The women’s college basketball season begins in less than 70 days, but additions are still being made to rosters.
On Friday, Aug. 28, South Carolina announced the signing of Brooke Quarles Daniels, a fifth-year transfer.
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Daniels, who played four seasons at basketball at Oakland and then Michigan, was granted a fifth year of eligibility thanks to a lawsuit filed in California – one of the several cases this summer where college athletes are suing the NCAA to gain extra eligibility.
Back in June, the NCAA changed its longstanding eligibility structures to an age-based model, commonly referred to as the “five-in-five” rule. Beginning with the day a student-athlete enrolls or their 19th birthday, whichever comes first, current and future college athletes will have five years to play five seasons of their sport. It was designed to simplify the eligibility process.
What happened instead was a new wave of lawsuits, this time brought forth mostly by players who were freshmen in 2022 and believe they were excluded from this new eligibility structure. Courts across the country – federal, state, district and circuit – have weighed in on these lawsuits. They have largely ruled against the NCAA, granting the plaintiffs – the players – more eligibility.
In July, Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that required the NCAA to declare all players from the high school class of 2022 eligible. Last week, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NCAA a stay which reversed that decision.
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However, on Aug. 18, a Superior Court in Santa Clara County, California granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to make 73 athletes – including Daniels – eligible again. According to online court records viewed by USA TODAY Sports, the next hearings regarding the case, Glancey v. NCAA, are scheduled for Sept. 29 and Dec. 3.
“Brooke’s wealth of experience will help us right away, as will her combination of skill and toughness,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said in a statement. “She is a proven winner and a high-level competitor who will bring immediate value to our team.”
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Daniels, a 5-foot-7 guard from Macomb, Michigan, fills a need for the Gamecocks as they seek to play in what would be their seventh consecutive Final Four this season. Maddy McDaniel was expected to be the team’s starting point guard following the graduation of Raven Johnson, but McDaniel left the program in early August, giving Staley an open scholarship and roster spot.
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According to some media reports, South Carolina was interested in bringing in another fifth-year player made eligible by lawsuits in former Texas A&M guard Ny’Ceara Pryor, but a signing never materialized.
Earlier this week, the SEC began to take matters into its own hands by announcing a rule forbidding players who had declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts to play in the conference. Players are also not allowed in the SEC if they signed a contract with one of those leagues or were listed on a roster. Pryor declared for the draft, signed a rookie scale deal with the New York Liberty, played in the WNBA preseason and also played in the Upshot League. By the SEC’s new rules, she would have been ineligible.
A standout defender, Daniels led the Horizon League in steals both seasons she was at Oakland and was named to the Big Ten’s All-Defense team in both her years at Michigan. This past season, she played a key role for the Wolverines as they advanced to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history, starting in 31 of 35 games. For her career, Daniels averages 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 43.9% from the floor.
Daniels also serves on the interim executive committee for the United College Athletes Association, an organization aiming to form a union amongst women’s college basketball players. In May, she was one of a few women’s college basketball players to publicly slam the SCORE Act.
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South Carolina opens the 2026-27 season on Nov. 2 against Maryland at the Oui Play game in Paris, France.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina women’s basketball adds 5th-year transfer Brooke Daniels
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