South Carolina women's basketball: Top-ten recruit lists Gamecocks among finalists

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Class of 2025 top-ten recruit ZaKiyah Johnson named her six finalists this week and she included a surprising name. 

Johnson is a 5-11 guard from Shelbyville, KY. She is the seventh-ranked player in the class according to HoopGurlz.

Johnson’s six finalists are Louisville, LSU, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, South Carolina, and Kentucky. The first five programs were in her top 12, which Johnson announced on November 5, 2023. Kentucky was notably not a part of that list, which was a significant slight to Kyra Elzy and the Wildcats. 

But Kentucky fired Elzy after the season and made a homerun hire by luring Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech. Brooks immediately got Johnson to reconsider Kentucky and clearly has her attention. 

Johnson earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors and made the USA Basketball U18 team. In the spring Johnson said she hoped to announce her commitment before next season. 

Johnson has taken unofficial visits to Lousiville and Kentucky. Her official visit to Kentucky is this weekend and she has an official visit to LSU scheduled for September 7. She is still working to schedule her other visits but intends to visit Louisville last. The Cardinals have been the apparent frontrunner for a while.

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Johnson spoke to On3’s Talia Goodman and broke down her si

South Carolina: “I’m definitely a lot closer with those assistant coaches, but they’re consistent with me. I know a few of the girls on the team and they bring out the sisterhood vibe. I want to check it out, see what it is, and see if it’s a fit for me.” 

LSU: “I’m definitely really close with all the staff there. They’re really energetic and I like that. I’m an energetic person too – I’m very social – so I think we click there. The fact that we can have long conversations is good for me.”

Louisville: “That’s my home. My teammate just committed there and I’m around them a lot too. It’s gonna be really tough because I can feel the sisterhood at Louisville too and home always takes care of you. I just really want to see for myself.”

Kentucky: “This one is definitely new. I already had a great relationship with Coach (Kenny) Brooks, but I didn’t really like the Virginia area. Now that he’s here and we’re building that connection, it’s going to be better because it’s closer and it’s something I’m familiar with. Also, Coach Josh (Petersen) from Miami – he was recruiting me at Miami and we talked a lot. He was kind of like one of my best friends. I’m very close with the staff and I think seeing the new program is really going to tell me what I need to know.” 

Notre Dame: “It’s all girl coaches – I like the way they run their program. I’m also really big on fashion and I think they do a really good job with it. Coach (Niele) Ivey is very sweet and Coach (Michaela) Mabrey is very sweet. I can kind of connect with them because they’re younger. It’s really just a vibe you have to be there to feel.”

USC: “I’ve talked to them a few times. The players that they have attracted me and I like their style of play. It’s very similar to how we do it in high school and who wouldn’t want to live down there? It’s definitely going to be different. It’s the furthest one out, so it’s kind of the black sheep because everything is so close and then I go across the map there.”

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