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South Carolina women's basketball: Preseason SEC predictions

On3 imageby: Chris Wellbaum10/13/25ChrisWellbaum
south carolina womens basketball sec championship
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley and forward Sania Feagin (20) hoist the SEC Championship Trophy after her teams win over Texas during the SEC Women’s Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The SEC’s preseason women’s basketball predictions were released on Monday. South Carolina was picked to win the conference, and Joyce Edwards (First-Team) and Ta’Niya Latson (Second-Team) were all-conference selections.

You can read the full preseason picks HERE. Then compare them to my predictions.

(I made my predictions before South Carolina announced that Chloe Kitts would miss the season due to an ACL injury. I still think the Gamecocks will win the conference, but since I had Kitts on my All-SEC team I have added a recplacement.)

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

South Carolina has won four consecutive regular-season titles, nine of the last 12, gone undefeated in the conference three times in the last six seasons, and hasn’t finished lower than second since 2013. Don’t overthink it.

After that, at least until the bottom four, it gets hard. Last season, just two games separated third place from seventh place, so the final standings came down to a lot of tiebreakers. I don’t have a lot of confidence in that order.

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Player of the Year
Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina)
Last season, Latson led the nation in scoring while playing at a P4 program. Yet, because Florida State is so far off the radar, she did it in near anonymity. That won’t be the case this season, and Latson will finally get the recognition she deserves. 

Defensive Player of the Year
Clara Strack (Kentucky)
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Strack averaged 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last season, second and first, respectively, in the SEC. Kentucky lost a lot of talent from last season, so Strack is going to have even more on her plate this year.

Freshman of the Year
Aaliyah Chavez (Oklahoma)
Chavez was the top-ranked recruit in the class, and her skillset plus Oklahoma’s offensive style is going to equal some huge numbers.

First Team
Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina)
Madison Booker (Texas)
Flau’jae Johnson (LSU)
Raegan Beers (Oklahoma)
Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)

Second Team
Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
Chloe Kitts (South Carolina)*
Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
Clara Strack (Kentucky)
Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
*Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)

There’s a reason the SEC expands the all-conference teams to about 20 players: there’s so much talent in the league that it feels impossible to narrow it down to two five-player teams. If I left your favorite player off, you’re right, she should have been here.

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