2026 #1 Saniyah Hall to USC | The Boneyard

2026 #1 Saniyah Hall to USC

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Thought this deserved its own thread. Saniyah Hall is the top prospect in 2026 and a uniquely dominant #1 recruit.


Last year, she played at Monteverde Academy in Florida alongside Agot Makeer (#4 in the 2025 class), Aaliyah Crump (#5 in 2025), and Lourdes Da Silva Costa (#51 in 2025). Hall was head-and-shoulders above everyone, leading the team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. She averaged nearly twice as many points per game as Texas-bound Aaliyah Crump, who was the team’s #2 scorer.


This summer, Hall played on the U19 FIBA World Cup team (with teammates mostly 1–2 years older than her) and still led them to gold as tournament MVP. She averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. The roster included 2025 #1 recruit Jazzy Davidson, #2 recruit Sienna Betts, UCONN’s Kayleigh Heckel, and other top incoming recruits. Hall especially shined in the biggest games:
Quarterfinals (5-point win vs. France): 26 points, 6 rebounds, 11-22 FG
Semifinals (12-point win vs. Spain): 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4-7 FG
Finals (12-point win vs. Australia): 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 TOs, 8-16 FG

From the clips I’ve seen, Hall’s game has shades of Maya Moore and Tamika Catchings: great all-around skill set, relentless motor, unselfish play, and high activity. I’m not sure she’s quite as athletic as those two, but given how she stands out on elite rosters, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a 20+ ppg scorer from day one at USC.


Looking ahead to USC in 2026–27, they’re shaping up to have one of the most unusual yet intriguing rosters I’ve seen. They’ll likely start four oversized wings: 6'1 Jazzy Davidson, 6'2 Juju Watkins, 6'1 Kennedy Smith, and 6'1 Saniyah Hall—with no true PG and no true post. I’ll make an early prediction that Davidson takes over PG duties, or they’ll use a combo approach with her and Watkins. Either way, I can’t see any of those four wings coming off the bench. To complete the lineup, I’d expect Gottlieb to aggressively target a transfer center next spring.

Getting everyone to gel together may lead to styles clashing, as USC’s offense the past two years was essentially “get it to Juju and get out of the way.” Davidson and Hall bring different skill sets and will demand more balanced shot distribution. I also think this likely kills any chance of Juju breaking Caitlin Clark's record (Watkins will need to average 29-30 per game and play every game for 2 more seasons to have a shot at it).

Looking at Davidson and Hall specifically, they played very well together on USA basketball and were arguably the two main standouts for the Gold medal team. 3 years of having those two in the lineup (plus at least one of those years with Juju Watkins) should make USC the heavy title favorite for several years.
 
Nice! This is a great addition to the Ladies of Troy roster. Coach Lindsay is doing a good job on recruiting so top level talent and developing her players.
 
Nice! This is a great addition to the Ladies of Troy roster. Coach Lindsay is doing a good job on recruiting so top level talent and developing her players.
I agree with the recruiting point, not sure about the development point. Heckel's decision gives data otherwise.
 
Dang. They're stacked. Will they be the only other university besides UConn to have 3 #1 recruits on the roster at the same time?

I was really starting to get hopeful that she came to South Carolina. She looked like the best player on the floor in the U19 tournament. IMO she is the best player out of the 2025 AND 2026 classes and the best guard prospect since Juju.
 
I would need more information to have a better read.

USC’s roster, recruiting offers and whether Gottlieb can overcome the bad impression of nearly a full heralded class transferring, all make for an interesting case study.
  • USC’s roster will look like 4 great players and a couple of unproven middling players;
  • The 4 great players play the same dominant position &1;
  • Can USC play 40 minutes of dominant injury-free basketball all season with such a roster?
  • And what of the “Let Juju be Juju” coaching style — can Gottlieb coach to her better instincts (she supposedly studied Geno’s coaching style) in the forced timeout where Juju is just an observer and there are lesser expectations? A new coaching style that can attract a great supporting cast from the list of outstanding offers or from the portal (where Iriafen’s and TVO’s experiences are not necessarily clear ringing endorsements)?
&1 Geno had the same predicament during the TASSK years, batting 2 of 4 championships with the other 2 marred by injuries. But he’s Geno. And he built his sustainable program the old-fashioned way. And TASSK played team basketball with other great players.
 
I agree with the recruiting point, not sure about the development point. Heckel's decision gives data otherwise.
And players like McKenzie Forbes would counter that data and comment.
 
Thought this deserved its own thread. Saniyah Hall is the top prospect in 2026 and a uniquely dominant #1 recruit.


Last year, she played at Monteverde Academy in Florida alongside Agot Makeer (#4 in the 2025 class), Aaliyah Crump (#5 in 2025), and Lourdes Da Silva Costa (#51 in 2025). Hall was head-and-shoulders above everyone, leading the team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. She averaged nearly twice as many points per game as Texas-bound Aaliyah Crump, who was the team’s #2 scorer.


This summer, Hall played on the U19 FIBA World Cup team (with teammates mostly 1–2 years older than her) and still led them to gold as tournament MVP. She averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. The roster included 2025 #1 recruit Jazzy Davidson, #2 recruit Sienna Betts, UCONN’s Kayleigh Heckel, and other top incoming recruits. Hall especially shined in the biggest games:
Quarterfinals (5-point win vs. France): 26 points, 6 rebounds, 11-22 FG
Semifinals (12-point win vs. Spain): 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4-7 FG
Finals (12-point win vs. Australia): 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 TOs, 8-16 FG

From the clips I’ve seen, Hall’s game has shades of Maya Moore and Tamika Catchings: great all-around skill set, relentless motor, unselfish play, and high activity. I’m not sure she’s quite as athletic as those two, but given how she stands out on elite rosters, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a 20+ ppg scorer from day one at USC.


Looking ahead to USC in 2026–27, they’re shaping up to have one of the most unusual yet intriguing rosters I’ve seen. They’ll likely start four oversized wings: 6'1 Jazzy Davidson, 6'2 Juju Watkins, 6'1 Kennedy Smith, and 6'1 Saniyah Hall—with no true PG and no true post. I’ll make an early prediction that Davidson takes over PG duties, or they’ll use a combo approach with her and Watkins. Either way, I can’t see any of those four wings coming off the bench. To complete the lineup, I’d expect Gottlieb to aggressively target a transfer center next spring.

Getting everyone to gel together may lead to styles clashing, as USC’s offense the past two years was essentially “get it to Juju and get out of the way.” Davidson and Hall bring different skill sets and will demand more balanced shot distribution. I also think this likely kills any chance of Juju breaking Caitlin Clark's record (Watkins will need to average 29-30 per game and play every game for 2 more seasons to have a shot at it).

Looking at Davidson and Hall specifically, they played very well together on USA basketball and were arguably the two main standouts for the Gold medal team. 3 years of having those two in the lineup (plus at least one of those years with Juju Watkins) should make USC the heavy title favorite for several years.
Mostly, I'm just sad that yet another top American prospect will go underdeveloped under Gottlieb's permissive coaching model. Geno or Dawn would do much more with her than I'm guessing Gottlieb will.
 
Darn it. I really wanted Hall at South Carolina.

Gottlieb has now earned commitments from (3) #1 ranked recruits, while surrounding them with complimentary pieces. She’s had more #1 recruits than Dawn at this point. A championship should be on the way soon.
 
Mostly, I'm just sad that yet another top American prospect will go underdeveloped under Gottlieb's permissive coaching model. Geno or Dawn would do much more with her than I'm guessing Gottlieb will.
Darn it. I really wanted Hall at South Carolina.

Gottlieb has now earned commitments from (3) #1 ranked recruits, while surrounding them with complimentary pieces. She’s had more #1 recruits than Dawn at this point. A championship should be on the way soon.
Now Gottlieb just has to keep them.
 
Gottlieb has now earned commitments from (3) #1 ranked recruits, while surrounding them with complimentary pieces. She’s had more #1 recruits than Dawn at this point. A championship should be on the way soon.
I love the grammatical ambiguity of the English language, masterfully employed in your post.

Should they win one in the normative sense (e.g., "you really should do your homework.")? Yes, with that talent, they definitely should.

Should they win one in the predictive sense (e.g., "it looks like it should rain tomorrow"). No, I'm afraid I still don't think that'll happen. But Gottlieb certainly has the resources now to prove me wrong.
 
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Darn it. I really wanted Hall at South Carolina.

Gottlieb has now earned commitments from (3) #1 ranked recruits, while surrounding them with complimentary pieces. She’s had more #1 recruits than Dawn at this point. A championship should be on the way soon.

A Big 10 championship is very possible.
 
Darn it. I really wanted Hall at South Carolina.

Gottlieb has now earned commitments from (3) #1 ranked recruits, while surrounding them with complimentary pieces. She’s had more #1 recruits than Dawn at this point. A championship should be on the way soon.
Pretty incredible that Dawn has Wilson is the only #1 recruit Dawn has landed
 
Great news for USC. Now they need to improve management of all that talent. All good coaches don’t necessarily have this skill. UCLA, lately ND and in the past Warlick at Tennessee gave me the same vibe. Interesting to see if there are any staffing changes.
 
Pretty incredible that Dawn has Wilson is the only #1 recruit Dawn has landed
She's gotten really close a few times... outside of Hall, most recently with Juju.
 
Great news for USC. Now they need to improve management of all that talent. All good coaches don’t necessarily have this skill. UCLA, lately ND and in the past Warlick at Tennessee gave me the same vibe. Interesting to see if there are any staffing changes.
Definitely great news for USC and it is going to be interesting to see how it all comes together for USC. I am a huge fan of Coach Gottlieb and what she is building at USC. Same for Coach Close and what she is doing over at UCLA. I am wishing them all the best and as they build these programs into consistent powers, it is just great for women's basketball.
 

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