Why this top freshman basketball recruit has major interest in Dawn Staley, USC

At this point in her high school basketball career, Class of 2027 recruit Kie’Aundria “KJ” Acree has plenty of scholarship offers, including 14 from Power Five schools.

But “you always remember your first,” her mother, Jennifer, said.

For Acree, described by 247Sports as “one of the best freshmen in the country,” that first offer just so happened to come from coach Dawn Staley and the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks during a prospect camp before she hit eighth grade.

Now, that early attention is paying off.

As KJ Acree wraps up an excellent freshman season at Monroe Comprehensive High School in Georgia and settles into her recruiting process, she and her family have significant interest in South Carolina, her mother told The State.

The Acrees made the roughly two-hour drive from their hometown of Albany, Georgia to watch USC play an SEC game at Auburn earlier this month. They’ll also be on site for the Gamecocks’ Sunday afternoon home game against Georgia at Colonial Life Arena — which has been declared a sellout and will host ESPN’s famous “College GameDay” preview show.

Jennifer Acree, who’s also the head coach of the Monroe varsity girls’ basketball team, said she and KJ are excited to continue building a relationship with Staley and the program as the Gamecocks approach March and a shot at their third NCAA national championship.

“They’re the No. 1 team, and they’re gonna be No. 1 for a while,” Acree said. “Dawn’s always gonna get top talent. For her to include my daughter in that top talent, it’s just like, ‘Wow.’ ”

The Acrees’ growing relationship with USC basketball dates back to August 2022, when KJ attended one of Staley’s Elite Camps in Columbia. She was still in middle school, having just completed her seventh grade year, but still caught the eyes of the South Carolina staff.

As the camp wrapped up, Jennifer Acree said Staley approached KJ and three of her FBC United AAU teammates who were also in attendance and told them: “I want y’all to come to South Carolina.” When she heard it, Acree did a double take.

“Are you offering them?” she asked Staley.

Yes, Staley said.

“And all the girls started jumping up and down,” Acree said. “I was overcome with emotion. My mouth was open. This was the best coach in the game. I grew up watching her. … It was like, ‘You want my daughter?’”

KJ Acree recruiting update

Fast forward nearly three years, and KJ is emerging as one of the best players in the current freshman recruiting class. In her first season of varsity basketball, she’s averaging 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 4.2 steals per game for Monroe.

Earlier this week, she notched her first career triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Monroe prepares for the playoffs in Georgia’s fourth-largest classification.

She’s done it all while playing outside of her regular AAU basketball position, which is the forward/wing spot. And while facing box-and-one defenses in just about every contest.

“She’s a 6-foot-1 point guard right now and plays everywhere,” Acree said. “It’s helped her tremendously with her confidence passing and made her a more complete player. She’s more of a wing, but I told her, ‘Who knows?’ I just want her to be a basketball player.”

Acree said her daughter is determined to improve her outside shooting — she’s just 29% on 3-pointers this year — but has caught college coaches’ eyes with her ability to take on a significant offensive load at a varsity level. That was especially impressive, considering KJ plays on a deep AAU team, FBC United, where she doesn’t exactly need to score 30-plus points for her team to win. (She’s already done that eight times her freshman season at Monroe.)

Outside of South Carolina, KJ’s other Power Five scholarship offers to date include Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Florida State, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

Despite her daughter’ success, Jennifer Acree said KJ has kept a low profile when it comes to her recruiting status. Over the years, the Acrees have either seen South Carolina coaches at AAU events or watched the Gamecocks play games on television in team or group settings.

“You’ll see other girls get excited and KJ just goes, ‘Yeah, we’ve spoken. We’ve talked,’ ” Acree said, laughing. “She’s kind of used to it. She knows she’s got to continue to work. … This recruitment thing is just getting started with her.”

As a high school freshman and 2027 recruit, KJ is limited by NCAA rules in how much she can directly talk with Staley and the South Carolina staff. Right now, she can only speak with coaches when she’s on campus or when she makes a phone call to them. They can’t call her.

But Jennifer Acree said that’s perfect pacing as her daughter gets further into the recruiting process with plenty of well-established Gamecocks interest dating back to seventh grade.

“I know Dawn and her staff are the most popular team in this world,” Acree said. “Dawn knows everybody. For her to know KJ, that’s big enough for me. When it’s time to make contact, they’ll make contact.”

Next four South Carolina women’s basketball games

• Thursday: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

• Feb. 18: vs. Georgia, 1 p.m. (ABC)

• Feb. 22: vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Feb. 25: vs. Kentucky, 3 p.m. (SEC Network)