No. 3 Saniya Rivers Joins Gamecocks' 2021 Signing Class

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley announced that Saniya Rivers (pronounced suh-NYE-uh) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play for the Gamecocks. The Wilmington, N.C., native will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2021-22 academic year.
 
“From the first time I saw Saniya play, I was hooked,” Staley said. “I’ve seen her play so many positions, so her versatility is the thing that jumps off the page. She has a jump shot; she can get to the basket; she can shoot Stephen Curry 3s; she has tremendous court vision and is very unselfish, almost to a fault. It doesn’t stop there. Her ability to defend, to compete – she wants to win her battle on both sides of the ball, and we love that about her.”
 
A 6-foot guard, Rivers is ranked No. 3 overall in the Class of 2021 and the No. 2 guard in the group. Last week she was among the 50 players named to the watch list for 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for High School Girls Player of the Year.
 
The two-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (2019, 2020), Rivers also earned 2019 North Carolina Player of the Year honors from USA Today and the Associated Press. As a junior (2019-20), she led Eugene Ashley High to a 25-5 record and the quarterfinals of the NCHSAA playoffs after sweeping the Mideastern Conference regular-season and tournament titles. Her 25 points, 11.7 rebounds, 6.3 steals and 4.2 assists per game earned her StarNews All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors for the third-straight season and a spot on the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (NCBCA) All-State First Team. As a sophomore at Laney High, Rivers was the 2019 NCBCA Player of the Year after earning a spot on the All-State Second Team as a freshman.
 
Rivers joins fellow Sania Feagin (Ellenwood, Ga./Forest Park), Bree Hall (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Raven Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake HS) in Staley’s 2021 signing class.