Staley's reign comes to an end.
Dawn Staley, South Carolina Receive Unfortunate News From 5-Star Recruit originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Jacy Abii, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Liberty High School in Plano, Texas, enters her senior year firmly entrenched among the nation’s elite.
A five-star recruit rated as the No. 12 prospect in the 2026 class by On3, Abii represented Team USA at the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship in Merida, Mexico, posting 8.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in just 17 minutes of action.
The following year, she won a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U-17 World Cup in Leon, Mexico, averaging 5.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in seven contests.
After narrowing down her list of schools to 10 on June 5, she has now made further cuts, trimming her list of finalists on Wednesday to just five: UCLA, LSU, Texas, Notre Dame and Tennessee.
The most notable omission from this list is Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks, who were long considered one of the frontrunners to land Abii alongside Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies (who also didn't make the cut).
UConn falls out of the running for 2026 recruit Jacy Abii (currently ranked No. 10 in the class)
— Maggie Vanoni (@maggie_vanoni) August 6, 2025
Jacy had UConn in her top 10 list in June https://t.co/d3p7wWxxYs
South Carolina’s Offer and Recruiting Standing
Staley extended Abii her scholarship offer in April 2024, following a "great conversation" with the four-time Naismith Coach of the Year.
At the time, national media buzz touted Abii as South Carolina’s likely marquee commitment for 2026, a class Staley hoped would sustain the program’s historic run of five consecutive Final Fours (2021–2025) and national titles in 2022 and 2024.
Despite that momentum, the Gamecocks have struggled to land a five-star recruit in the class of 2026 to date.
At the time of writing, South Carolina remains without a four-star or five-star pledge, ranking outside the top 20 nationally according to 247 Sports.
With Abii off the table, attention now turns to five-stars Kate Harpring and Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 1 and No. 4 overall prospects in 2026 who have yet to announce their final decision.
Related: Dawn Staley Sends Strong Message to Vanessa Bryant on Saturday
Related: UConn Makes Announcement About Dan Hurley's Wife on Thursday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
