Dawn Staley is reloading. After she and the South Carolina Gamecocks were shut down by UCONN in the Women's NCAA National Championship game, the legendary head coach got perhaps the most prized player in the women's transfer portal: former Florida State guard and Second-team All-American, Ta'Niya Latson.
The nation's leading scorer last season, Latson averaged 25.2 points per game for the Seminoles, who were ousted in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Latson is a pure, old-school bucket-getter, doing most of her damage attacking the hoop or settling up in the midrange, where she's deadly.
Projected 2025 South Carolina Gamecocks starting lineup
Player | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
Ta'Niya Latson | Guard | Senior |
Agot Makeer | Guard | Freshman |
Ayla McDowell | Small Forward | Freshman |
Chloe Kitts | Power Forward | Senior |
Joyce Edwards | Center | Sophomore |
Gamecocks lose important pieces to draft, transfer portal
Te-Hina Paopao and Sania Faegin were both selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft last week, while Milaysia Fulwiley somewhat surprisingly entered her name into the transfer portal. Those are three pretty big departures — factor in guard Raven Johnson, and there's plenty of personnel that Staley has to replace next year. Latson is a great start to that, especially because she's proven that she can score nearly at will against top-flight competition.
Two five-star freshmen will be what swings next year's Gamecocks team, though.
Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell could be immediate difference-makers
South Carolina is adding two ESPN top 100 prospects to next year's squad — No. 6-ranked Agot Makeer and No. 15-ranked Ayla McDowell, both five-star prospects who could feasibly crack the starting five immediately alongside Latson. That would mean three new starters for Staley, with Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards returning in the frontcourt.
Makeer is a two-way menace and could play the "Raven Johnson" role nicely, while McDowell's versatility will allow her to defend multiple positions from the SF spot.
I'm guessing that Staley, with many new pieces, will experiment with her lineup, but this could be what the starting unit looks like — barring other big-name transfers — to kick off a potential revenge campaign after losing in the final game of last season.