COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball landed its first class of 2025 recruit on Thursday afternoon, as five-star Ayla McDowell committed to the Gamecocks via Instagram Live.
McDowell, ranked No. 20 in her class by ESPN, is from Cypress, Texas, outside of Houston and plays for Cypress Springs High School.
The 6-foot-2 wing chose coach Dawn Staley‘s team over LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Florida and TCU.
She played AAU basketball for Cy Fair Elite, which won the Nike national championship this year. She’s listed as a point guard on their roster. CyFair Elite Sports is a non-profit in Texas and is a Nike basketball affiliate.
The No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, Aaliyah Chavez is her AAU teammate. In July, Chavez announced on social media that South Carolina is among her final six schools.
At Cypress Springs, McDowell averaged 19.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in the 2023-24 season. She also plays volleyball according to MaxPreps.
She announced the news on the livestream by unzipping her jacket to reveal she was wearing a Gamecocks shirt. Shortly after, Staley wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “A birdie just flew in the nest.”
A birdie just flew in the nest…..👹👹👹
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) October 24, 2024
South Carolina loses two of its three starting guards after this season, in Te-Hina Paopao and Bree Hall.
REQUIRED READING: South Carolina women’s basketball, Dawn Staley No. 1 in USA TODAY preseason coaches poll
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley, South Carolina land Ayla McDowell, a 5-star 2025 guard
