LSU women's basketball trio named to coaches All-SEC teams

A trio of LSU women’s basketball stars received recognition on Wednesday from the league’s coaches as selections for the preseason All-SEC teams. Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and newcomer MiLaysia Fulwiley all made the cut of the listed top 16 players in the conference and LSU was voted the No. 3 team in the SEC for this new season.

Johnson and Williams were named to the All-SEC First Team, while Fulwiley was featured on the All-SEC Second Team. LSU was picked to finish third behind Texas and South Carolina with Oklahoma and Tennessee rounding out the top five. The preseason poll consisted of votes by SEC coaches who were unable to vote for their own players in the selection process.

In the media poll released on Oct. 14, Johnson was selected to the first team, Williams to the second team, and Fulwiley was not selected by the SEC’s media members.

Coach Kim Mulkey returns for her fifth season leading the Tigers after another Elite Eight run last season. LSU returns key players including Johnson and Williams. Kailyn Gilbert, an important role player who logged impactful minutes last year, also returns to the loaded backcourt alongside sophomore Jada Richard, who will look to build on her strong freshman season. Senior Izzy Besselman also returns to this year’s squad for the final time in her hometown.

Johnson enters her fourth and final season in Baton Rouge as one of the top returning guards in the country. Johnson is coming off a strong junior campaign after being an integral part to the Tigers’ third-straight Elite Eight appearance. Last season, she averaged 18.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Johnson closed the year strong against UCLA, putting up a career high 28 points. 

The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, Johnson was a critical piece as a starter on LSU’s first National Championship team in Mulkey’s second season. Not just a star on the court, Johnson has built her star-power as a rapper too. She released her most recent single “Courtside” featuring Waka Flocka Flame in August.

Williams is entering her third season at LSU after averaging 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in her sophomore year. Williams is one the purest scorers on the women’s basketball scene with the ability to impact the game from anywhere on the court, offensively and defensively. 

Williams, who was named the 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year, made the jump in her second season to First Team All-SEC. She had 11 games last season with at least 20 points and two with at least 30 points. Williams made a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to force overtime against Stanford and hit two threes in overtime to propel LSU to the win, finishing with 32 points in the SEC/ACC Challenge. She drained seven threes, including one in the final minute to put the game on ice, to finish with 37 points against Oklahoma and hit the knockout three in the final minute at Kentucky to help complete a 16-point comeback victory.

Fulwiley, a game-changing 5-10 guard joined the LSU program in the offseason as one of the nation’s most creative offensive players. In her two seasons at South Carolina, she came off the bench in all but three of her 77 games with the Gamecocks, averaging 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals. Fulwiley was a crucial piece to two-straight national championship appearances with one national title in hand from her freshman season. 

Fulwiley came to LSU as the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year after helping her previous program to an SEC Championship and an NCAA Championship appearance against the University of Connecticut. In her freshman year, Fulwiley was on the 2024 SEC All-Freshman team and was the MVP of the SEC Tournament. She led the Gamecocks in scoring 11 times throughout the season. In the SEC Tournament Championship, Fulwiley scored a career-high 24 points. In the national semifinal, her four steals helped spark South Carolina. She scored seven points in a critical 11-0 run in the second quarter of the national championship

The Tigers will host two exhibition games which will be open to the public over the next two weeks. LSU will face Mississippi College this Thursday, Oct. 23 and Langston next Thursday, Oct. 30. LSU’s season opener will be Nov. 4 at home against Houston Christian. All three contests will begin at 7 p.m. CT and can be streamed on the SEC Network +.

Order of Finish

1. Texas
2. South Carolina
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Tennessee
6. Ole Miss
7. Kentucky
8. Vanderbilt
9. Alabama
10. Florida
11. Georgia
12. Mississippi State
13. Texas A&M
14. Missouri
15. Auburn
16. Arkansas

Player of the Year
Madison Booker, Texas

First Team All-SEC
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
Madison Booker, Texas
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC
Essence Cody, Alabama
Liv McGill, Florida
Teonni Key, Kentucky
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Rori Harmon, Texas

*LSU press release