The controversy surrounding Kenya's basketball star Madina Okot, while playing for the University of South Carolina ( USC), to continue with NCAA Division 1 basketball or turn to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the premier women's basketball league in the USA, is now over.
USC's Basketball reporter Michael Sauls has been quoted as saying that Okot’s time as a Gamecock (USC women's basketball team) is over, she indicated in an Instagram post Tuesday night and the school confirmed Wednesday.
USC has also confirmed that the NCAA has denied them a waiver to allow the extension of Madina's college career, arguing that her two years while at Zetech College in Kenya should not count towards her eligibility, an idea that was denied.
" The 6-foot-6 forward from Kenya is widely projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft," Sauls noted.
“The season of competition waiver that South Carolina submitted to the NCAA for Madina Okot has been denied. The decision confirms that the Gamecock senior has exhausted her collegiate eligibility,” USC added in a press release.
South Carolina was attempting to get an extra year of eligibility for Madina, a possible return to the Gamecocks for 2026-27, NCAA div 1 season, but now, even though that did not happen, if she makes it to the WNBA, then Kenya will have the first woman in her history to ever play in one of the world's greatest women's basketball league, the WNBA.
