Lincoln’s Oliviyah Edwards is TNT’s 2026 All-Area Player of the Year
They’re already asking Oliviyah Edwards for photos and autographs.
Whether she’s playing in a local gym or national showcase, fans can’t help but follow.
After all, the nation’s No. 2 recruit was back home at Lincoln High.
Edwards was in seventh grade when she threw down her first dunk and picked up her first Division-I offer. The flashes of All-American potential emerged two years later, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game as a 6-foot-3 freshman. “Big Oh” spent her sophomore and junior years with Issaquah’s Elite Sports Academy but returned to Lincoln last fall — completing her high school career where it began.
“It was like coming home after a long trip,” she told The News Tribune.
Double- and triple-teams became the nightly norm in Tacoma, but the Tennessee commit quickly cemented herself as one of the nation’s premier front-court talents. Edwards took over games like few players can, averaging 30 points, 22 points and five blocks as Lincoln’s interior force. A blossoming midrange jumper made the fight all the more unfair.
“It was the way things just came natural to her,” said head coach Melanie Jones, who first met Edwards some seven years ago and enjoyed a front-row seat for the progression of a star. “I think that’s a testament to the time she spent in the gym, working on her craft outside of regular practices.”
The five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American is The News Tribune’s 2026 All-Area girls basketball Player of the Year.
“It means a lot,” Edwards said. “I worked a lot in order to get where I’m at right now.
“Just seeing all of my work being worth it … It’s good,” she smiled. “It’s good.”
When Edwards signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Adidas last spring, she didn’t know the global athletic brand planned to send Lincoln’s entire roster a set of compression gear, sweatsuits and backpacks. That was only the first surprise.
Some wondered if the Abes (11-12) would survive the district playoffs, but Edwards took them all the way to the 3A state tournament. She guided No. 19 Lincoln over No. 14 University in the play-in round before dropping 38 points at regionals, a 57-50 loss to Lakeside that marked her final game in black and gold.
“We got further than anybody thought we would have,” she said. “I didn’t know we were going to get that far.
“(This season) went well because of my teammates. We had a good bond, so I feel like that is what brought us together. I feel like it was more (about) fighting for each other on the court instead of getting our own. My teammates trusted me, and I trusted them. That’s what got us where we were at.”
If Edwards wasn’t dunking, she was drawing — often found freehanding on a sketchpad or iPad between games. Jones has a few art projects for her senior forward in mind before Edwards departs for the University of Tennessee in June.
When Lincoln’s head coach finally allowed her Abes to play their hip-hop music of choice for postseason practices and pregame warmups, Edwards won a handful of dance battles, too. What can’t she do?
“I have to admit, she would get me every time,” Jones laughed.
Edwards will receive her McDonald’s All-American jersey in a school ceremony next week. The McDonald’s All-American Game tips off at 3 p.m. on March 31 in Glendale, Ariz.
A college career at Tennessee comes next. What’s her No. 1 priority entering SEC play?
“Just getting better, improving my game,” she said. “Improving myself as a person. I feel like that’s going to be a new chapter in life that’s really going to set who I am as a person. I really want to get everything I can out of that.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
