A year removed from a perfect season and a national title, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks returned to the title game before being upended by UConn. But that thrashing has certainly seen a shift in the culture in Colombia. Gone is familiar but mercurial standout MiLaysia Fulwiley. In her place is the leading national scorer, Ta’Niya Latson. Add in intriguing transfer and freshman and USC looks different… good, but different.
Staley’s time at Carolina has been an amazing success. But something about being second-best seems to have lit a particular fire under the veteran coach. Here are five takeaways for Carolina’s upcoming season.
5 takeaways for South Carolina’s Upcoming Season
How Much Will Fulwiley be Missed?
The loss of Fulwiley to the transfer portal (and ultimately to LSU) shortly after the end of the season was shocking. She was the Sixth Player of the Year in the SEC in 2024-25 and was Carolina’s second leading scorer with 11.7 points per game. But she was an up-and-down player, shot just 25.8% from 3-point range last year, and generally didn’t seem to be a great fit.
The move to Ta’Niya Latson seems to suggest that Carolina will focus on offense in the season to come. How successfully that season goes might well determine the success of the parting of Fulwiley and the Gamecocks.
An Amazing Portal Class
Latson (25.2 points per game last year at Florida State) is an amazing addition. She scored 2,095 points in three years at FSU. But while she’s the biggest name in the portal class, she’s not the biggest player who came in via the portal for the Gamecocks.
6’5″ center Madina Okot comes in from Mississippi State, where she tallied 11.3 points and 9.6 boards per game, as well as being one of the best shot blockers in the league. She will help out on the low block as an impactful, immediate addition.
Talented Freshmen
Carolina added just a pair of freshmen to the upcoming roster. 6’2″ forward Ayla McDowell and 6’1″ forward Agot Makeer are both incoming standouts. Makeer was the No. 6 player in the national recruiting class per Hoopgurlz’ 2025 ratings. McDowell was the No. 15-ranked player, so both are clearly capable of an impactful early role.
A Challenging Schedule
Carolina’s full schedule hasn’t been revealed yet, but the SEC slate has been announced. Carolina will face LSU in a road game on Valentine’s Day that should be extra interesting because of the Fulwiley situation. USC will play Texas at home on January 15th and will play Tennessee at home on February 8th.
Carolina will face the entire SEC once and will play a second game with Alabama. They are also slated to play a non-conference schedule that includes early games with NC State and Louisville. It’s safe to expect a challenging slate that’s worthy of Carolina’s team.
How Will the Returning Guards Fit Together?
Raven Johnson returns, and while she’s been a talented defender and floor general, her scoring output has been minimal at just 4.9 points per game and 35% shooting. Can Johnson step up her offensive output, or will the other guards see more time in her stead?
Maddy McDaniel backed up Johnson last year, scoring 3.1 points per game, but she could step up her output significantly. Tessa Johnson figures to be a significant component as well. She averaged 8.4 points per game while shooting 43% from 3-point range.
The freshmen mentioned above probably fit best at small forward, but either could also factor into the shooting guard situation. Carolina has plenty of talented players, but exactly how they will fit together remains to be seen.
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