Media picks Gamecocks for another SEC repeat

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Media across the SEC voted South Carolina women’s basketball to win their sixth-straight SEC Regular-Season Champions, the league office announced today. Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards earned a spot on the Preseason All-SEC First Team and earned a vote for Preseason Player of the Year. Fifth-year forward Chloe Kitts and senior guard Tessa Johnson picked up spots on the Second Team.

Edwards enters her junior year as just the third player in program history to earn All-America honors in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. The two-time First-Team All-SEC selection is South Carolina’s top returning scorer (19.2 ppg) and rebounder (6.8 rpg). Her scoring average ranked 30th in the nation (4th in SEC) and her .571 field goal percentage was 20th (5th in SEC). She set seven single-season program records last season – 768 points, 22 20-point games, 37 10-point games, 1,222 minutes played, 40 games played, 40 games started, and 289 point scored in SEC regular-season games. A complete player, Edwards ranked among the SEC’s top 15 in rebounding, offensive rebounding (2.9 per game), steals (1.8 spg) and blocks (1.1 bpg).

Johnson drew Second-Team All-SEC honors last season and has twice been named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2024, 2026). En route to reaching the 1,000-point mark last season, she ranked fourth in 3-point percentage at .448 with her 90 made 3s ranking third in the program’s single-season history. Johnson posted career-best scoring, rebounding and assist averages with 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, and, against ranked teams, she was the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.8 points per game.

Kitts returns to the Gamecocks after sitting out last season following preseason ACL surgery. The forward capped her junior season with her best basketball in the postseason, earning MVP honors in the 2025 NCAA Regional and SEC Tournament. She drew honorable mention All-America honors in 2024-25 after leading South Carolina in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and ranking third in scoring with 10.2 point per game on 52.0 percent field goal shooting. Kitts’ rebounding average was ninth in the SEC and included 8.3 boards per SEC game which was fourth best in the league.

The Gamecocks have won the last five SEC regular-season championships, including four outright titles. Head coach Dawn Staley returns six letterwinners from last season, including returning starters Edwards and Johnson, with the group accounting for 52.2 percent of the scoring and 51.0 percent of the rebounding from that season. Forwards Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins return after missing last season due to injury to solidify an imposing frontcourt. Seven newcomers join South Carolina this season, including a pair of transfers to go with the five freshmen who make up the No. 2 signing class in the nation. Headlining the freshman class are a pair of top-10 signees in Oliviyah Edwards and Jerzy Robinson.

South Carolina will host an exhibition game against Benedict on Fri., Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. before heading to Paris for Oui-Play where they will face Maryland on Mon., Nov. 2, at noon ET on ESPN.

Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for more information on the program.

2026-27 SEC Media Preseason Poll

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

Preseason Player of the Year
Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason First Team All-SEC
Madison Booker, Texas
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Mikaylah Williams, LSU

Preseason Second Team All-SEC
Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
Talaysia Cooper, Ole Miss
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
Chloe Kitts, South Carolina