The South Carolina star’s future is one of several storylines worth monitoring as the offseason rolls along
The women’s college basketball season wrapped up less than two weeks ago with UConn winning the national title, but the work for the 2025-26 season has already begun.
Some teams are in full rebuilding mode while others are looking for one more piece to elevate their roster.
Olivia Miles and Ta’Niya Latson already found new homes, but other major transfer portal questions still need to be answered. With that in mind, here are five storylines to follow as the offseason progresses.
Could UConn get even stronger?
This is a Huskies roster that already looks capable of repeating thanks to the return of Azzi Fudd as well as Sarah Strong showing tremendous potential during her freshman year. They also have other key players who could be set for breakout years in KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade.
However, the reigning champions could be even more dominant if Geno Auriemma can get size and experience from the transfer portal while Jana El Alfy and Ice Brady continue to develop in the frontcourt.
Who will join Hannah Hidalgo?
Hardly any other program got shaken harder at the end of the regular season than Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were riding high with the best backcourt in the nation made up by Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles, but Miles has left to TCU and Notre Dame ended up losing a lot more than just her.
The Fighting Irish only return two players who had significant minutes in Cassandre Prosper and Hidalgo. There are a lot more questions than answers for Notre Dame at this point, so Niele Ivey will have a busy summer. She did already start the rebuilding process with the addition of Kansas State transfer Gisela Sanchez, but a lot more will have to get done for her team to be competitive again.
How does USC move forward?
USC star JuJu Watkins suffered a torn ACL during the NCAA Tournament and will likely miss a significant amount of time next season, if not the entire 2025-26 campaign. The Trojans also no longer have Kiki Iriafen or Rayah Marshall, two other key players who have moved on to the WNBA. In addition, Avery Howell, who showed potential as a freshman, transferred to Washington.
It’s hard to predict how Lindsay Gottlieb’s roster will do in the fall, but the addition of freshman Jazzy Davidson — the No. 1 recruit of the class of 2025 — is certainly a promising start. The Trojans also recently added Georgia Tech transfer Kara Dunn, who led the Yellow Jackets in scoring last season.
Where will MiLaysia Fulwiley land?
South Carolina’s bench was one of the most dominant elements of Dawn Staley’s roster last season, and MiLaysia Fulwiley was the Gamecocks’ second-leading scorer despite not starting a single game and averaging less than 19 minutes.
The soon-to-be junior guard is often described as a “walking highlight reel” because of her athleticism and fun playing style, which will certainly bring some exciting energy to whichever program she ends up with.
Can Texas find a shooter?
Texas lost half of its “two-headed monster” with the departure of Taylor Jones, but Kyla Oldacre won’t be without help with the addition former Arizona forward Breya Cunningham and former FAU center Lovisa Asbrink Hose.
However, Texas’ main issue last season was finding offensive consistency, due in large to its poor 3-point shooting. The Longhorns need a shooter, so Vic Schaefer will either need to develop one of his current players or add someone from the transfer portal. This would level up an already strong team with the returns of Madison Booker and Rori Harmon.
