PHOENIX — The confetti had barely settled on UCLA’s national championship when ESPN’s Charlie Creme published his way-too-early rankings for the 2026-27 women’s basketball season. South Carolina landed at No. 3 overall — a testament to what Dawn Staley has built in Columbia and a clear signal that the program’s championship window remains very much open, even after losing some of its most important pieces.
What Creme Said
Creme’s assessment was direct about both the losses and the foundation that remains.
“Last offseason, Dawn Staley hit the portal adeptly and strategically to get Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot. Now, they must be replaced. More difficult will be losing the leadership and winning attitude of Raven Johnson. But Joyce Edwards, Tessa Johnson, Maddy McDaniel, and Agot Makeer — all top-15 recruits in the past three years — make up a pretty good foundation, with McDaniel expected to assume the full-time point guard role. Staley will no doubt attract more talent in the portal, too, and if Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins return healthy, the Gamecocks could be staring at a seventh consecutive Final Four.”
The analysis identifies the genuine challenge accurately. Latson and Okot were portal acquisitions who elevated this roster to championship contention. Replacing their production is a real problem — but it is also a problem Staley has solved before, having rebuilt her roster with equivalent impact players multiple times across six consecutive Final Four seasons.
The harder loss, as Creme notes, is Raven Johnson. Stats can be replaced through the portal. The leadership, competitive identity, and cultural continuity Johnson represented cannot be signed on April 20. That is the void that will take time — and the right person — to fill.
The Foundation That Remains
The case for South Carolina’s continued contention begins with four players who were all top-15 recruits within the past three years and have significant eligibility remaining.
Joyce Edwards broke a 47-year program scoring record this season, averaging 19.7 points per game and earning recognition as one of the best sophomore forwards in the country. She is the offensive engine around which next year’s roster will be constructed — and she has two years of eligibility remaining.
Tessa Johnson played 38 minutes in the Final Four win over UConn and has developed into one of the most reliable perimeter contributors in the SEC. Her continued growth is central to South Carolina’s backcourt identity next season.
Maddy McDaniel is the heir apparent at point guard — the player Raven Johnson has been preparing throughout this season by modeling exactly what being the floor general of a championship-caliber program demands. Creme projects her into the full-time starting role, and Johnson herself said earlier this year that McDaniel would be ready when her turn came.
Agot Makeer emerged as the tournament’s most surprising contributor, averaging 14.6 points and 2.4 steals per game in the NCAA Tournament. The freshman who spent much of the regular season battling injuries found her form at the most important time — and she has three years of college basketball remaining.
The Variables That Will Define the Offseason
No way-too-early ranking can account for the uncertainties that will shape South Carolina’s actual 2026-27 roster, and there are several significant ones.
Madina Okot’s eligibility appeal remains unresolved. If the NCAA grants her an additional year, South Carolina retains a 6-foot-6 interior presence who averaged 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds this season. If the appeal is denied and the legal route is not pursued, Staley needs to find that production elsewhere — likely through the portal, which opened this morning.
Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins returning healthy is the most transformative potential development for the program. Kitts, whose ACL tear before the season started forced Edwards into an accelerated leadership role, was one of the most impactful frontcourt players on the roster before the injury. Watkins brings additional athleticism and versatility. If both return healthy, South Carolina’s ceiling rises considerably.
Jerzy Robinson’s official signing cannot happen until mid-April, and the broader recruiting landscape remains in flux — Tennessee and Clemson both had five-star recruits back out of their NLIs over the weekend, a reminder that nothing in college basketball is final until it is signed.
The transfer portal, which opened this morning, will reshape rosters across the country before the picture clarifies. Staley has already demonstrated elite portal instincts — landing both Latson and Okot last offseason — and there is no reason to believe her ability to identify and attract high-impact portal additions has diminished.
The Audi Crooks Conversation
It is worth noting that Iowa State star Audi Crooks entered the portal last week, with South Carolina identified as one of her primary suitors. At 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on 64.9% shooting, Crooks would address the interior production loss from Okot’s potential departure more directly than any other available player. Staley had already framed the portal economics candidly: the first question is how much it will cost, and whether South Carolina can afford the answer.
That conversation is now active.
South Carolina Doesn’t Rebuild. It Reloads.
The most important contextual point about Sunday’s loss and Monday’s rankings is embedded in the program’s six-year history under Staley: the Gamecocks do not do rebuilds. They reload. The distinction is not semantic — it reflects a program with the recruiting infrastructure, portal sophistication, and cultural identity to replenish talent at the championship level annually.
Every year that South Carolina has lost significant pieces — to graduation, to the WNBA, to injury — the program has returned to the Final Four. The mechanism for that continuity is Staley’s ability to identify the right players, attract them to Columbia, and integrate them into a system built around winning rather than individual development.
The Full ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25
- UConn Huskies
- Texas Longhorns
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- LSU Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Southern Cal Trojans
- Duke Blue Devils
- Louisville Cardinals
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Maryland Terrapins
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Oregon Ducks
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Washington Huskies
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Villanova Wildcats
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- NC State Wolfpack
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- Fairfield Stags
Also considered: Colorado, Princeton, Clemson
South Carolina is the second SEC program in the rankings, behind only Texas. Six SEC programs appear in the top 18 — a reflection of the conference’s continued dominance of the women’s college basketball landscape.
The 2026-27 season is months away. The portal is open. The recruiting class is not yet complete. The injury returns are uncertain. And Dawn Staley is already working.
No. 3 in April is a starting point, not a destination. The Gamecocks have never treated a ranking as anything other than motivation.
Seven consecutive Final Fours is the goal. The work toward it begins today.
