South Carolina women's basketball: Previewing the SEC - Part 1

SEC Tipoff is in the books, and we are just over two weeks from the start of the season. Alabama even had its first public exhibition on October 16. It’s time for a quick refresher on all 16 teams ahead of the season.

The preview is split into two parts. Part two will run later.

Alabama Crimson Tide
Last season: 24-9 (10-6), NCAA Second round
Key losses: Sarah Ashley Barker, Aaliyah Nye
Key additions: Ta’Mia Scott, Alancia Ramsey
Key returners: Essence Cody
Projected finish: 9
Vibe check: 💔
Outlook: Kristy Curry built up Alabama the old-fashioned way – slow and steady. There were transfers, but most were multi-year players she could develop, not one-year fixes. Two of them, Sarah Ashley Barker and Aaliyah Nye, made WNBA rosters (Nye even won a championship ring with Las Vegas). Replacing those two won’t be easy. Alabama still has Essence Cody, gets Jessica Timmons back from injury, and brought in talented transfers, but the Tide are going to be pining for Barker and Nye.

Media Day quote: “We had five seniors. All five are playing professionally. It’s incredible. (…) It’s amazing to see what S.A. and Aaliyah were able to do in the W. As a rookie, it’s really hard to make the roster. Aaliyah had the chance to win a WNBA championship with the Aces. (…) It’s incredible. If you come to Alabama, we believe we can win at a really high level and prepare you for the next level.” – Curry

Arkansas Razorbacks
Last season: 10-22 (3-13)
Key losses: Izzy Higginbottom
Key additions: Taleyah Jones, Bonnie Deas
Key returners: None
Projected finish: 16
Vibe check: 🫣
Outlook: Dismal. Sad. Ugh. Arkansas made the understandable decision to fire Mike Neighbors after last season, hoping to replace him with Molly Miller. When Miller opted to go to Arizona State instead, there was no plan B. The hire of Kelsi Musick, whose best accomplishment in three years of Division I coaching experience is a first-round WNIT loss, it felt like giving up. At least Higginbottom was worth watching last season.

Media Day quote: “Obviously laying the culture and the foundation that we want to establish that kind of goes before us as being the University of Arkansas, what we want lady Razorback basketball to stand for, be about. I think those expectations within our culture, our style of play, what we want to implement with our energy and passion, is definitely going to be at the forefront of our goals this year.” – Musick on her goals for the season

Join GamecockCentral now for $1 your first week and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic – included with your membership.

Auburn Tigers
Last season: 12-18 (3-13)
Key losses: Taliah Scott, Yuting Deng, DeYona Gaston
Key additions: Quanirah Montague, Arek Angui
Key returners: Syriah Daniels
Projected finish: 15
Vibe check: 🙀
Outlook: Auburn made the surprising decision to fire Johnnie Harris, a respected coach who had improved Auburn’s recruiting and made the Tigers competitive. Reportedly, Auburn also coveted Molly Miller, and was also left scrambling when neither Miller nor the backup options were interested. Unlike Arkansas, Auburn ended up hiring a highly-regarded coach, Norfolk State’s Larry Vickers. Still, the transition was messy, including Vickers’ best player, Kierra Wheeler, following him to Auburn for about 15 minutes before changing her mind and going to West Virginia. Eight players transferred out, and Harris’ entire signing class decommitted, leaving a roster so thin that Auburn is holding walk-on tryoutssetting up a bumpy season on the Plains.

Media Day quote: “When you put a team together in a little bit over 30 days, you want some form of talent and then hard work. We felt like with some of those international players that we brought on campus, they were workers. They were workers. They’re ready for the grind and what that looks like.” – Vickers

Florida Gators
Last season: 19-18 (5-11), WBIT Semifinals
Key losses: Ra Shaya Kyle, Jeriah Warren
Key additions: Nidi Yiech
Key returners: Liv McGill, Me’Arah O’Neal, Laila Reynolds
Projected finish: 11
Vibe check: 🦎
Outlook: Florida signed the 9th-ranked recruiting class last year, and the talent -especially McGill – was evident despite growing pains. Now the young players need to learn how to win. Kelly Rae Finley’s job is probably safe, but after three straight five-win SEC seasons, she needs to prove that her 10-win first season wasn’t a fluke.

Media Day quote: “She’s a big-time player. She would tell you she’s been working tirelessly on her leadership, her connection with each individual player, understanding what makes them tick, and how to drive a program forward, right? We have standards that we want to reach and expectations. For Liv, she’s unconventional in that she is old school in her approach. She’s a worker. As a coach, you couldn’t be more proud of somebody that wants to earn everything that they receive.” – Finley on McGill

Georgia Lady Bulldogs
Last season: 13-19 (4-12)
Key losses: De’Mauri Flournoy, Asia Avinger
Key additions: Dani Carnegie, Rylie Theuerkauf
Key returners: Trinity Turner, Mia Woolfolk
Projected finish: 12
Vibe check: 🍼
Outlook: As Georgia suffered through a miserable season, the light at the end of the tunnel was the second-straight top-20 recruiting class. Georgia also added the fifth-ranked transfer class. The Baby Dawgs are going to have to grow up fast in the SEC, but Georgia has significantly upgraded its talent level. There’s some pressure on coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson to produce this season. She’s a proven coach who now has some talent, so as long as they show progress, Georgia should feel a lot better about the state of the program. 

Media Day quote: “What I’ve seen about Dani is I did not know she had that huge basketball IQ, huge, and the way she passes. At Georgia Tech, she was more of a scorer, off guard. We’ve kind of put her with the ball in her hands, along with Trinity and Angelina.

When Dani is coming down the floor, her passing ability, her vision is amazing. I’ve had to tell our post players, Please, get your hands ready. Dani is not going to look at you when she passes.” – ABE

Your GamecockCentral membership starts at just $1 for the first week – and we’ll throw in a complimentary year of access to The Athletic.

#24 Kentucky Wildcats
Last season: 23-8 (11-5), NCAA Second round
Key losses: Georgia Amorre, Clara Silva
Key additions: Tonie Morgan, Kaelyn Carroll
Key returners: Clara Strack, Teonni Key
Projected finish: 8
Vibe check: 😸
Outlook: Last year, Kentucky surpassed all expectations in Kenny Brooks’ first season. The Wildcats will be hard-pressed to repeat that success this season. That’s not an indictment of Brooks; it’s because Amoore isn’t walking through that door. Arguably, no player meant more to her team last season, and despite the talent Brooks has assembled, they are probably going to take a slight step backward this season.

Media Day quote: “(Teonni Key) was actually my first recruit when I got to the University of Kentucky. We took her around, showed her everywhere on day one, which is kind of funny. We didn’t know what we were showing her. We were kind of making stuff up along the way (smiling). The next morning we were starting breakfast. I asked her if she had any questions. She said, Yeah, I have a question about this, that. In the middle of it, she said, By the way, I’m committing, I’m coming here.” – Brooks

#5 LSU Tigers
Last season: 31-6 (12-4), NCAA Elite Eight
Key losses:  Aneesah Morrow, Shayeann Day-Wilson, Jersey Wolfenbarger
Key additions: Kate Koval, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Amiya Joyner, top-ranked freshman class
Key returners: Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams
Projected finish: 3
Vibe check: 🏀
Outlook: If it feels like LSU has constructed a roster of a dozen ball-dominant guards and a forward, well, you’re not far off. Figuring out how to keep Johnson, Williams, and Fulwiley happy with just one basketball is going to be a challenge (not to mention all the freshmen). Plus, after three years of Angel Reese and Morrow, LSU doesn’t have a proven rebounder. The Tigers hope Koval, a top-five recruit who fell out of the rotation as a freshman at Notre Dame, was just in a bad situation last year. That’s a lot of concerns, but Kim Mulkey is at her best when she can prove people wrong.

Media Day quote: “It depends on the situation. If we’re coming out of a timeout, who I’m going to draw it up for, it could be. It could be Flau’Jae one game. Who is guarding her? What kind of game has she had to this point? It could be Mikaylah. Certainly, it could be MiLaysia. (…) We’ve had personalities that were big. We’re going to share the ball. Those are decisions that I’m sure I will have to make in tight games. It’s also decisions that they will dictate. They will dictate that on the floor.” – Mulkey

Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last season: 22-12 (7-9), NCAA Second round
Key losses: Debreasha Powe, Madina Okot
Key additions: Favour Nwaedozi, Jaylah Lampley, Madison Francis
Key returners: Destiny McPhaul
Projected finish: 10
Vibe check: 🦴
Outlook: This should have been the breakthrough season for Sam Purcell after he signed two top-40 recruits and another in the top-100 to add to his tournament team. But the Bulldogs were raided after last season, losing their best players to the portal. Now he is rebuilding again with freshmen.

Media Day quote: “In our profession, it’s about relationships. No matter what the turnover may be, you have to connect to the players that you have. When you can connect, you can make special moments. That’s what I’m most proud of going into my fourth year here at Mississippi State is those moments we were able to connect, but also at the same time make history.” – Purcell on roster turnover

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!