Five-star recruit from DC showing interest in Dawn Staley, South Carolina WBB
Coach Dawn Staley and the No. 6 South Carolina women’s basketball team have taken a step forward with a top prospect in the upcoming signing class.
Five-star 2026 forward Jordyn Jackson included the Gamecocks in her final six schools and plans to visit USC before making a college decision this summer.
Jackson, who plays at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., narrowed her list to South Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Miami, TCU and Ohio State on Jan. 31.
She’s the No. 9 overall recruit in the class, per espnW. 247Sports lists Jackson (6-foot-1) as the No. 2 small forward in the current junior class and No. 8 player nationally.
Jackson told On3 Sports’ Talia Goodman that she hopes to finalize her commitment some time in July, “preferably” before the Nike Nationals AAU event in late July.
She also described USC as “one of the best schools in the nation.” South Carolina offered Jackson a scholarship in April 2023, after her freshman year.
“Coach Staley has an awesome résumé,” Jackson told On3. “She’s an awesome person. I think our relationship is pretty good.”
“I think I’d develop as a player and as a person tremendously there. I just think that everybody gets better there. I think I’d get better there.”
Jackson’s already taken an official visit to one of her six finalists, Maryland. She hasn’t publicized an official visit to USC but indicated it’ll happen soon.
In response to a South Carolina fan asking her when she’d visit the Gamecocks on X (formerly Twitter), Jackson replied with a GIF with the caption, “You just wait.”
The forward has kept up with Staley and USC throughout the year, too, sharing a pro-South Carolina social media post after the Gamecocks lost at home to UConn last Saturday.
Jackson primarily plays small forward and power forward. In 22 games so far as a junior, she’s averaging a career-high 19.7 points and 6.7 rebounds.
That’s up from the 11.9 points per game she averaged as a sophomore and 9.4 points as a freshman. Jackson also averages 2 assists and 0.9 steals per game for Sidwell Friends (the team is currently 22-3) and recently hit 1,000 career points.
She’s shooting 42% from the field and a career-best 32% on 3-pointers as a junior.
247Sports women’s basketball lead scout Brandon Clay described Jackson as someone who “has the length and mobility to be a consistent factor on the perimeter” and has “the foundation to be a high-level basketball defender.”
South Carolina WBB recruiting update
The national early signing day for the 2026 recruiting class isn’t until the fall, but Staley and USC remain in the mix for a number of top recruits.
Five-star recruit Oliviyah Edwards was in Columbia on an unofficial visit last month. Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward from Washington who’s been able to dunk since middle school, ranks as a top five recruit nationally and the country’s No. 1 post player.
For the 2026 class, South Carolina has also been connected to five-star guard Kate Harpring, five-star post McKenna Woliczko (who has USC as a top 10 school) and four-star 2026 wing Kaeli Wynn. USC doesn’t have a commitment yet in the 2026 class.
In the 2025 recruiting class (players who would join the team this fall), South Carolina has one signee: four-star wing Ayla McDowell of Cypress Springs (Texas) High School. McDowell was named a McDonald’s All-American last month.
In recent years, South Carolina has also given itself scholarship wiggle room to sign one or two transfer portal players to pair with any incoming high school recruits. Any possible transfer additions won’t happen until after the 2024-25 season ends.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Five-star recruit from DC showing interest in Dawn Staley, South Carolina WBB."
