Two South Carolina women's basketball stars ranked in top 11 nationally

With the collegiate regular season beginning next week, this week has been loaded with the final installments of “list season.” Outlets have published their preseason all-conference and award lists, last-minute team and player rankings, and other lists. As a consensus top-five team in the country, South Carolina women’s basketball has featured prominently on these lists.

That continued with ESPN’s ranking of the top-25 players in women’s college basketball.

Michael Voepel, Charlie Creme, and Kendra Andrews collaborated on the ranking, and two Gamecocks made the cut. Senior transfer portal additional Ta’Niya Latson and sophomore Joyce Edwards slotted inside the top 11. USC joined UConn as the only two programs with multiple players ranked so high.

*South Carolina previously earned the No. 2 spot in ESPN’s preseason rankings, but the rankings came out prior to Chloe Kitts’ injury.*

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Latson, ranked No. 7 overall, is the fourth guard in the rankings. She trailed only Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, and TCU’s Olivia Miles among guards. The 5-8 junior led the nation in scoring last season (25.4 points per game) and will bring a go-to option to Dawn Staley’s team. Latson was an All-American last season at Florida State.

Said Creme about Latson: “South Carolina’s top scorer last season (Joyce Edwards) averaged 12.7 points. Latson nearly doubled that at Florida State as the nation’s leading scorer. Her decision to finish her career in Columbia almost certainly changes the Gamecocks’ offensive approach. Dawn Staley has a bona fide shotmaker in her backcourt who she can turn to for a bucket when one is needed. Latson improved significantly last season as a 3-point shooter (27.0% to 34.3%) and averaged a career-high 4.6 assists. That version of Latson should thrive even more with the talent surrounding her at South Carolina.”

The ESPN crew ranked Edwards 11th nationally and third among (non-center) forwards. Only UConn’s Sarah Strong and Texas’ Madison Booker were ahead of Edwards positionally. She led the Gamecocks in scoring last season en route to Freshman All-American and All-SEC honors. Following knee injuries to Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, the hometown hero will move into the starting lineup after spending the 2024-2025 campaign coming off the bench.

Voepel wrote about Edwards: “An All-SEC first-team member as a freshman, Edwards led a balanced South Carolina attack in scoring last season, despite starting only one game. She shot 52.9% from the field and became an even bigger presence inside after a season-ending injury to Ashlyn Watkins in January. Edwards was named to the all-tournament team at the Final Four after the Gamecocks’ championship loss to UConn. And in AmeriCup competition over the summer, she was the third-leading scorer (9.9 PPG) for Team USA.”

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