COLUMBIA — Five players are gone and four players are coming in for South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.
Sania Feagin, Te-Hina Paopao and Bree Hall were drafted into the WNBA on April 14 and star guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and 6-foot-5 center Sakima Walker went into the transfer portal. Fulwiley committed to LSU on April 25.
Advertisement
Staley got the nation’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson from Florida State, via the portal and 6-6 center Madina Okot from Mississippi State. The two transfers will join incoming freshmen Agot Makeer, a 6-1 wing, and Ayla McDowell, a 6-2 small forward.
Here’s what Staley’s starting lineup may look like for the 2025-26 season:
South Carolina women’s basketball starting lineup prediction for 2025-26
Staley didn’t have a true center this past season, and at some times that issue was exploited, but overall Kitts and Edwards were productive on offense together. The key with adding Tessa Johnson to the starting lineup is that she’s very versatile and can play either a forward or guard role, in addition to great defense.
Advertisement
With Okot coming off the bench to spell Kitts or Edwards, Johnson can shift to adjust. Okot can play that true five spot with a forward on the floor and Johnson can be a third guard or a second forward.
How Tessa Johnson, Maddy McDaniel, Ta’Niya Latson help South Carolina
Tessa Johnson led the Gamecocks in 3-point shooting (43%) after an underwhelming season from Paopao, who dropped from 46.8% in 2023-24 to 37% beyond the arc last season.
Latson can shoot 3-pointers but also loves to drive the ball, which means Tessa Johnson can spot up in her 3-point corner sweet spot.
In addition, at some points last season South Carolina didn’t have guards besides Tessa Johnson and Fulwiley who loved to attack the basket. Maddy McDaniel, a 5-9 point guard, is more comfortable inside the paint than outside the arc, so if she is driving and facilitating, she has good IQ and skills to kick the ball out to Latson and Tessa Johnson on the 3-point line.
Advertisement
It’s expected that McDaniel comes off the bench for Raven Johnson, so if Staley brings Makeer in with her, that’s another 3-point threat who can space the floor.
If Staley’s second lineup is a mix of McDaniel (PG), Johnson (SG), Makeer (SF), Edwards/Kitts/Maryam Dauda (F) and Okot (C), then she’ll have four players who can handle the ball, shoot the 3-pointer and attack the hoop, in addition to great size and skill at the center.
Staley has even more flexibility with McDowell; she can shift Makeer to a shooting guard, put McDowell in as the small forward with another forward and Okot.
NEW: Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball hire Wendale Farrow of Southern Cal as assistant
When is Ashlyn Watkins back for South Carolina, Dawn Staley
Ashlyn Watkins, a 6-2 forward, tore her ACL on Jan. 5. There is no update on if Watkins will receive any extra eligibility because of the injury, but she is a rising senior.
Advertisement
“Her journey back may get her back in the real flow is probably mid-summer, late summer for us, not for them, but for us where she can actually do some things and we can work with her,” Staley said on April 5, joking that doctors may cringe hearing that.
Though her perimeter defense, her rebounding and her ability to attack the basket were greatly missed, Staley seemingly has the pieces to manage until she returns.
Once she does return, Watkins likely will be coming off the bench with Okot. If Dauda, the 6-2 forward who is expected to make a big jump from her first season in the program to her second, checks in with Watkins, Dauda can shoot the 3-pointer and linger more outside but still pose a threat with her height. The same goes with Kitts, who developed into a solid outside shooter this season.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Predicting Dawn Staley’s South Carolina women’s basketball 2025-26 lineup
