Last season, the Gamecocks women's basketball team finished 35-4, losing 82-59 in the national championship game to the UConn Huskies. After capturing their third consecutive SEC championship, the team finished as runner-up in an attempt to secure back-to-back national titles. As preseason basketball begins, the team is ready to reintroduce itself with a new identity.
The Gamecocks welcomed the highest touted transfer under Dawn Staley in Florida State senior gaurd Ta'Niya Latson this offseason. As the team is set to face former assistant coach Winston Gandy as he begins his tenure as head coach for the Grand Canyon Lopes in the season opener.
“We're not going to skip a beat,” head coach Dawn Staley said.
Losses of impact players
Last season, three Gamecocks were drafted into the WNBA: former guard Te-Hina Paopao to the Atlanta Dream, former guard Bree Hall to the Indiana Fever, and former forward Sania Feagin to the Los Angeles Sparks. The team also lost two players to the transfer portal.
One of the team's greatest strengths last season was their second unit, which averaged a D1-leading 40.3 points per game. Off the bench, the team's second-highest scorer junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley’s transfer to LSU in addition to senior center Sakima Walker’s departure to Cal have made this offseason more intriguing than in recent years.
Going into the 2025-26 season ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation, the Gamecocks have already lost two starters for the entire season. Senior forward Chloe Kitts suffered a season-ending ACL tear, and senior forward Ashlyn Watkins is also recovering from an ACL injury that occurred last season.
Returning players
Returning to the lineup, sophomore forward Joyce Edwards will look to expand on her role that saw her recognized on the SEC All-Freshman team with a team-high 12.7 points per game. As a true sophomore, Edwards was the only Gamecock who received a preseason All-SEC first team nod.
Junior guard Tessa Johnson joined Latson, Staley and Edwards recently during the SEC media day. Johnson will look to assume the role of sixth man in the wake of Fulwiley's exit and said she sees the upcoming season as her time to take the next step.
“It’s going to be a whole-year thing. I need to be more consistent with my role and being a leader,” Johnson said.
Incoming transfers
The Gamecocks reunited senior guard Raven Johnson with her high school teammate: senior guard Ta'Niya Latson.
Latson, who is coming off leading the nation in scoring a season ago with 25.2 points per game and a first team All-ACC bid, received preseason All-SEC second team honors. She will look to take her prolific scoring deep into March for the Gamecocks, Latson led Florida State to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2025.
"The biggest difference would probably be just the amount of talent that I’m surrounded by and then the attention to detail with everything that we do,” Latson said.
Along with Latson, the Gamecocks welcomed the SEC’s leader in field goal percentage: Mississippi state transfer senior center Madina Okot. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Okot adds a great interior presence, averaging 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds and starting all 34 games for the Bulldogs last season.
“Madina gives our frontcourt additional size and speed,” Staley said. “She has the ability to score, rebound and defend, and her competitiveness and SEC experience are added bonuses."
Non-conference matchups
The Gamecocks will have two exhibition games before regular season action. They will start with a home matchup against the Anderson Trojans before going to Atlanta, Georgia, to take part in the Bad Boy Mowers Series, where they will face the No. 11 UNC Tar Heels on Oct. 30.
Staley has been known to schedule ranked opponents prior to conference play, and the Gamecocks won't have to wait long before they welcome the No. 18 University of Southern California Trojans on Nov. 15. The two teams will face off for the first time since 2014 in a battle for “The Real SC.”
Before starting SEC conference play on Jan. 1, the team has two other ranked opponents scheduled, both from the ACC.
First, the Gamecocks will take part in the first ever women's Players Era Championship held in Las Vegas on Nov. 26. Then, South Carolina will face the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils in a rematch of last year's championship quarterfinal, before heading to the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals to begin December.
What’s next?
The first action for the Gamecocks is an exhibition game against the Anderson Trojans on Oct. 24. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena and is not scheduled to be televised.