Saniya Rivers is a 6-foot guard from Wilmington, NC. She attends Eugene Ashley High School and played for the Carolina Flames on the Nike EYBL circuit. Goodbye North Carolina, Hello South Carolina.
Rivers was a well-known recruit to all coaches, but she describes her recruiting process as a roller coaster ride.
“At the beginning, I genuinely loved the attention from the coaches! I was in the 8th grade when I got my first offer, so the process was very exciting up until my junior year,” said Rivers via text. “[My junior year] was the year I had to strongly take my options into consideration, and chop my list down.”
With narrowing down her list, Rivers had to take into consideration everything she wants in a school; making her process more stressful.
“As the list got shorter, the process became more stressful, which took the fun out of it,” said Rivers. Finally, Rivers was able to narrow down her list to twelve schools.
THE DECISION
10 months after her list came out, Rivers finally announced to the world that she will be attending the University of South Carolina coached by Dawn Staley.
Rivers knew she had love for South Carolina from the day she got an offer from them. As she continued to visit the campus and got to know the players, the university held a special place in her heart.
“I felt strongly in my heart that I would be able to call South Carolina my home,” said Rivers.
Ironically, her first offer in eighth grade was from South Carolina and athletes know the impact of that first offer.
“South Carolina was my first offer in the 8th grade, that’s definitely something that stayed in my mind throughout my whole recruitment process,” said Rivers.
USC’s supportive fans, their atmosphere, and their winning coach contributed to her decision. She also loved that South Carolina was recruiting players she wanted to play alongside. As a result, South Carolina snagged another No. 1 in the recruiting class for 2021.
The Next Step
Rivers plans on attending South Carolina in the fall of 2021. She feels she can contribute to the team with her versatile style of play.
“From the first time I saw Saniya play, I was hooked,” Staley told ABC Columbia. “I’ve seen her play so many positions, so her versatility is the thing that jumps off the page.”
Rivers can do it all, but what’s most important to her is her unselfishness on the court.
“I’m a very unselfish player, so I think that my teammates will appreciate that and allow me to help out,” said Rivers.
Rivers is ecstatic to start her journey as a Gamecock. She mentioned she’s ready for the challenges, the environment, and winning.
“I’m mostly excited to play with players that will push me to be better, more so, be the best I’ve ever been,” she said.
All of her supporters and USC fans are ready for Rivers to hit the court for her first game as a Gamecock. Rivers is especially ready because she not only wants to win one national championship but four national championships with her team.
“We definitely plan on winning 4 back to back Natty’s–wait on it.”
Fans, players, and coaches better be prepared because Rivers and her USC squad are ready to take over women’s college basketball for the next four years.
Follow me on Twitter @KylaMcGhee2022. And check out Beyond Women’s Sports for more articles on amazing women and their sport.
*Saniya Rivers Interviewed by our very own Kyla McGhee*
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