South Carolina women's basketball: SEC Preview part 2

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The new look SEC tips off this season, making the nation’s strongest conference even stronger. Catch up on the rest of the league in part two of our SEC Preview.

Kentucky
Last season: 12-20 (4-12, 12th in SEC) (no postseason)
Preseason projection: 8
Key losses: Ajae Petty
Key additions: Kenny Brooks, Georgia Amoore (transfer)

Outlook: It’s doubtful the vibes around any program have experienced a 180 like they have at Kentucky. A year ago the Wildcats were picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC, they had no home arena due to renovations, and they couldn’t even get in-state recruits to consider them. Now Brooks, who took Virginia Tech to a Final Four, has given Kentucky hope. He brought the All-American Amoore with him, and recruits are now lining up to visit Lexington.

“The fan base is incredible. It’s very hard for me to go anywhere without having to talk about basketball,” Brook said. “I can go to Target, Historic Memorial Coliseum, Rupp, I can go anywhere in Kentucky and people want to talk about basketball. We’re excited to join this wonderful conference. We understand the challenges that lie ahead with the addition of two new programs, powerhouses. It solidifies the fact that it is the absolute best conference in the country. We are looking forward to contributing to it. We want to make sure we do our part. The last six or seven months has been great, a testament to my staff.”

Finishing eighth might be a little too optimistic – most of those recruits aren’t on campus yet, but at least there is hope.

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LSU
Last season: 31-6 (13-3, 2nd in SEC) (NCAA Elite Eight)
Preseason projection: 3
Key losses: Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith
Key additions: Jersey Wolfenbarger (transfer), Miracle Sheppard (transfer), Shayeann Day-Wilson (transfer), Kailyn Gilbert (transfer)

Outlook: LSU has added four talented transfers, but will that be enough to offset the loss of Van Lith and Reese? Reese put up huge numbers for the tigers, but more than that she imprinted her personality on every part of the program. LSU isn’t just losing Reese’s production, it’s losing her leadership and competitive drive.

If LSU maintains its top-ten status, it probably won’t be because of the newcomers, it will be because returning players Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson, and Mikaylah Williams have stepped up to fill the void.

“Aneesah Morrow (…) had an unbelievable year. Look for her to be one of our leaders and captains this year,” Kim Mulkey said. “She can take you off the dribble, shoot the three ball. She and Angel Reese were just dominant on the glass for us last year, and I expect her to be the same way. Flau’jae, what more can people say about her? She’s just a joy to coach. When you look at Flau’jae Johnson, the word ‘joy’ jumps out at you. She’s happy, pleasant, plays hard.”

Mississippi State
Last season: 23-12 (8-8, 8th in SEC) (WBIT Quarterfinals)
Preseason projection: 11
Key losses: Jessika Carter, Lauren Park-Lane, Erynn Barnum
Key additions: Eniya Russell (transfer) 

Outlook: The Bulldogs’ season is already off to an unfortunate start. Talented top-50 freshman Tahj-Monet Bloom suffered a non-contact injury that will cost her the entire season. It’s a painful loss for a team that has to replace five of its top seven scorers. Coach Sam Purcell said that Mississippi State “won the lottery” with Russell, but a lot is riding on guard Jerkaila Jordan, who led Mississippi State with 16.2 points per game last season

“When you’ve got that experience, you’ve got a young lady that bleeds Mississippi State, especially in a time and an era in the transfer portal that you can leave,” Purcell said. “She was a main part of bringing the talent that I have on my team right now, and she wants to make sure she leaves Mississippi State the right way and gets us back in the NCAA tournament and leaves her mark. I believe she’s going to have one heck of a year doing it.”

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Missouri
Last season: 11-19 (2-14, 14th in SEC) (no postseason)
Preseason projection: 15
Key losses: Hayley Frank, Mama Dembele
Key additions: Nyah Wilson

Outlook: Arguably the most depressing outlook in the league.  Before last season, AD Desiree Reed-Francois said the Tigers needed to make the NCAA tournament for coach Robin Pingeton to retain her job. Reed-Francois ended up going to Arizona, and with nobody in charge of personnel decisions, Pingeton got a reprieve. She managed to retain Grace Slaughter and Ashton Judd, two talented players who would have had lots of interest in the portal but chose to stay in their home state.

“(Slaughter is) a young lady that grew up coming to basketball camps at Missouri. I’ve known her since she was this tall. Fun to see her grow and blossom,” Pingeton said. “Her skill set on the court. I think going into this season, a point of emphasis for her was to really get better on the defensive end. She’s always been pretty strong with her offensive skill set, but really wanted to grow her game defensively. I’ve seen her really put that work in. I think she’s going to have another really special year for us. Ashton Judd, to me she’s kind of got that ‘it’ factor. A little bit of an alpha on the court. She plays really, really hard. She’s gritty. She’s tough. She’s really resilient. She’s been a really good leader for so many of our new players. I know they look up to her not only because of her character but just her work ethic on and off the court. Two ladies we’re counting on this season to elevate us and help put us back on the map.”

Oklahoma
Last season: 23-10 (15-3, 1st in Big 12) (postseason)
Preseason projection: 4
Key losses: None
Key additions: Raegan Beers (transfer), Zya Vann, Caya Smith

Outlook: Quick, who won the Big 12 regular season title the last two seasons? If you skimmed over the header, you probably forgot that the Sooners shared the title in 2023 and won it outright in 2024. Now as they move to the SEC they have added one of the best players in the transfer portal in Beers and (thanks to Covid years) returned almost everyone else. Picking Oklahoma to finish seems like it might be an oversight.

“I know this league is really, really good. I understand that. I get the respect. I get that,” coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “I do know the heartbeat of this team is to focus on getting better. We’re not going to worry about what happens in February, March. We’re not going to worry about that. We’re not even going to focus on that. We got to get better today. We got to get better tomorrow. That’s literally where the focus is. That’s what you get with an experienced team. You can say that when you have a young team. They don’t really understand that. When you have a group of seniors like we do, they understand that.”

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