Two South Carolina signees make multiple national Player of the Year watch lists
Future Gamecocks Joyce Edwards and Maddy McDaniel headline two national awards watch lists: Naismith High School Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the Year.
Edwards, McDaniel and Adhel Tac — who enrolled early at USC earlier this month after suffering a season-ending knee injury in high school — make up the No. 2 recruiting class in the country. The Gamecocks’ three five-star signees tie Southern Cal (with its No. 1 recruiting class) and UCLA (with its No. 3 class) for most in the nation.
Edwards is the No. 2 player in the class of 2024, followed by McDaniel at No. 12 and Tac at No. 26.
Edwards, the 6-foot-2 forward out of Camden High School, is the reigning S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today High School Sports National Girls Athlete of the Year and 2022-23 MaxPreps National Female Athlete of the Year. As a junior, Edwards averaged 28.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game and eclipsed 3,000 career points. This year she’s averaging 30 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 3.6 steals per game.
McDaniel, a 5-foot-8 point guard out of Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland, is averaging around 15 points, four steals and three rebounds per game along with a 5-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. She was named 2022-23 MaxPreps Maryland Player of the Year.
Last year, the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year (now-Southern Cal’s JuJu Watkins) was announced March 3. The MaxPreps Player of the Year (which also went to Watkins) was announced on March 30, 2023. Gamecock great A’ja Wilson and current Gamecock Raven Johnson won both honors in 2014 and 2021, respectively.
