South Carolina is the SEC favorite, but Texas, Vandy and LSU hope to crash the party

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley doesn’t think her team needs to change much from a physical standpoint this season after getting blown out the last two years in the national championship game.

She knows the Gamecocks, who enter the season ranked No. 1 in the country, have more than enough talent to win a fourth national title.

The mental side, well, that’s a work in progress.

“I think mentally is where we need to be stronger because obviously I think there’s been a breakdown in our mental strength,” Staley said.

The Gamecocks remain the class of the SEC and have reached the national championship game in four of the last five seasons. They won it all in 2022 and 2024 under Staley, but the results the last two years have been baffling.

In 2024, the Gamecocks lost by 23 to rival UConn; last year they got drubbed by 28 by UCLA. Those losses still haunt Staley.

In both seasons, the Gamecocks came up with big wins against hot teams in the semifinals to reach the final, but Staley felt those victories left her team emotionally drained. She said figuring out how to have the mental toughness to “get over the top” in the final is her next task.

“We probably go a little bit longer in practice just to get them — to stretch them out a little bit, to dig in,” Staley said. “When physically they’re probably exhausted, something else has to kick in. We’re creating better mental habits.”

Staley’s juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Gamecocks return second team All-American forward Joyce Edwards along with veteran guard Tessa Johnson. Ashlyn Watkins is back, along with emotional spark plug Chloe Kitts, the SEC Tournament MVP in 2025 who missed all of last season with a torn ACL.

The Gamecocks also landed a huge transfer in Jordan Lee from Texas, who averaged 13.2 points per game last season. She is battled-tested having played in two Final Fours.

Alice Tournebize, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who transferred in from France midway through last season, also figures to see big minutes. She’s the daughter of WNBA/FIBA Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski and made history as the first French woman to dunk in a game.

The high school recruiting class includes top prospects Jerzy Robinson and Oliviyah Edwards. They also have the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in 2027, per Rivals, led by Jazelle “GG” Banks and Jordyn Palmer.

The SEC is loaded with ranked teams once again

South Carolina is one of seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25 to open the season. The Gamecocks are predicted to win the conference followed by No. 6 Texas. No. 8 Vanderbilt and No. 9 LSU tied for the third most votes, followed by No. 14 Kentucky, No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 19 Ole Miss.

Texas returns All-American Madison Booker

Texas is the defending SEC champion, stunning the Gamecocks last season 78-61 in Greenville, South Carolina, a place where Staley’s team had been virtually unbeatable.

Madison Booker, the tournament MVP and an AP All-American, returns this year looking to defend that title and take the Longhorns further in the NCAA Tournament. Texas has fallen in the Final Four the last two seasons.

“She’s been tremendous every day,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said of Booker. “Our young kids, they see what it looks like to be an All-American every day because that’s how she goes about her business every day in practice, work ethic, in everything, both ends of the floor.”

Schaefer said the toughest task ahead is replacing guard Rori Harmon, the team’s top defender. The Longhorns have added eight new players to the roster.

Vanderbilt boasts SEC preseason player of year Mikayla Blakes

Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes was selected as the SEC preseason player of the year after averaging a league-high 27 points, along with 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

The Commodores also return SEC freshman of the year Aubrey Galvan, who averaged 13.5 points per game, giving coach Shea Ralph a solid one-two scoring punch.

“Aubrey and Mikayla have the ball in their hands a lot,” Ralph said.

Ralph is counting on Galvan to be her coach on the floor.

“She needs to be a leader. She needs to be me on the court,” Ralph said. “Our connection has to be unshakeable, so everything that we need her to accomplish, she needs to be able to do without direction from me during games.”

From Russia to the bayou

LSU’s Kim Mulkey added one of the more intriguing recruits in Anna Minaeva, a 17-year-old, 6-foot-5 post player from Russia.

Playing in the Russia Premier League and the Russia Superleague, Minaeva has nearly averaged a double-double. She’s still quite raw as a player, but Mulkey believes there is plenty of untapped potential.

“She has tremendous footwork for a big girl,” Mulkey said. “Whoever was working with her in Russia has done a tremendous job. She has good hands. Now, let’s be real. She’s 17 years old, and she’s going to have to play against older players, and she’s going to get her lunch handed to her (at first). … But her fundamentals, her skill level, that young lady is going to be special by the time she finishes college.”

New head coaches in the SEC

Three SEC features three new coaches this season as Pauline Love taking over at Alabama, Tammi Reiss at Florida and Ayla Guzzardo at Georgia.

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