Gamecocks Make Naismith Semifinalist Lists
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball has an entry on all three of the Naismith semifinalist lists released today by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Sophomore Joyce Edwards is one of the 10 candidates in the running for the Naismith Trophy, recognizing the national player of the year. Senior Raven Johnson is among the 10 players still vying for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, and Dawn Staley is among the 10 semifinalists for Naismith Coach of the Year.
Edwards, who has been a consensus second-team All-America pick this season, is also a finalist for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award. She began her awards season being named to the All-SEC First Team for the second time in as many seasons. She ranks fourth in the SEC and 22nd in the nation in scoring at 19.6 points per game, and her .587 field goal percentage is among the nation’s top 15. She leads the team with 19 20-point outings, which ranks fifth in program single-season history, and her 667 total points are the seventh-most in a season in program history. Edwards is 17th in the SEC with 6.3 rebounds per game. Against ranked teams, she averages 16.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. She was an SEC All-Tournament Team selection behind her team-high 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game at the event.
Johnson was named to the AP’s All-America Third Team after picking up 2026 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC Second Team honors. She is also a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. Johnson is sixth in the SEC in assists per game (5.4) and fourth in the nation with a 3.41 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her stat stuffing includes a career-best 10.3 points per game on 50.6 percent field goal shooting. Those numbers rise to 11.6 points per game on 53.0 percent shooting against ranked opponents, while also averaging 5.7 assists in those games. Johnson was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team as she was second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game on 60.0 percent shooting, including 5-of-8 (.625) from 3-point range as the Gamecocks advanced to the title game for the seventh-straight season. She is fourth in program history in career assists (594) and owns three of the program’s top seven single-season assist-to-turnover ratios.
Staley has guided the Gamecocks back to a regional No. 1 seed and SEC regular-season title after an injury-riddled season with a roster that included five new players to her 12-player roster. In a season that saw the SEC have as many as 10 ranked teams with nine of those playing in the NCAA Tournament, South Carolina clinched its fifth-straight regular-season championship with a week left in the season behind a 15-1 record that included leading the league in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage and blocked shots in conference games. Nationally, the Gamecocks’ 12 wins over ranked opponents are the third-most in the nation. Those numbers meet the usual Gamecock standard, but this season Staley started just 10 games with her full roster available, and she finished just six of those games in the same position. At least one expected starter was out for six of the team’s 16 SEC games – all Gamecock victories. Of South Carolina’s 12 ranked wins, just five were at home with the remaining seven on the road (4) or at a neutral site (3).
No. 4/4 South Carolina opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Sat., March 21, at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks will play the winner of the First Four game between Southern and Samford in a 1 p.m. tipoff on ABC.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for more information on the program.
2026 Naismith Trophy Semifinalists
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Madison Booker, Texas
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Olivia Miles, TCU
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Sarah Strong, UConn
2026 Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalists
Geno Auriemma, UConn
Kim Barnes Arico, Michigan
Cori Close, UCLA
Krist Gerlich, Texas Tech
Jan Jensen, Iowa
Kara Lawson, Duke
Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt
Tammi Reiss, Rhode Island
Vic Schaefer, Texas
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Kennedy Cambridge, Ohio State
Toby Fournier, Duke
Rori Harmon, Texas
Jordan Harrison, West Virginia
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
Ny’Ceara Pryor, Texas A&M
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Sarah Strong, UConn
