Joyce Edwards named 2023-24 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Last year, Joyce Edwards averaged 28.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game in a 29-2 championship season while being named all-state in three sports and posting a 5.04 GPA. This year, she averaged an otherworldly 31.3 points as she led Camden (S.C.) girls basketball to another championship — and has been named the 2023-24 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year for her performance.
WNBA All-Star Satou Sabally presented Edwards with the trophy on Thursday, the culmination of a dominant high school career for the South Carolina commit.
(Gatorade Player of the Year/Joe Greer)
Edwards isn’t simply one of the best scorers in the country. She is a true creator, also averaging 4.0 assists per game. She grabs boards as well as anyone, averaging 13.3 rebounds per game as a senior. And she’s a top-tier defender, averaging a whopping 4.5 blocks and 3.3 steals per game, leading a team that outscored opponents by an average margin of 39.6 points per game.
She’s nearly as dominant on the soccer pitch. Through just 10 games this season, Edwards has 26 goals and 13 assists, according to MaxPreps — more than three times as many points as her next-highest teammate. On the 26-5 volleyball team that fell in the championship to Wren (Piedmont, S.C.), Edwards had a team-high 215 kills.
Edwards got back at Wren in the basketball championship, posting 27 points as she outscored the entire Wren team in a 44-22 title victory.
The 6-foot-2 forward is listed as the No. 2 player in ESPN’s 2024 high school recruit ranking. She has averaged at least 20 points every season since the eighth grade, according to MaxPreps. Edwards committed to South Carolina in November, telling Just Women’s Sports that the decision was about both championships and academics.
“I knew I wanted to win as many national championships as possible, and Dawn really convinced me she can get me to that level,” Edwards told the outlet.
She also said Dawn Staley worked with the honors college at South Carolina to help Edwards be placed in the right program.
“She tried her hardest and found ways to do it so I can get both experiences for my academics and athletics,” Edwards said to Just Women’s Sports. “It was just how hard she worked to not give up (on me).”
(Gatorade Player of the Year/Joe Greer)