Oliviyah Edwards committed to South Carolina on April 23, turning one of the most unusual recruitments in recent women’s basketball memory back to where it began. The 6-foot-3 five-star forward from Tacoma, Washington, announced the move after requesting her release from Tennessee and taking visits to South Carolina, Texas and Louisville.
Edwards had originally committed to Tennessee on Sept. 13 and signed in November, then was released on April 7 before choosing again from the same elite tier of programs. Her mother, Jordan West, said Tennessee and South Carolina were the final two schools in the process and that the family spent eight or nine days talking through the decision before Edwards settled on the Gamecocks.
Edwards wrote in her announcement that she made the choice “with a heavy heart” and called it “incredibly hard.” She also thanked Kim Caldwell, Gabe Lazo and Roman Tubner, saying Knoxville “was incredible from the moment I stepped on campus” and that she was grateful for the “love and support from Lady Vol fans,” who she said made the journey special in a way she would never forget. In her post, she added that after deep conversations with her family, she knew it was what was best for her future and said the weekend had been difficult because she had to grieve “the loss of what I once envisioned for my future.”
The twist is that Edwards had already been part of Tennessee’s class before asking out, then reopened a recruitment that had once listed South Carolina, Southern Cal, LSU, Florida and Washington among her finalists. West said Tennessee “came back and recruited her really hard” and added, “I believe in everything they are building. It came down to them and South Carolina.”
That history makes the rebound to Columbia more than a simple flip. Edwards, ranked No. 3 in the 2026 class by, has been dunking since seventh grade, finished as the runner-up in the McDonald’s All-American Game dunk contest and signed with Adidas in May 2025. She also had a tie to Tennessee through Candace Parker, who connected with her because of her viral dunking, and through assistant recruiter Gabe Lazo. Tennessee, meanwhile, rebuilt quickly after her release, adding eight players from the transfer portal, including 2026 prospect Irene Oboavwoduo and four-star wing Gabby Minus. Edwards’s move leaves South Carolina with one of the class’s most watched talents and Tennessee with the reminder that even a signed commitment can still be undone when the player decides the fit is no longer right.
For Edwards, the decision closes a loop that began last fall and ends with the program that stayed in the picture all along. For the sport’s top recruits, it is another sign that the finish line in recruiting is now often just another starting point.