South Carolina WBB lost no players to portal. What it means for next year’s roster
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team survived this year’s transfer portal window unscathed.
The Gamecocks were one of 14 teams to not see a single player enter the portal before it closed late Monday night. South Carolina and its 2026 national title opponent, UCLA, are the lone Power 4 programs to not have any portal defectors.
Keeping together a roster full of talented players is extremely impressive in this day and age of college athletics. Here’s why it’s a big deal for the Gamecocks.
Running it back
South Carolina played in the national championship game this past season when, quite frankly, not many expected the team to even be at the Final Four.
The Gamecocks lose four players off this season’s team but return nine overall. The kicker? Every single one of those nine returners now has championship experience. Of those nine, three have national championship winning experience with South Carolina.
You simply can’t put a price on that kind of postseason experience. It’s the sort of thing that gives you a leg up when the going gets tough in March.
There’s also the chemistry element to retaining every single player on your roster. This past season, South Carolina had an almost entirely new starting lineup and several new faces. While there may be wrinkles here and there, it’s fair to project the Gamecocks will likely head into next season a bit ahead of schedule in the on-court chemistry department.
The young core stays together
In this era of college sports, it’s become quite normal for young players to hit the portal early in their career if they aren’t satisfied with their playing time.
Staley, meanwhile, has done a good job of keeping her recruiting classes at South Carolina together during the transfer portal era.
One of the biggest wins for South Carolina in this transfer portal cycle: It kept its young core together.
South Carolina retained each of its three freshmen in Agot Makeer, Ayla McDowell and Alicia Tournebize. USC also kept the three members of its 2024 recruiting class in Joyce Edwards, Maddy McDaniel and Adhel Tac.
Each of those six players will see an increased role in the 2026-27 season.
That group of rising sophomores and juniors is not only talented, it’s a strong foundation for the program moving forward.
“I think we’ve gotten closer this year, especially, being in the second unit,” McDowell told The State after USC’s title loss. “We just know we’re gonna work on our personal game in order to be better for each other. And that’s the biggest thing for us, just knowing what we can do to impact our team next year. We have great coaches around us as well, and we have incoming freshmen coming and whoever might come in, I believe, that we’ll be back in the spot next year.”
Edwards already took a massive jump in her sophomore season and could average 20 points per game next year. After two years of waiting her turn, McDaniel is poised to take over for Raven Johnson as Staley’s next point guard. If Tac can stay healthy, she’s proven (albeit in spurts) she can help on both ends of the floor.
Makeer has the skills to be South Carolina’s first player off the bench, if not fight for a spot in the starting lineup. And with more development, Tournebize and McDowell will both be in line for more minutes as reserves.
A look ahead at 2026-27 roster
The transfer portal may be closed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Staley is done adding to her roster.
As it stands, South Carolina is set to have 13 players on the roster. Staley typically carries 12 players per year (the exact average during her tenure is 12.75). The maximum amount of players you can have on a roster is 15, so Staley could still add via the portal or a high school recruit.
The Gamecocks are returning seven players who made an appearance in a game last season. Those players are Tessa Johnson, Adhel Tac, Edwards, Agot Makeer, McDowell, McDaniel, Tournebize and Tac.
South Carolina is also returning two players from injury: Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins. Kitts missed the entire 2025-26 season with an ACL tear. Watkins’ absence came after she took the year off from basketball (but she tore her ACL halfway through the 2024-25 season).
As of right now, South Carolina will add three incoming freshmen. The Gamecocks are adding a five-star guard in Jerzy Robinson and two forwards in five-star Kaeli Wynn and four-star Kelsi Andrews.
The Gamecocks have added one transfer portal commitment in Texas guard Jordan Lee.
South Carolina roster
- Returners: Joyce Edwards, Tessa Johnson, Agot Makeer, Ayla McDowell, Maddy McDaniel, Alicia Tournebize, Adhel Tac, Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins
- Incoming freshmen: Jerzy Robinson, Kaeli Wynn, Kelsi Andrews
- Incoming transfers: Jordan Lee
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 7:00 AM with the headline "South Carolina WBB lost no players to portal. What it means for next year’s roster."
