University in her native Kenya before transferring to Mississippi State for her junior season and then to South Carolina this year. The NCAA counts all of those seasons against her eligibility — which is precisely what South Carolina is fighting.
The Gamecocks filed a waiver arguing that Okot’s time playing in Kenya should not count toward her NCAA eligibility clock, citing the conditions and competitive level of that environment as incomparable to NCAA standards. Staley had framed the argument clearly back in February.
“We’re trying to get a year back,” Staley said. “Whether or not we’ll be able to do that and prove that the conditions that she played in her first two years in Kenya were not comparable to NCAA standards.”
As of Saturday in Phoenix, there was still no resolution. Staley remained measured but clearly hopeful when asked about the timeline.
“I’m hoping to hear back shortly,” Staley said. “I think our compliance is doing a great job. It’s just keeping the lines of communication open. The NCAA always asks for more and more information, more and more information. Madina is complying with getting the information. Hopefully they’ll have an answer soon.”
The Timeline Problem
The waiver process is notoriously slow. Former South Carolina running back Rahsul Faison waited nine months for a resolution on a similar request. The NCAA’s institutional rhythm is not built for urgency.
Okot’s situation does not have nine months. It barely has nine days.
The 2026 WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 13. Players who are still competing in the NCAA Tournament — and who might return to college if eligibility is available — have 48 hours after their team’s final game to declare. South Carolina’s Final Four win over UConn bought a few extra days. The national championship game on Sunday bought a few more. But the window closes shortly after the final buzzer on Sunday, regardless of what the NCAA has decided.
That compression — a bureaucratic process that typically takes months, squeezed into a weekend — is the fundamental problem South Carolina is navigating.
What Okot Brings, and Why It Matters
The case for pursuing every available avenue to bring Okot back next season is straightforward: she averaged 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds this season with 22 double-doubles, the fifth-most in a single season in program history. She only began playing basketball in 2020, which means her developmental ceiling remains extraordinarily high. And she gives Staley the kind of true interior presence that the Gamecocks simply did not have in previous seasons — the same interior presence that changed the team’s identity this year and was a central factor in their Final Four run.
Against UCLA on Sunday, she will be tasked with challenging Lauren Betts — the 6-foot-7 All-American who is the most dominant center in college basketball. Whatever happens in that matchup will further clarify just how much South Carolina needs her going forward.
The Legal Option
If the NCAA denies the waiver, South Carolina is not necessarily out of options. An increasing number of programs have taken eligibility disputes to court when the NCAA process fails them — and courts have occasionally ruled in players’ favor. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss pursued exactly that route after his waiver was denied, winning an additional year of eligibility through litigation.
The timeline for Okot makes a legal challenge significantly more complicated than it was for Chambliss. Court proceedings do not move at the speed of a 48-hour draft declaration window. Whether South Carolina would pursue that avenue was put directly to Staley on Saturday — and she did not answer.
That non-answer is itself notable. It does not close the door. It leaves it open.
The Alternative: The WNBA Awaits
If the waiver is denied and the legal route is not pursued, Okot’s basketball career continues — just not in Columbia. She is currently projected as a first-round WNBA Draft pick by multiple outlets. The professional game is ready for her, even if she is still developing. Teams covet her combination of size, athleticism, and upside in exactly the way that drives first-round selections.
But for a player who only started playing basketball in 2020, the argument for more college development is compelling — and Dawn Staley has been making it for months.
Sunday First
Whatever comes next for Madina Okot begins after Sunday’s final buzzer. Right now, she is preparing to play Lauren Betts in a national championship game. The eligibility question, the draft deadline, the legal options — all of it waits until the basketball is done.
The NCAA has not answered. The clock is ticking. And Madina Okot is playing the biggest game of her life before any of it gets resolved.
