South Carolina Navigates Another Season With a Thin Roster — Staley Remains Unbothered
As South Carolina women’s basketball prepared for the 2025–26 campaign, expectations were that the roster would carry just 11 players. But the number dropped to 10 before the season even tipped off after Chloe Kitts suffered a season-ending ACL tear.
And the attrition didn’t stop there. An opening-night injury followed by a suspension for guard Maddy McDaniel has trimmed the active roster down to just nine available Gamecocks.
This situation is far from unfamiliar territory for head coach Dawn Staley. In fact, she’s navigated multiple seasons at South Carolina with extremely limited depth. During the 2017–18 season, an early injury to Lindsey Spann left that squad with nine active players the rest of the year.
Despite the shortage, Staley is unfazed. She remains firm in her stance against adding a walk-on simply to fill space.
“We’re good with what we have. It’s hard. You don’t want to put that pressure on a walk-on,” Staley said. “This is the highest level that you can be, and to fill a body with a body just for the sake of it is too pressure-packed.”
Even so, with such a small roster, every fall or awkward landing carries a little extra weight for the coaching staff.
“It’s like that when you’re dealing with such a small sample of a roster,” Staley said before the Sept. 6 matchup against Bowling Green. “… Knock on wood, hopefully not down anything but what we have now, but we’re going to play.”
Staley Has Managed This Before — And Won Big
This marks the third time in Staley’s career at South Carolina that she has coached a team with only nine active players.
Her first experience came during the 2012–13 season. That team began with 10 players but dropped to nine after freshman Tiffany Mitchell went down with an injury. Staley still guided the Gamecocks to a 25–8 record, though they were upset by No. 12 seed Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Her second go-around with limited depth in 2017–18 went even better. With just nine players, South Carolina finished 29–7, reached the Elite Eight, and fought top-seeded UConn for a spot in the Final Four. That roster, of course, featured future National Player of the Year and No. 1 WNBA Draft pick A’ja Wilson, whose presence helped fuel the Gamecocks to their fourth straight SEC Tournament title—even without repeating as national champions.
Freshmen Forced to Step Up — and Deliver
Much like past short-handed seasons—when players like Asia Dozier, Khadijah Sessions, LeLe Grissett, Bianca Jackson, and LaDazhia Williams were thrust into bigger roles early—this year’s limited bench has opened the door for South Carolina’s newcomers.
But Staley insists this would have happened regardless.
“They’re smart. They’re bringing something to the table that we haven’t had on a consistent basis. Just, they can shoot the basketball,” Staley said of freshmen Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer.
Makeer is tied with Raven Johnson for the best three-point percentage on the team at 57.1%, while McDowell sits right behind them at 50%. Makeer ranks second on the team in threes made this year, with McDowell tied for fourth.
Staley praises not just their skill but their presence.
“They have a willingness to play. Like, they have this brovado about them that you like,” Staley said. “They’re not just blending in, they’re doing what they do best all the time on a consistent basis.”
A Long Season Ahead—But Staley Isn’t Flinching
With such a tight rotation, the risk of fatigue and injury will only increase as the season progresses. Still, Staley says her team is prepared to go forward with exactly who they have.
“What we have, we’re going to play,” Staley said. “… We keep the emphasis on the healthy bodies that can help us win basketball games.”
