South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks offer 2027 point guard Taylor Brown

Earlier this week, South Carolina extended a scholarship offer to 2027 guard Taylor Brown. Who is the newest Gamecock target?

Who is Taylor Brown?

Brown is a 5-7 guard who plays for powerhouse Long Island Lutheran in New York. She began her high school career at Ursuline Academy in Delaware, where her backcourt mate was Jezelle “GG” Banks, the fourth-ranked point guard who is a Gamecock priority. Both players transferred to further their basketball careers.

Brown has played for Long Island Lutheran since her sophomore season. LuHi, as it is known for short, is the same program that has produced elite recruits like Syla and Savvy Swords, Kate Koval, Emily McDonald, Olivia Jones, Kayleigh Heckel, Paris Clark, Sanai Green, and Cece Arico.

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As a sophomore, Brown was a Naismith All-American Underclassmen Honorable Mention.

Brown suffered an ACL injury in February that ended her season. I haven’t been able to find out exactly what kind of injury it was, but it does not appear to be a torn ACL, based on recovery videos Brown has posted.

What kind of player is Taylor Brown?

Brown is an outstanding scorer for her size who shares the ball well. She is also a lockdown defender, which is a must since she has borrowed Gary Payton’s nickname: The Glove.

Brown gets downhill and scores through contact. Her film reminds me of Ta’Niya Latson in high school, but more natural as a point guard. 

At only 5-7, Brown is probably too small to play any position but point guard. Ideally, she would be paired with a bigger guard.

How does Taylor Brown fit into South Carolina’s recruiting plans?

At first glance, Brown appears to be a backup plan. 

South Carolina is heavily involved with point guards Kaleena Smith and Banks, the first and fourth-ranked players in the class. Smith is a generational talent, and Banks would be the top player in the class most years. 

The Gamecocks seem to be focused more on Banks. That could be based purely on talent and fit, or on the fact that Smith is going to command a massive NIL commitment, and Banks might be the better value. 

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But although Smith and Banks are higher priorities, Brown is too good to be just a backup plan. Smith and Brown, because of their size, might be mutually exclusive, but Brown could probably play alongside Banks for stretches.

(For some reason, in the past three weeks, On3/Rivals has changed Banks’ position to a combo guard. Everyone else lists her as a point guard, and she projects as a point guard.)

What else should I know?

Brown has already scheduled official visits to Tennessee (June 25), Florida State (August 29), Virginia Tech (September 3), and North Carolina (October 3). 

Virginia Tech was the first to recruit Brown. Assistant coach Bill Ferrara was Brown’s recruiter at Florida State, and when he moved to Tennessee as part of the program shakeup, the Lady Vols offered Brown. North Carolina signed the top point guard in the 2026, Kate Harpring, so it will be interesting to see if another top point guard is willing to share ball-handling duties.

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