Lady Vols basketball signee Oliviyah Edwards had quite the run at the 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game.

Edwards was a starter on the West, which lost 91-71 on March 31 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. But the five-star forward won the one-on-one competition dubbed “Thirst for the Crown” and was the runner-up in the dunk contest the night before.

Edwards flirted with a double-double, scoring eight points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-6 shooting on free throws. She also had nine rebounds, one block and one steal in 15 minutes.

“Just seeing my name on ESPN and having my mom there recording me and everything, just all the feelings going through my mind and just thinking about everything I put into basketball,” Edwards said March 30 of being an All-American. “All the hard work I put into it, and it finally being a dream come true. I got to where I wanted to go, and I’m here.”

This is the second straight year Tennessee signed a McDonald’s All-American after having three signees play in the game last year. Lady Vols freshmen Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil were all McDonald’s All-Americans.

Edwards is ranked No. 2 in the 2026 class by ESPN, making the 6-foot-3 forward out of Tacoma, Washington, the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Tennessee since Jordan Horston, who was also ranked No. 2 by ESPN in 2019.

Edwards chose Tennessee over South Carolina, USC, LSU, Florida and Washington. She said she’s “very excited” to get to Tennessee at the McDonald’s All-American Game media day on March 30.

“I think I’ll show a lot of growth, especially with playing against girls that are as good as me every single day,” Edwards said about Tennessee. “I feel like the change of pace will be good for me. And all in all, I’m just excited to be with that family.”

Edwards said she was excited to follow in Lady Vols legend Candace Parker’s footsteps, both in the dunk contest and at Tennessee. Parker became the first woman to win the dunk contest at the All-American game in 2004.

Edwards threw down a one-handed slam in her first attempt. On her second attempt, she had teammate Brihanna Crittendon, who’s signed with Texas, toss the ball up in front of the rim. Edwards soared through the air, grabbing the ball and throwing down a two-handed dunk before swinging her feet up on the rim to hang like Spider-Man.

The second dunk drew 11s and one 10 from all the judges.

“I’m excited to follow in Candace’s footsteps. Obviously, she’s a great player and a great person,” Edwards said. “I would just say I’m trying to make history. I’m excited. I want to be able to inspire younger girls all around to show them that we can do it. I just know that I want to go into Tennessee and dominate. That’s really my goal. I want to dominate, make a name for myself, and also continue the legacy.”

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tennessee signee Oliviyah Edwards did at 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game