COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has missed out on another top-six recruit as Olivia Vukosa, the No. 3 prospect in the class of 2026, announced her commitment to UConn on Oct. 21.
The 6-foot-4 center took an official visit to Storrs, Connecticut, six days before announcing her decision. Her final options were between South Carolina, UConn, LSU, Texas and Ohio State but according to her social media, the only team she didn’t post pictures from an official visit was the Gamecocks.
It appears Vukosa never went on her official visit to Columbia. South Carolina lost to UConn twice last season, once in the regular season and again in the national championship game. In 2022, Staley won her second title for South Carolina by beating the Huskies in the championship game.
Vukosa plays for Christ the King in New York. It’s the same school that UConn and WNBA legends Sue Bird and Tina Charles attended.
Dawn Staley, South Carolina recruiting rankings
Staley’s lone commitment as of Oct. 21 is Kelsi Andrews. The 6-4 center is the No. 18 recruit in ESPN’s rankings and announced her decision on Oct. 7. Andrews plays for IMG Academy in Florida.
Andrews is a five-star recruit and the No. 2 center in the class according to the 247Sports Composite. Jerzy Robinson, the No. 5 recruit in the class is taking her official visit to Columbia the weekend of Oct. 25, her high school basketball coach confirmed to The Greenville News via email on Oct. 21.
The No. 6 (Agot Makeer) and No. 15 (Ayla McDowell) players in the class of 2025 according to ESPN’s rankings are freshmen this season for the Gamecocks.
Staley has had either the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class in the nation four times, most recently in 2024 when she had No. 2 class. She had the best in 2021 and 2019 and the second best in 2014. With the addition of Andrews, Staley has recruited a top 20 prospect every year since 2021.
In 2023 she signed No. 13 MiLaysia Fulwiley (now at LSU), No. 17 Chloe Kitts and No. 25 Tessa Johnson. In 2022 she got No. 12 Ashlyn Watkins and No. 18 Talaysia Cooper (now at Tennessee). In 2021 she signed No. 2 Raven Johnson, No. 3 Saniya Rivers (went to NC State after), No. 4 Sania Feagin and No. 14 Bree Hall.
She’s produced 18 WNBA draft selections, 11 of which were first-round picks and two who went No. 1 overall.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
