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COLUMBIA — Dawn Staley's roster for South Carolina women's basketball in 2026-27 impressed not only her boss, but people without ties to the Gamecocks as well.
“It’s hard to imagine the portal season going for any coach better than it did for Coach Staley," South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati said April 27. "I had colleagues from all over the country reaching out to me saying, ‘Wow, that’s a super team.'"
Staley brought in four Class of 2026 recruits all ranked in the top 30. She also added the No. 2 player in the portal in Jordan Lee, a 6-foot guard from Texas, and was the only SEC women's coach who didn't lose anyone to the portal.
The most recent addition to the 2026-27 team was five-star, 6-foot-3 forward Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2026 class.
“Not having any kids transfer out of the program in this day and age is almost unheard of. So just really, really proud of her and the team’s efforts to keep it rolling," Donati said.
South Carolina has been to six straight Final Fours, three straight national championship games and has 10 straight SEC regular-season titles. So when it comes to preseason predictions, the Gamecocks have been near the top for a while.
But do these moves make them the favorites to win the 2027 national championship?
The Athletic believes that the Gamecocks are the new top team, two weeks after Texas had that spot.
On April 27, South Carolina went from No. 4 to No. 1, as UConn and Southern Cal stayed at No. 2 and No. 3.
Lee wasn't the only departure for the Longhorns. Point guard Rori Harmon and key reserve center Kyla Oldacre were out of eligibility. Justice Carlton, who started with Lee, and Aaliyah Crump, who averaged 7.9 points off the bench, also transferred.
That dropped Texas to No. 13 in The Athletic's Top 25.
On April 28, The Athletic ranked which players found the best fit in a new team via the portal and Lee was No. 1.
Multiple outlets published "way too early" rankings the morning after title game, and ESPN, The Athletic and USA TODAY all had UConn above South Carolina despite the Gamecocks beating the Huskies and No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Azzi Fudd in the Final Four.
USA TODAY had Southern Cal at its No. 1, reporting that getting star JuJu Watkins back from injury while returning National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and adding No. 1 overall recruit Saniyah Hall is enough to write off the 18-14 season in 2025-26.
ESPN had the Trojans at No. 6, with Texas above South Carolina but behind UConn at No. 2. Before updating, The Athletic's order went Texas, UConn, Southern Cal, South Carolina.
The articles were based mainly on high school recruits and returners. At the time they were published, Staley was losing three starters in Raven Johnson, Ta'Niya Latson and Madina Okot to the WNBA plus reserve forward Maryam Dauda.
ESPN hadn't updated its 2026 recruit rankings at the time, so South Carolina's incoming freshmen were the No. 6 overall recruit Jerzy Robinson, No. 18 Kaeli Wynn and No. 30 Kelsi Andrews.
Staley was returning seven players from the title game roster, including Joyce Edwards who averaged 19.2 points, Tessa Johnson, who led the SEC in 3-point shooting (fourth in the nation), Agot Makeer, who scored between 10-18 points in every March Madness game, and 6-foot-7 Alicia Tournebize.
The Gamecocks also knew they were also getting back 2025 SEC Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts and star forward Ashlyn Watkins, who both missed last season with ACL tears.
The main argument for UConn ahead of most teams despite losing Fudd was returning National Player of the Year Sarah Strong in addition to bringing in freshman Olivia Vukosa, the No. 2 ranked player.
The Huskies then lost two players to the portal and didn't add anyone, but CBS Sports kept UConn at No. 1 on April 21, which was after Lee committed to South Carolina but before Oliviyah Edwards did.
With Lee alone, there was an argument the Gamecocks were the top team, but adding the third-best incoming freshman to an already loaded roster, other outlets might start follow The Athletic's lead in their updated rankings.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Will Dawn Staley's South Carolina roster be No. 1 to start season?
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“It’s hard to imagine the portal season going for any coach better than it did for Coach Staley," South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati said April 27. "I had colleagues from all over the country reaching out to me saying, ‘Wow, that’s a super team.'"
Staley brought in four Class of 2026 recruits all ranked in the top 30. She also added the No. 2 player in the portal in Jordan Lee, a 6-foot guard from Texas, and was the only SEC women's coach who didn't lose anyone to the portal.
The most recent addition to the 2026-27 team was five-star, 6-foot-3 forward Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2026 class.
“Not having any kids transfer out of the program in this day and age is almost unheard of. So just really, really proud of her and the team’s efforts to keep it rolling," Donati said.
South Carolina has been to six straight Final Fours, three straight national championship games and has 10 straight SEC regular-season titles. So when it comes to preseason predictions, the Gamecocks have been near the top for a while.
But do these moves make them the favorites to win the 2027 national championship?
Will South Carolina be the preseason No. 1 team?
The Athletic believes that the Gamecocks are the new top team, two weeks after Texas had that spot.
On April 27, South Carolina went from No. 4 to No. 1, as UConn and Southern Cal stayed at No. 2 and No. 3.
Lee wasn't the only departure for the Longhorns. Point guard Rori Harmon and key reserve center Kyla Oldacre were out of eligibility. Justice Carlton, who started with Lee, and Aaliyah Crump, who averaged 7.9 points off the bench, also transferred.
That dropped Texas to No. 13 in The Athletic's Top 25.
On April 28, The Athletic ranked which players found the best fit in a new team via the portal and Lee was No. 1.
South Carolina behind UConn in early 2026-27 rankings
Multiple outlets published "way too early" rankings the morning after title game, and ESPN, The Athletic and USA TODAY all had UConn above South Carolina despite the Gamecocks beating the Huskies and No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Azzi Fudd in the Final Four.
USA TODAY had Southern Cal at its No. 1, reporting that getting star JuJu Watkins back from injury while returning National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and adding No. 1 overall recruit Saniyah Hall is enough to write off the 18-14 season in 2025-26.
ESPN had the Trojans at No. 6, with Texas above South Carolina but behind UConn at No. 2. Before updating, The Athletic's order went Texas, UConn, Southern Cal, South Carolina.
The articles were based mainly on high school recruits and returners. At the time they were published, Staley was losing three starters in Raven Johnson, Ta'Niya Latson and Madina Okot to the WNBA plus reserve forward Maryam Dauda.
ESPN hadn't updated its 2026 recruit rankings at the time, so South Carolina's incoming freshmen were the No. 6 overall recruit Jerzy Robinson, No. 18 Kaeli Wynn and No. 30 Kelsi Andrews.
Staley was returning seven players from the title game roster, including Joyce Edwards who averaged 19.2 points, Tessa Johnson, who led the SEC in 3-point shooting (fourth in the nation), Agot Makeer, who scored between 10-18 points in every March Madness game, and 6-foot-7 Alicia Tournebize.
The Gamecocks also knew they were also getting back 2025 SEC Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts and star forward Ashlyn Watkins, who both missed last season with ACL tears.
The main argument for UConn ahead of most teams despite losing Fudd was returning National Player of the Year Sarah Strong in addition to bringing in freshman Olivia Vukosa, the No. 2 ranked player.
The Huskies then lost two players to the portal and didn't add anyone, but CBS Sports kept UConn at No. 1 on April 21, which was after Lee committed to South Carolina but before Oliviyah Edwards did.
With Lee alone, there was an argument the Gamecocks were the top team, but adding the third-best incoming freshman to an already loaded roster, other outlets might start follow The Athletic's lead in their updated rankings.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Will Dawn Staley's South Carolina roster be No. 1 to start season?
Continue reading...
