Elite SEC player has South Carolina among finalists for potential transfer

South Carolina is one of the five final schools Texas A&M junior forward Anriel Howard is considering for a potential transfer, her mother, Che Howard, told The State on Thursday.

This past Monday, news broke that Howard, the SEC's second-leading rebounder this past season, was exploring a potential transfer away from the Aggies, though coach Gary Blair said it was possible she might still choose to remain with the program, where she set a school record for rebounds.

USC was one of the finalists in Howard's recruitment in high school, but Che Howard said she picked A&M in 2014 in part because she wanted to compete collegiately in both basketball and track and field, where she was an accomplished long and triple jumper.

"Looking back, we just thought that it was better for Anriel to go to Texas A&M because she still wanted to run track and (South Carolina coach Dawn Staley) didn't want her to run track, she just wanted her to focus only on basketball."

Still, Che Howard said, both she and her daughter have enormous respect for Staley

"Dawn is a living legend, let's be clear, and Anriel being able to be coached by her leadership would have been an excellent decision just off that fact alone," Howard said. "South Carolina is a fine school, it definitely and we loved the coaching staff as well."

After her freshman year at Texas A&M, Anriel Howard gave up track, and in both her sophomore and junior seasons, she averaged a double-double, with a career-high of 27 rebounds in one game despite standing just 5-foot-11.

This past year, she averaged 12 boards per game, out-rebounding everyone in the conference except 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowan of Mississippi State, finishing ahead of USC's 6-foot-5 A'ja Wilson and Tennessee's 6-foot-6 Mercedes Russell.

If she does transfer, Howard will be eligible to play right away as a graduate transfer — she is set to graduate from A&M in three years with a major in telecommunications media studies. That major will play a factor in the school she chooses, Che Howard said.

"Just making sure she's under a great coaching staff and the school has a great program for her masters," Howard said of the main factors in her daughter's decision. "After both of those check out, she wants to help a team go all the way."

Che Howard declined to name the four other schools USC is competing against for Anriel's services, but she did say that of the five finalists, two advanced to the most recent Final Four on the NCAA tournament and two others, South Carolina being one, made it to the Sweet 16.

Notre Dame, Connecticut, Louisville and Mississippi State were this year's Final Four participants.

As for a timeline on Howard's decision, her mother said she would take official visits to all five schools first then choose soon after, "well before June."

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Elite SEC player has South Carolina among finalists for potential transfer."