Kamilla Cardoso declares for 2024 WNBA Draft

South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso plans to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, she announced Monday evening on Instagram. Cardoso spent the past three seasons with the Gamecocks after playing her freshman season at Syracuse.

Although she had one more year of eligibility remaining if she wanted to use it, the 6-foot-7 Cardoso is ready to move on to the next chapter in her career. She accomplished plenty on the college stage already, including winning a national title in 2022.

“I am excited to announced that I am declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Cardoso wrote in her post. “Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey so far. I am excited for hat the future holds and can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes me.”

South Carolina has gone undefeated in back-to-back regular seasons with Cardoso as one of its stars. She leads the team with 14.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this year.

The Gamecocks saw their season end in the Final Four last year, but have once again made it back after a win against Oregon State on Sunday. They will next face NC State at 7 p.m. ET on Friday with a triple to the title game on the line.

The 2024 WNBA Draft is set to take place on April 15 in New York City. Cardoso was the projected No. 4 overall pick according to an ESPN mock draft released on March 12.

Dawn Staley on South Carolina’s fourth straight Final Four appearance: ‘It’s all about the players’

South Carolina is headed to its fourth-straight Final Four under head coach Dawn Staley after defeating Oregon State 70-58 in the Elite 8 on Sunday.

The Gamecocks lost seven players to graduation after last season, most of whom were the driving forces behind the previous three South Carolina runs in the NCAA Tournament. Still, Staley put together a group of talented athletes that have never played together — and now they’re headed to Cleveland undefeated (36-0) on the season.

“It’s all about the players. It’s all about the players commitment,” Staley told ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe after the final buzzer. “You saw we had so many players come in and out of the basketball game, so players have to sit a little bit longer than they usually do. But they all want to win for each other. So they sacrifice some of their personal goals to benefit for the greater good of our team.

“Nobody believed we would be in this place right here, except for them.”