Kelsi Andrews, the No. 18 recruit and No. 4 post player in the girls' 2026 SC Next 100 class, has committed to Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women's basketball team.
The 6-foot-3 Andrews chose the Gamecocks over Virginia, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Baylor, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Ohio State, among others.
"South Carolina just felt right," Andrews told ESPN. "The people, the culture, and the way they care about you beyond basketball reminded me why I fell in love with the game in the first place."
Andrews is the first commit in the class of 2026 for the Gamecocks. Staley had recruited her since before high school, and she recently visited Columbia.
"[Assistant coach Jolette] Law was one of the first coaches to watch me play back in seventh grade, and from that moment, they've been consistent ever since," she said. "Through both of my ACL tears, Coach Staley never left my side -- and that meant everything to me."
The Alabama native comes from a long line of bigs from the FBC club program out of Georgia that has sent Kamilla Cardoso, Ashlyn Watkins and Joyce Edwards to South Carolina. After two years in her home state, Andrews transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for her junior and senior high school seasons.
Andrews is a strong, physical post player who excels at working the offensive glass and even can stretch the floor. After tearing her right ACL in 2022, she won a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in 2023. Following a left ACL tear later that year, she returned to Team USA and won a gold medal at the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2024.
This summer for FBC, she again proved she was physically back and ready to compete at a high level, showing increased defensive mobility and activity on the Under Armour circuit.
South Carolina remains in the mix for international prospects Sara Okeke (Spain) and Sitaya Fagan (Australia), as well as five-stars Jerzy Robinson (No. 5) and Kaeli Wynn (No. 17), in the 2026 class.
The Gamecocks enter the 2025-26 season with the fourth-best recruiting class behind No. 4 Agot Makeer and No. 15 Ayla McDowell. They will be looking to return to the Final Four for a fifth consecutive year and are hoping to avenge a blowout loss in last year's title game to UConn.