South Carolina may have lost to UCLA in the national championship game, but the team is still keeping its head held high, as three of their four seniors are projected to enter the WNBA draft. What is more remarkable is that all three of them may be going in the first round, showing how well Dawn Staley’s player development has become.
The Gamecocks were one of the No. 1 seeds coming into March Madness and then made it to the Final Four. They would then hand the formerly-undefeated UConn Huskies their first and only loss of the season during the Final Four before getting handily defeated by a hungry UCLA team for the national title. The core of that squad have been their seniors and they are certainly generating a lot of WNBA draft buzz.
South Carolina Gamecocks Draft Projections for 2026 WNBA Draft
Raven Johnson: No. 6 or No. 7
Raven Johnson is their defensive spark, holding opposing guards while also being their playmaker on the other end of the floor. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year is projected to be in the Top 10 of the WNBA draft and might possibly be picked by one of the two expansion teams with the Toronto Tempo at No. 6 or the Portland Fire at No. 7. Either way, she will be drafted high regardless.
TaNiya Latson: No. 10
TaNiya Latson might not have originally been a South Carolina Gamecock, but she has fit into the team quite nicely and has proven to be one of their best players, with her being instrumental in beating the UConn Huskies. This means that many scouts think highly of her and see her getting picked by the Indiana Fever, where she might not just play alongside Caitlin Clark, but also former South Carolina stars Aliyah Boston and Bree Hall.
Madina Okot: No. 11 or No. 13
While Dawn Staley is still trying to get star center Madina Okot another year of eligibility, arguing that she started her college in Kenya so that should not count, many analysts believe that the big Kenyan is now ready for the big league. She is projected to go to a team that needs a big right now, and that is either the Washington Mystics at No. 11 or the Atlanta Dream at No. 13.
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