SEC Media picks Gamecocks for SEC title – University of South Carolina Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the fourth time in five seasons, South Carolina women's basketball was ranked first in the SEC by league and national media. senior Te Hina Paopao earned Preseason All-SEC First Team honors as a junior. Raven Johnson and in the second year MiLaysia Fulwiley were selected for the second team.

The Gamecocks lost just one letterwinner from last season's undefeated 2024 National Championship team, which became just the 10th team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. South Carolina also added its eighth SEC regular season championship and eighth SEC tournament title to the program. South Carolina led the nation in scoring defense, scoring margin and blocked shots per game and set program records for goals average, scoring margin, field goals made, 3-point field goals made, defensive rebounds and assists.

In addition to the returning group, the Gamecocks welcomed four freshmen to the team, including redshirt freshman Adhel Tac, who was part of the class of 2024 but enrolled in January while recovering from a season-ending injury. The freshman trio, which includes the class's No. 3 pick, Joyce Edwards, and No. 14 pick, Maddy McDaniel, was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the nation by ESPN. South Carolina also added Arkansas transfer Maryam Dauda, ​​who led the SEC in blocks per league game last season.

Paopao was the nation's top 3-point percentage shooter last season, earning All-America honors and was also selected to the All-SEC Second Team selection. She averaged 11.0 points and 3.7 assists last season, increasing those numbers to 12.6 points and 4.0 assists per game against ranked opponents. The Oregon transfer has earned all-conference honors in every year of her college career.

Johnson ranked second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.09) last season and earned Second-Team All-SEC honors after leading the league in assists per game (4.8). ) finished third and eighth in steals per game (2.1). She scored a career-best 8.1 points per game, including 16 double-digit scoring games, and dished out five or more assists 20 times in her 37 games.

Fulwiley burst onto the collegiate scene with attention-grabbing moves in the season opener and continued to build her game throughout the season, making the SEC All-Freshman Team. She was the Gamecocks' leading scorer 11 times last season, second-most on the team, recording double-digit points in 23 games, including three appearances with 20 points each. She finished the game with 11.7 points per game, second on the team. She earned SEC Tournament MVP honors by averaging 14.3 points in the event, including a 24-point effort in the title game.

The Gamecocks have won eight SEC regular season titles in the last 11 years, including the last three, and have not been outside of the top 2 during that time. Head coach Dawn Staley has a 199-55 record in SEC games, including two consecutive undefeated seasons, with their league winning percentage of .783 trailing only Tennessee's Pat Summitt (.874) in league history. Their 199 conference wins are the most among active league coaches and third all-time, trailing only Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Andy Landers (Georgia, 273) and Summitt (Tennessee, 306).

South Carolina unofficially kicks off the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, Oct. 15, with an exhibition game against Memphis in the inaugural Hoops for St. Jude^® Tip Off Classic. The Gamecocks will also host a free-admission exhibition game at Colonial Life Arena on Monday, October 28 at 7 p.m. The season officially begins on Monday, November 4th against Michigan in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas.

Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com and the team's social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the latest information on women's basketball in South Carolina.

2024-25 SEC Media Preseason Poll

Order of completion
1.South Carolina
2.Texas
3.LSU
4.Oklahoma
5. Ole Miss
6.Alabama
7. Tennessee
8.Kentucky
9.Florida
10. Vanderbilt
11. Mississippi State
12. Auburn
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. Missouri
16.Arkansas

Preseason Player of the Year
Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU
Aneesa Morrow, LSU
Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason First Team All-SEC
Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama
Georgia Amoore, Kentucky
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Te Hina Paopao, South Carolina
Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason Second Team All-SEC
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Madison Scott, Ole Miss
Skyler Vann, Oklahoma
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina
Rori Harmon, Texas