Maddy McDaniel steps away from South Carolina women’s basketball team
Veteran South Carolina women’s basketball guard Maddy McDaniel announced Thursday that she’s stepping away from the team, citing mental health reasons.
“I have decided to step away from the team to focus on my mental and emotional well-bring, to get back to my best self on all levels,” she said in a statement posted to social media.
McDaniel, a junior, was the heir apparent to Raven Johnson to be the starting point guard for the Gamecocks in the 2026-27 season.
“It is the strongest thing I can think of to do because of what being part of Gamecock Women’s Basketball means to me,” she posted Thursday. “I appreciate everyone who has supported me, and I will be working hard to get back to being the person who has earned that.”
Though it wasn’t specifically addressed in her public statement Thursday, it’s assumed McDaniel will work her way back and rejoin the Gamecocks’ roster at some point. South Carolina holds team workouts during the summer and won’t typically start official preseason practices until late September.
There is currently no timetable for McDaniel’s return, a USC athletics spokesperson told The State.
McDaniel averaged 4.3 points per game last season for the Gamecocks. She played in 33 games and almost exclusively came off the bench. McDaniel missed a few games early in the season with an injury and because of a suspension, but she quickly worked her way back into South Carolina’s rotation.
She averaged a career-high 19.7 minutes per game for South Carolina in 2025-26. McDaniel, affectionately known as “Maddy Mouse,” was often the leader of the second unit, and head coach Dawn Staley praised her for her growth and for her ability to boost a bench unit for a team marred with depth issues throughout the year.
“If we see anyone in our program going through something, we give them the space and the grace to work through it,” Staley said in a release. “When they embrace that it may take more than that, we embrace that too. Maddy’s decision is a difficult one for a young person to make, and I’m glad she felt our program was in a safe place for her to make it."
McDaniel’s absence makes the Gamecocks short a guard on their roster. In the meantime, Staley will have Tessa Johnson, Ayla McDowell, Jordan Lee, Agot Makeer, Justine Loubens and Jerzy Robinson to work with. The candidates to take some of McDaniel’s point guard duties would likely be Makeer or Robinson, although any of the guards on the roster could find a way bring the ball up the court if needed.
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 12:50 PM.
