South Carolina women's basketball: How will the Gamecocks overcome the loss of Chloe Kitts?

On Monday morning, South Carolina announced that Chloe Kitts will miss the 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. How will the Gamecocks try to overcome her absence?

Last season, Kitts averaged 10.2 points, a team-high 7.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. By the end of the season, she was one of South Carolina’s best players, leading the Gamecocks to another SEC Tournament championship and Final Four appearance. 

Kitts recorded a 16-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double at Ole Miss, and was named the SEC Tournament and NCAA Birmingham Regional MVP. She was also voted an honorable mention All-American by the AP and USBWA.

Kitts was a projected first-round 2026 WNBA Draft pick. Her versatility and shooting ability were expected to be key factors in South Carolina’s crowded and talented frontcourt.

South Carolina is now without two expected forwards due to knee injuries. In January, the Gamecocks lost Ashlyn Watkins to a torn ACL, and Watkins chose to sit out the upcoming season to focus on rehab. South Carolina is down to 10 healthy players.

Without Kitts, the obvious choice for Dawn Staley would seem to be starting transfer Madina Okot at the post and sophomore Joyce Edwards at forward, where Kitts started most of the last two seasons.

Okot played for Mississippi State last season, and the 6-6 Kenyan averaged 11.2 points and 9.6 rebounds last season and was one of the most coveted players in the portal.

6-3 Edwards was South Carolina’s leading scorer last season and averaged 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. She struggled in the NCAA Tournament when she became the focus of opposing defenses, but regrouped with a double-double against Texas in the national semifinal. Edwards was named to the All Final Four team and earned first-team All-SEC and honorable mention All-America honors. 

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The situation gets dicier when Staley turns to the bench. Redshirt senior Maryam Dauda and redshirt sophomore Adhel Tac were highly touted pickups who had disappointing seasons last year. 

Dauda averaged 2.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.1 blocks in 6.4 minutes, shooting a career-low 32.1% from the floor. Tac only appeared in 22 games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 3.8 minutes last season. However, there are reasons for optimism for both players.

Both players reportedly had good summers and have improved substantially. They also have solid track records. 

During her 2023-24 season at Arkansas, 6-4 Dauda played nearly 30 minutes a game and averaged 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks, leading the SEC in blocks during conference play. 

6-5* Tac was the second-ranked post in the 2024 recruiting class despite missing most of her junior and senior seasons due to injury. She enrolled early in January so that she could rehab with South Carolina’s medical staff. Tac is noticeably more fit than she was a year ago.

(*That’s Tac’s officially listed height. But when I’ve talked to her, I felt like I was looking up even higher than 6-7 Kamilla Cardoso.)

In June, I wrote about three reasons to expect bigger seasons from the pair. Included in that story is a look at their advanced stats, which suggest both just need more playing time.

South Carolina also has a wildcard on the bench in freshman Ayla McDowell. McDowell is listed as a guard on South Carolina’s roster, but she played forward in high school and the wing during international competitions with Brazil. 

McDowell is 6-1, which is a bit undersized for a forward, but she could be a stretch four for a few minutes a game.

She hustles and rebounds well, and McDowell is also a capable three-point shooter. What she gives up in the post, she might get back by making opponents have to chase her around the perimeter. With so many teams playing four-guard lineups, it may not even matter that McDowell isn’t a prototypical forward.

It is also possible that Staley could take inspiration from Kitts herself and try to convince one of South Carolina’s 2026 signees to enroll early. Notre Dame did something similar in 2022 when the short-handed Irish added Cassandre Prosper in December for depth.

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