South Carolina women's basketball: Raven Johnson announces whether she will return

South Carolina point guard Raven Johnson has announced that she will return for her redshirt senior season. She made the announcement on social media in posts welcoming Ta’Niya Latson to South Carolina.

Johnson and Latson were high school teammates at Westlake High in Atlanta. Johnson said jokingly during the NCAA Tournament that she and Latson were a “package deal” for next season. Apparently she was serious, saying “Let’s run in back twin” in one of the posts.

A part of South Carolina’s top-ranked 2021 signing class, Johnson tore her ACL in the second game of her freshman season. She was granted a medical redshirt as a result of the injury, making her a redshirt junior this season.

A two-year starter, Johnson had to decide whether to enter the draft alongside her classmates Bree Hall and Sania Feagin or return for one more season. The WNBA added one expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, for the upcoming season and will add two more next season, creating 24 more roster spots.

Johnson said after South Carolina’s national championship game loss to UConn that she had made her decision already but was not ready to share it.

“I can’t announce it yet,” she said.

Johns later said that coming up short had impacted her decision.

“Kind of, yes,” she said. “It’s making me think a little bit because I would love to end on a good note.”

Players have 48 hours from the end of their last game to declare for the WNBA Draft.

Johnson averaged 4.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. She was named to the SEC all-defensive team this season. Previously, Johnson was second team all-SEC in 2024 and SEC all-freshman in 2023.

For her career, Johnson averaged 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. Johnson’s steal and layup against Caitlin Clark in the 2024 national championship game is one of the most iconic plays in program history.