COLUMBIA — Five-star class of 2025 wing Ayla McDowell signed with South Carolina women’s basketball on Wednesday as the signing period opened.

She announced her commitment to the team on Oct. 24.

McDowell is the No. 22 ranked player in ESPNW’s top 100 recruits, and the first signee for coach Dawn Staley’s 2025 class. McDowell is from Cypress, Texas, and as a junior at Cypress Springs High School she averaged 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.4 assists.

“Ayla is an elite wing who can score at all three levels and is a Swiss Army knife on defense with the ability to guard every position,” Staley said in a press release Wednesday. “She is blessed with great size and athleticism that allow her to impact the game on both ends of the floor. A winner at every level, she moves the needle for her teams. As selfless as she is on the floor, she is even more of a giver off it, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Ayla and her family to Columbia.”

On Thursday afternoon after the announcement, Staley was asked again about McDowell during media availability.

“She’s a great addition,” Staley said. “She’s a big long guard that can score, that can defend, quality individual, she will one day be a captain, she is that put together, she wants to be a pro, she wants to take the world by storm and she feels like we’re the best program to put her in that position and we’re incredibly happy to have her.”

McDowell competed for Brazil in the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup, leading her team with 14.8 points per game. The 6-foot-2 wing chose the Gamecocks (2-0) over LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Florida and TCU.

She played AAU basketball for Cy Fair Elite, a non-profit in Texas and Nike basketball affiliate, winning the Nike national championship this year. She’s listed as a point guard on their roster.