Hometown star and major Gamecock target locks in date for her college choice
Ashlyn Watkins’ recruitment is about to near a conclusion.
The Cardinal Newman senior will be announcing her college choice at noon on Nov. 17 at her Columbia-area high school on the final day of the early fall period for basketball. Athletes have between Nov. 10 and 17 to sign their national letter of intent for the fall period.
Watkins is a five-star prospect and is No. 12 overall in the Class of 2022 by ESPN HoopGurlz rankings. Of the top 12 prospects, Watkins and Kiki Rice of Sidwell Friends School (DC) are the only two to have not announced their college choices.
“I’m glad it is about to be over with,” Watkins told The State this week before practice.
Watkins, a forward/center, has kept her recruitment pretty private. She rarely posts on social media about college interests and offers, which have been plentiful since her freshman year of high school.
In August, Watkins announced her final four schools of Kentucky, Mississippi State, North Carolina and South Carolina. But it’s really down to a two-team race between North Carolina and South Carolina, the two places she has taken official visits.
Both USC and UNC have one commitment for the Class of 2022. In-state prospect Talaysia Cooper of East Clarendon committed to the Gamecocks on Oct. 23, and New Jersey guard Paulina Paris committed to the Tar Heels on Oct. 30.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and North Carolina coaches were at Watkins’ SCISA 3A volleyball state championship game last week in Charleston. Watkins said the two schools are in constant communication with her.
Watkins took her official visit to UNC in September and then visited the Gamecocks last weekend. She said her official visit to USC included playing laser tag with the team, watching practice and going out to dinner in addition to hanging with Gamecocks players and coaching staff.
“Both have been recruiting me hard,” Watkins said. “The UNC visit was fun. I like the girls a lot and the coaching staff. South Carolina, I like that it is at home and how hard Dawn Staley pushes her players.”
Watkins is in her fifth year as a starter at Cardinal Newman, has averaged a double-double each season and is close to 1,500 points in her career. She has a career average of 15.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks and had 23 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots in last year’s state championship win over Northwood.
The 6-foot-3 Watkins burst on the national scene for her dunking ability. Her first dunk came in the fifth grade, and she dunked twice in AAU events during the summer of 2018.
Watkins also dunked in a 2020 playoff game against Porter-Gaud in helping the Cardinals to their second of three championships in a row. Her most recent dunk came in the Wooten Top 150 Camp in October when she took the ball on top of the key and threw it down for the slam.
“It has been fun dunking,” Watkins said. “I’m pretty sure I have gotten better at it and being in the weight room and getting my legs right. My favorite dunk is my most recent one because I didn’t know I could do it like that.”
Cardinal Newman coach and former South Carolina standout Asia Dozier says Watkins’ athletic ability will help her as she adjusts to the college game next season.
“Being able to transition to the pace of the game, you see a lot of freshmen struggle with. But I don’t think it will challenge her quite as much,” Dozier said. “She has a burst of speed and her ability to time her jump and to contribute on both ends of the floor.”
One thing Dozier hopes to see from Watkins this year is the ability to expand her range on her jump shots. She also will need the five-star prospect to be a more vocal leader with so many players graduated or transferred from last year’s championship team.
“We have been challenging her to grow in other areas, and she has taken that upon herself to work on other things,” Dozier said. “We are challenging her to knock down shots from outside. She is capable of doing that in practice. We need to get her to do it more in the game.
“Her athleticism is always going to be on display, but more so her leadership and her being the only senior on the team. We are going to lean on her to be the leader of the team and she has shown that she is up to the task.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 3:08 PM.
