Williams will be departing from the high school ranks as a four-time state champion with 1A Military Magnet. With her days wearing the Eagles uniform behind her, she is set to bring her talents to Allen University. Williams put together some of her best statistical numbers in the 30 games that she played this past season for coach Nathaniel Taylor’s Eagles. She averaged a double-double of 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds plus 5.5 steals and 2.9 assists per contest. Williams won this past season’s state championship as the lone senior on the Military Magnet roster. She scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, sent out three assists and collected two steals in the state game against Great Falls. 

Speaking of Palmetto State notables with plenty of state hardware, Williams is set to depart from 1A Military Magnet having won four state championships – including this past season’s against Great Falls. Williams may not have had the best of games from the field, but she more than made up for it at the free throw line by finishing with 11 points. Games such as Saturday’s are a reflection of Williams’ high basketball IQ. Her career has also reflected how adept a rebounder she is. She averaged 16.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.5 steals and 2.9 assists this past season in the Eagles’ 30 games. 

For the last several seasons, any 1A team looking to win state has had to go through coach Nathaniel Taylor’s Military Magnet bunch. If the Eagles’ 89-4 rout of Johnsonville was any indication, that may be the case once again. Williams’ all-around performance included 17 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and five assists. The lopsided result extended the Eagles winning streak to eight. Williams is the lone senior on this season’s Eagles version. She has already won three state championships during her time at Military Magnet and bringing a fourth trophy to Carver Avenue would be a fitting way to close her high school career. 

Recent memory has told us that the road to the 1A state championship goes through coach Nathaniel Taylor’s Military Magnet assembling. That may be the case once again in large part as Williams has her Eagles nearing another 20-win campaign. Williams has played in all of the Eagles’ matchups this season. The versatile Military Magnet frontcourt force has averaged a double-double of 16.2 points and 11 rebounds per game. Taylor’s teams preach defense and Williams also provides plenty of that to the tune of 5.3 collections per contest. She has played at the varsity level since she was an eighth grader and will head into the collegiate ranks with plenty of state championship hardware having been compiled.

The DaNariyah Williams DaNariyah Williams 5'9" | PF Military Magnet | 2026 State SC Show – with special guests…the Keenan Raiders. The presence of Williams presented many a question mark for coach Reggie McLain’s 3A Keenan bunch. The Raiders did not have many answers. Williams led a 1A Military Magnet offensive onslaught that saw Williams score 26 points in an Eagles 74-46 rout of the Raiders. Williams already had a height advantage over much of Keenan’s team and translated it into a full-scale matchup advantage. She combined her length with her height to make plays on both offense and defense. Offensive rebounding is also a strong point of her game and she can attack the rim either in transition or from the half court set where she finishes with her left hand. 

Nathaniel Taylor, coach of defending 1A champion Military Magnet, is known for scheduling tough non-region opponents to ensure his team is as sharp as an Eagle’s claw come January, February and March. That occurred again as his Eagles matched up against another flock of Eagles – those of last year’s 5A Division 2 Upper State champion Greenwood. The 16 points that Williams placed on the scoreboard led the way in Military Magnet’s 53-42 win over Greenwood. Williams displays her toughness by not shying away from contact that can place her at the free throw line. She may have the height of a big but she can get downhill quickly with the rock in her hands. Williams may draw plenty of attention from opposing defenses but she answers it with fearlessness and hard-nosed play. 

Regardless of what happens this season, Williams will be entering the collegiate ranks having compiled plenty of state hardware during her time at 1A Military Magnet under coach Nathaniel Taylor. Standing at 5-foot-9, Williams is a consistent point-getter while also displaying plenty of versatility. That production can occur via her making plays in the interior or by attacking the rim from the open floor. Much of that offensive production is predicated on what she gets accomplished on defense. Williams averaged 14.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.7 steals per game last season. She was part of Team Johnson which won the 5-on-5 championship.

When the 2025-26 season concludes, Williams will be walking into the collegiate ranks with plenty of state championship hardware at 1A Military Magnet. She first played at the varsity level as an eighth grader and has won three state crowns with the Eagles – including this most recent season following the team’s win over Lee Central at the Florence Center. Per her coach, Nathaniel Taylor, Newberry College, Denmark Tech, Lander and Voorhees have all offered the talented Eagles veteran. The 11.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.7 steals Williams averaged in 2024-25 played a massive role in getting Military Magnet back to the top of the state’s 1A mountain. 

If one had the last name of Williams, one likely had a great time at the Florence Center. Military Magnet aficionados vividly remember winning three consecutive state championships when said games were held at USC-Aiken’s Convocation Center. Last season in Florence, the Eagles lost unceremoniously to eventual champion Lake View. Williams ensured Military Magnet would return to the top of the 1A mountain as she tallied 18 points to lead her Eagles to a 59-40 victory over Lee Central. Ten of Williams’ 18 occurred at the free throw line and she was true on 10 of her 14 tries from the charity stripe. Williams was also three rebounds shy of a double-double as the 5-foot-9 four forward brought down seven boards. It is Williams’ third state championship.