Five-star recruit Maddy McDaniel was told by fans that she’d be making a big mistake by joining South Carolina as a freshman – a team filled with a number of players in her position – but she’s already proving doubters wrong.

McDaniel is coming off-the-bench for the Gamecocks while averaging 17 minutes per game, impressing head coach Dawn Staley as well as her senior teammates and looking to blossom into another superstar for the school moving forward.

The high school prodigy was one of several to join the school after they had claimed the National Championship while going undefeated in the 2023/24 season under Staley. With Joyce Edwards also starring in her freshman year so far, McDaniel is beginning to make her presence felt.

Speaking after her recent performances, Staley said of McDaniel: “She’s reliable, she doesn’t turn the ball over a whole lot. She handles the ball well, she knows what we need, how we want to execute on both sides of the basket, she can score, she’s delivering for us time and time again. Just solid.”

Of course, the Gamecocks remain stacked at McDaniel’s position (point guard) having only lost one player, Kamilla Cardoso (center), in the draft earlier this year – with some expecting her to see little playing time in her first year.

Fans had hoped to see McDaniel change her allegiances after committing to South Carolina, potentially joining a school in which she’d be the immediate starter and have a bigger role from her first year. However, McDaniel will have the opportunity to play behind experienced stars at the point guard position, while coming in situationally so far this year, with Staley explaining her situation this year.

McDaniel will hope to make an impact off-the-bench when called upon, with Staley being impressed so far

She told reporters: “She’s really a luxury. As a coach you look down the bench and see her and want to play her more but we got to get Raven (Johnson) going, we have to get [Te-Hina] Paopao going, we got to get all these players going and you know when you call her to go in, she’s going to be solid.

“She’s made me feel that way, so sometimes you just let the other guards do their thing because you know she’s going to be solid, but because of that she sometimes loses out on some minutes. A player like Maddy is always going to be successful in anything she does because of her approach to everything that she does.”

Fifth-year guard Paopao added: “She has a calming presence. She knows when to go, knows when not to go, plays with really good pace, tempo and she’s just really good. Some people told her that she’s making the worst decision of her life. And we won’t play her until her junior year. Like, and I mean, I’m happy because she’s proven them wrong.”

McDaniel is averaging 5.3 points and three assists and 1.4 rebounds per game while shooting an incredibly impressive 64% from the field