COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gamecocks junior Joyce Edwards is one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the 2027 Cheryl Miller Award, which goes to the best small forward in Division I women’s basketball. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association released the list on Wednesday, Oct. 28, giving Columbia SC fans another early-season honor to follow.
Edwards comes into the season as the Gamecocks’ leading returning scorer and rebounder after averaging 19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds a game last season. She made 57.1% of her shots from the field. Earlier this month the league’s coaches voted her unanimously to the Preseason All-SEC First Team.
She is only the third player in program history to be named an All-American as both a freshman and a sophomore. Last season she set seven single-season school records, among them 768 points, 22 games of 20 or more points and 1,222 minutes played.
The award, now in its 10th year, is named for Cheryl Miller, a three-time national player of the year who entered the Hall of Fame in 1995. Texas forward Madison Booker, who is also on this year’s list, won it each of the last three seasons.
Fan voting opens Friday, Oct. 30. The field will be cut to 10 in February and to five in March, and a selection committee will pick the winner from the finalists in late March. Players can also play their way onto or off the list during the season.
South Carolina, ranked No. 1 in the preseason, opens the season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Maryland in Paris.
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