Dawn Staley hints at South Carolina's transfer portal plans
South Carolina women’s basketball lost to the UConn Huskies in the national championship on Sunday. The defeat was a disappointing end to another great season for the Gamecocks, one in which they finished with a top-2 ranking in the AP poll for the fourth year in a row.
Despite another excellent campaign, head coach Dawn Staley has made it clear for a while that she feels her team needs to make some adjustments ahead of the 2025-2026 season. For months, she has hinted that South Carolina will push for a big-bodied post player in the transfer portal. In Sunday’s postgame, she gave some additional insight about what she plans to do in the portal this offseason.
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Staley initiated the transfer talk by saying she was excited about the potential talent on next year’s team, “especially with getting in the transfer portal and getting some experienced pieces that can help with this young group.”
“Young group” is an interesting descriptor from Staley. Pending transfer portal movement and final season decisions from Raven Johnson and Sakima Walker, next year’s version of the Gamecocks should have a solid mixture of seniors and players with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Even if everyone returns who is eligible, because South Carolina has just two freshmen joining the team this summer, USC will have at least three scholarships available to use in the portal if Staley desires.
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No matter what, it seems as if the Gamecocks will target size and experience this offseason. With at least two perimeter starters leaving, it would seem likely that a guard or two could happen, too. At times, Carolina struggled a bit to create fluid offense against high-level defenses. Because of that, adding a real offensive threat or two could be on the list, as well.
Staley teased the media a bit with a veiled comment about her team’s transfer portal efforts. “There’s some things in the works that will make our team better,” she said. South Carolina is one of many schools that has been linked to Florida State Seminoles transfer guard Ta’Niya Latson. Several other names have circulated the rumor mill but with less reporting around them.
The Gamecocks took just one transfer in the 2024 offseason cycle (former Arkansas forward Maryam Dauda). Based on roster space and Coach Staley’s comments, it seems as if that number will be bigger this time around.
