5 key takeaways from South Carolina’s transfer portal haul as Dawn Staley reloads for championship run
After a humbling loss to UConn in the national championship game, Dawn Staley and South Carolina are pretty clearly unveiling a new blueprint. While Geno Auriemma and the Huskies, like many of the powers in the women's game, have been slow to embrace the portal, Staley is apparently changing her approach in 2025.
Carolina has already added a pair of top-level transfers and may not be done. In light of the shifting landscape of college basketball, here's an early contemplation of what's going on at USC and what it might mean.
Here are five takeaways from Carolina's portal endeavors.
Top 5 takeaways from South Carolina's portal activity in 2025
1. Dawn Staley's in it (the portal) to win it
Even during college basketball's massive portal explosion, South Carolina and Dawn Staley just weren't big buyers. In reviewing her team back to 2019, Carolina didn't add more than one transfer in any year. The transfers often (at least initially) were complementary players. Now, Carolina already has two transfers and they could be the best players on next year's roster.
2. All losses (Fulwiley) aren't equal
There was significant hand-wringing when word came that MiLaysia Fulwiley was heading out from Carolina in the portal. Dawn Staley has done a great job in player retention, losing very few players, with most of them being young players who were unwilling to wait for a bigger role. But the loss of Fulwiley opened things up to address substantial issues. In retrospect, her transfer was probably good for all.
3. The lack of an elite inside presence was an issue
South Carolina lacked any players who saw meaningful minutes and were over 6-foot-3. While Sania Feagin came on and played well late in her career, she wasn't a dominant inside presence. Life was probably easier for Staley with Kamilla Cardoso.
Enter Madina Okot from Mississippi State. Okot is 6-foot-5 and is a true inside presence. She averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and didn't even shoot a 3-pointer. Dawn Staley's blueprint pretty clearly includes an elite post player (and she found her).
4. Transfer-built teams have changed the portal experience for everyone
While nobody was going to turn away talented players, Dawn Staley was pretty clearly approaching the portal seeking (perhaps) one player to fill a definite need. But seeing programs shift completely via the portal, like Kentucky, where Kenny Brooks built an SEC contender from absolutely thin air, has impacted everyone. Nobody's sleeping on the portal anymore, even South Carolina.
5. The elite scorer that was missing isn't missing anymore
The main takeaway from the loss of Fulwiley and the addition of Florida State transfer Ta'Niya Latson is that Carolina needed an elite scorer. The team's top scorer in 2024-25 was freshman Joyce Edwards off the bench. Latson probably won't equal the 25.2 points per game she averaged at Florida State. But she'll be a consistent scoring threat, which Staley clearly prioritized.
What do you take away from South Carolina's portal haul? Share your take on the Gamecocks and the portal below in our comments section!