Former five-star recruit, Gamecocks guard Saniya Rivers transferring to ACC school

Saniya Rivers has picked her next basketball destination.

The former five-star guard has transferred from South Carolina to N.C. State, Rivers confirmed in a tweet Thursday.

Rivers announced her decision to enter the transfer portal in April, just over a week removed from the Gamecocks’ 2022 national championship win. She played one season in Columbia, appearing in 27 games and averaging 2.3 points a game.

Rivers did not play in the first three games of South Carolina’s NCAA tournament run due what head coach Dawn Staley called a “coach’s decision.” She went on to play a larger role in South Carolina’s Final Four win over Louisville, finishing with three points, four assists, two steals and a block in 20 minutes played.

Rivers was the No. 3 ranked player by espnW in the class of 2021 and rounded out Staley’s No. 1 overall class. She averaged the most minutes (12.9) of any USC freshman.

South Carolina will add Georgia Tech point guard Kierra Fletcher as well as high school prospects Ashlyn Watkins (Cardinal Newman) Talaysia Cooper (East Clarendon) in 2022.