NCAA denies Destiny Littleton eligibility waiver for 2019-20 season
A tough break for the Gamecocks
The NCAA denied Destiny Littleton’s waiver for immediate eligibility, so the redshirt sophomore will not play for the University of South Carolina during the 2019-20 season, the school announced Thursday.
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Littleton, who spent two years at Texas, will have two years of eligibility left. She redshirted her freshman season, in which she played 8 games. During her sophomore/redshirt freshman season in 2018-19, she played in every game for the Longhorns, averaged 24 minutes, 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
“It’s unfortunate that Destiny’s waiver didn’t get approved,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in the announcement. “She handled the news as probably any young person would, very devastated. I handled it that way as well.”
Littleton entered the transfer portal in March, and the Gamecocks announced her intention to transfer to South Carolina in May. The NCAA denied the waiver Littleton and the Gamecocks submitted for her to become eligible to play this season.
Dawn Staley says Texas transfer Destiny Littleton's waiver & appeal to play for @GamecockWBB this year was denied.
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) October 31, 2019
"I'm devastated for her. To take a big piece of her life, as far as basketball, away from her, & that's what she's here to do, I think it wasn't a wise decision." pic.twitter.com/LC0a1bvhmQ
After her transfer, Littleton told Spurs and Feathers, “This decision has been a life-changing decision for me. It’s just the next step that I have taken in my life and I’m excited about [it]. Things don’t always go the way you plan first time around, and I’ve learned that through this process.”
Gamecocks play an exhibition on Nov. 1.
On the court, Littleton could have been an incredible boost for the Gamecocks, who are now without Te’a Cooper, Bianca Cuevas-Moore and Alexis Jennings. While the Gamecocks have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, her leadership could have been a great balance to that alongside Tyasha Harris and in partnership with Mikiah Herbert Harrigan.
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