From Gamecocks to the W: Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson on the Eve of Their WNBA Draft Moment
The moment is almost here. With the 2026 WNBA Draft set for Monday, April 13 at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City, two of South Carolina’s most prominent seniors — Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson — are stepping into a spotlight they have been building toward their entire careers. At Pre-Draft Media Day, both players opened up about what excites them, what challenges await, and what this moment means in the broader context of South Carolina’s storied WNBA pipeline.
Carrying the Legacy
For Raven Johnson, the weight of what she is about to do landed in a particularly vivid way during a summer workout session she’ll likely never forget. Standing on the court, watching Kamilla Cardoso and A’ja Wilson — two giants of the program — compete against each other as WNBA professionals, something clicked.
“It’s been very special to see those girls play in the WNBA,” Johnson said. “We watched them during our summer workouts last year. We were watching Kamilla [Cardoso] and A’ja [Wilson] go up against each other. Now I am going to be next up and they’ll be watching me, so it’s surreal.”
That image — two former Gamecocks, products of the same system that shaped Johnson, going head-to-head at the highest level while the next generation watches and learns — captures something essential about what Dawn Staley has built in Columbia. Staley has sent players into the WNBA throughout her tenure, including 11 first-round picks, two of which were No. 1 overall selections in A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston. Johnson is acutely aware of the lineage she is joining, and she is not taking it lightly.
What Will Translate — and What Won’t
At Pre-Draft Media Day, both Johnson and Latson were candid about where they expect to thrive at the next level and where they know the growing pains are coming.
For Johnson, the answer to what she will bring was immediate and unambiguous.
“Something that would translate to the WNBA? My defence tenacity. I have a knack for the ball, so I’m going to keep my aggression but I also want to learn too — more about defence. If I could learn it from Dijonai Carrington, I think that would be perfect.”
The mention of Carrington — one of the premier on-ball defenders in the WNBA — is telling. Johnson is not arriving at the professional level thinking she has already figured it out. She is arriving hungry to learn from the best, specifically in the area where she has already built her reputation. There is no better point-of-attack defender in this draft class than Johnson, and as the WNBA leans more into spacing and three-point shooting, that skill will only become more valuable.
Latson, meanwhile, was refreshingly honest about what she is looking forward to and what she knows she will have to work through.
“Having freedom — because that’s something I’ve been really wanting. I mean, we didn’t get much of that at South Carolina, so I’m going to be excited for that,” Latson said with a grin. “Hardest thing I’ll probably have to adjust to is just the physicality. They’re big and strong. I mean we were looking at Nneka yesterday. She’s huge. Huge. So I gotta get my butt in the weight room.”
That combination of excitement and humility is exactly the kind of mindset that translates well to professional basketball. Latson’s desire for creative freedom speaks to the evolution of her game — she led Division I in scoring at Florida State before transferring to South Carolina, where she increased her field goal percentage to 48.6 percent while significantly cutting down on turnovers. The discipline she developed in Columbia will serve her. The freedom that comes with the pros will unlock another dimension.
The Rookie Mindset
Johnson returned to the Pre-Draft podium with one of the most mature statements of the session — a direct address to every incoming rookie about what the adjustment to professional basketball actually requires.
“We’re playing vets — like what, 30? Excuse me, 30 — I’m gonna lower it. 30, 20 or 25, 26-year-olds. So I think, you know, you’re probably used to coming from being the star of your team. So I think you just gotta get used to your new role, probably a lower role honestly, and I think that’s okay. Like, for me, I wanna be a rookie. I wanna learn. I wanna learn from vets like A’ja Wilson, Stewie, Napheesa Collier — I can keep going on — but I think that’s probably a big adjustment for not only myself but for others.”
These words reflect something beyond basketball intelligence. They reflect character. Johnson spent five years at South Carolina, winning at an extraordinary rate — she won 94.2% of games in her career with the Gamecocks, is the only player in program history with four national championship appearances, and exits with five Final Fours, five SEC regular season championships and three SEC Tournament titles. She could easily arrive at the professional level believing her resume entitles her to a featured role. Instead, she is declaring publicly that she wants to be a student.
The players she specifically named — A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier — are not just All-Stars. They are the architects of the modern WNBA, the players who transformed the league’s global profile over the last decade. Johnson wants to sit at their feet and learn. Dawn Staley herself said of Johnson: “She’s probably the one that I’ll miss the most out of all the players that I’ve coached.” That speaks volumes about the person heading to New York City on Monday night.
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The Stage Is Set
Both Johnson and Latson arrive at the 2026 WNBA Draft as projected first-round picks. This marks the third time in WNBA draft history that three Gamecocks — including Madina Okot — have been invited to attend the annual event. If all three are selected in the first round, it will be only the third time Staley has produced three first-round picks in a single draft class, a feat previously accomplished only in 2017 and 2023.
What the Pre-Draft Media Day interviews revealed, beyond the projections and the metrics, is that Johnson and Latson understand exactly where they are going and exactly what it will take to thrive there. One is carrying a legacy she watched being built from courtside seats during summer workouts. The other is channeling years of scoring brilliance into a more complete player’s profile. Both are arriving humble, hungry, and ready.
The Gamecocks’ next chapter in the WNBA begins Monday night.
