South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley named among Top 5 freshmen in country
South Carolina women’s basketball five-star newcomer MiLaysia Fulwiley was named the No. 3 freshman in the country by The Athletic.
“Fulwiley is the definition of a Swiss army knife on the basketball court,” the story read. “The guard can hit 3s from NBA range and she can dunk; as a senior, she averaged six assists and six steals a game. She’s going to be a player who, in the future, will be on triple-double watch night in and night out (and she could pick that up with points, rebounds, assists or steals).”
Southern California’s Juju Watkins (the No. 1 player in the class of 2023) and LSU’s Mikaylah Williams (the No. 2 player in the class of 2023) ranked ahead of Fulwiley.
Fulwiley, a 5-foot-10 guard who attended W.J. Keenan High School in Columbia, headlines USC’s freshman class as the No. 13 player in the espnW’s top 100 player rankings. She’s accompanied by No. 17 Chloe Kitts, who reclassified to 2022 and came to South Carolina last fall, No. 25 Tessa Johnson and No. 40 Sahnya Jah.
These newcomers have inherited a South Carolina team with just six returners. How Fulwiley and other newcomers will fit in remains to be seen. But head coach Dawn Staley wasn’t afraid of relying on freshmen last season, The Athletic said, when she played Raven Johnson as a redshirt freshman over fifth-year senior Kierra Fletcher.
At the team’s first official practice of the season last week, Staley said no one expects Fulwiley to be perfect. But the plan is to let her play while teaching her along the way.
“Fulwiley’s impact this season will rely on how much the Gamecocks coaching staff can trust her,” The Athletic said, “and if they do? Oh, boy. She’ll be a blast to watch.”
