LSU women’s basketball is highly anticipated as fall approaches. The addition of South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley is being regarded by many as the final piece of the puzzle for the Tigers. LSU was already returning with a pair of legitimate stars in Flau’jae Johnson and Mikayla Williams. Adding Fulwiley and several other transfers and a stellar freshman class gives LSU a promising squad.
That said, the SEC promises to be as brutal next season as it was last year. There are likely to be a multitude of top 25 squads within the league. So how will LSU’s squad end up hitting the court? Here’s an early projection on the starting lineup, as well as the ultimate projected result of a potentially memorable LSU season.
Projecting LSU’s 2025-26 women’s hoops season
The Starting Lineup
Four sets seem to be virtually set in stone. Those are as follows:
Guard- MiLaysia Fulwiley
Fulwiley was the second leading scorer on South Carolina’s 2024-25 team, winning SEC Sixth Player of the Year while putting up 11.7 points per game for the national runners-up. Funny enough, she had produced the same scoring output in her freshman year at Carolina.
Fulwiley is an excellent defender, a superb open-court scorer, but an inconsistent perimeter shooter. Much of her success will depend on whether she can improve on her 26% 3-point shooting from last season. Given her talent and athleticism, it’s fair to expect that she’ll fit in very well with the Tigers.
Guard- Mikaylah Williams
The 6-foot junior had an impressive season last year for LSU, averaging 17.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Williams has started in both seasons at LSU, has already amassed 1,132 college points, and is a 38% 3-point shooter, which is a rarity on this LSU squad.
Williams can be up and down, as her NCAA Tournament performance showed. In the second round, she dropped 28 points on Florida State, shooting 10 for 12. In the Elite Eight, she had just 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Having more elite talent around her should only help Williams’s game in 2025-26.
Guard- Flau’jae Johnson
This 5’10” senior has started for three seasons at LSU. Johnson has already notched 1,565 career points as a Tiger. She is a 37% 3-point shooter and should improve with even more talent around her next season.
Johnson comes off a season as a third-team All-American from the Associated Press, courtesy of 18.6 points per game. She also grabbed 5.6 rebounds per game, which is quite good for a player of her relatively humble size. Johnson won a title as a freshman but has now bided her time waiting for her own team. The 2025-26 squad will be hers first and foremost.
Center- Kate Koval
The 6’5″ Koval has the kind of size that coaches dream about. She transfers in from Notre Dame, where her first season of college basketball was awkward at times. The Ukrainian import averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Despite playing just 18 minutes per game, Koval was fourth in the ACC in blocked shots, with 55.
While Koval is still a fairly raw player, her type of size and skill doesn’t come along every day. Even if she’s not ready to make an impact as an elite scorer, she’ll defend and rebound and get some easy points inside. Koval looks like a day-one starter.
The fifth starter is unclear. East Carolina transfer Amiya Joyner could get the call. She has averaged between 9-10 rebounds per game in each of her three seasons, and her 6’2″ height should help. Freshman forward Grace Knox is also an option, but so is swing player ZaKiyah Johnson, who is also a freshman. Standout guard Divine Bourrage gets plenty of hype, but another guard probably can’t start at this point.
LSU prediction
The Tigers have a top team, but the SEC will be brutal. At this point, the best guess is that LSU finishes third in the SEC behind South Carolina and another team (perhaps a resurgent Tennessee). That should be good enough to earn LSU a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which could set up another Elite Eight run.
Can the Tigers outlast an Elite Eight foe? Probably depends on who would be the top seed. UConn and Carolina look nearly unbeatable, and UCLA will be fierce, even if a little limited in depth. From the outside looking in, the early guess is that this is another Elite Eight season.
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