Five-star in-state recruit picks South Carolina, becomes Staley’s first 2022 commit
Talaysia Cooper has flown into the nest.
Cooper, the nation’s No. 18 prospect in the class of 2022 according to espnW, announced her commitment to the South Carolina women’s basketball program Saturday afternoon. She’s the first to commit to head coach Dawn Staley’s 2022 class.
“I didn’t choose South Carolina for the hype, none of that,” Cooper said. “I chose South Carolina to do better, to get better, some place that I know that I can take the next level to, which is all schools — but I feel like South Carolina is the school for me.”
The 6-foot swing player from East Clarendon High School released her final seven back in July, which included the Gamecocks, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Duke and Ole Miss. In August, she narrowed the list down to four — South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State.
“I feel like I can go to Coach Staley, Coach (Jolette) Law, I know they’ll take care of me,” Cooper said.
She revealed her decision in a ceremony at East Clarendon moments after her mom Letessa Cooper said, “Home is where the heart is.”
“It was decided for a little minute,” Cooper said.
Cooper was last year’s South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, averaging 23.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, 8 assists, 4.6 blocks and 2.2 steals per game as a junior. She led East Clarendon to a 10-1 record and the Class A state tournament in the 2020-21 season.
An espnW five-star prospect, Cooper has already scored 2,446 points in her high school career and was also named the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association’s Class A Player of the Year last season.
“A birdie just flew in the nest,” Staley posted to Twitter on Friday evening, an indication that Cooper told the Gamecocks of her impending public commitment to USC.
Cooper confirmed Saturday she told Staley of her decision the night before the announcement.
“She was excited,” Cooper said. “She told me she would make a tweet.”
South Carolina first offered Cooper in summer 2017, just before she went into eighth grade. She becomes Staley’s first in-state commitment since Olivia Thompson (junior, Lexington) and senior Elysa Wesolek (senior, Charleston).
“I’m at home,” Cooper said.
Another 2022 Gamecocks target, 6-foot-3 center Ashlyn Watkins from Columbia’s Cardinal Newman School, is down to South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi State and Kentucky. Her mother told The State in August that Watkins will announce her decision in November.
Janiah Barker, a 6-foot-3 forward from Florida’s Montverde Academy, committed to Georgia this week over an offer from South Carolina.
Staley Gamecocks brought in the No. 1 recruiting class for 2021, return every member of the Final Four team from last season and added last year’s ACC Freshman and Co-Defender of the Year Kamilla Cardoso from Syracuse.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 3:07 PM.
