LSU will open the 2026-27 women’s basketball season with plenty of familiar buzz around the program and a roster that looks very different from last year’s group.
The latest evidence came Monday, when senior guard Mikaylah Williams landed on the preseason All-SEC First Team and guard MiLaysia Fulwiley was named to the Second Team in voting by SEC and national media members. At the same time, LSU was slotted third in the conference preseason media poll, trailing only South Carolina and Texas.
For Kim Mulkey, entering her sixth season in Baton Rouge, the message is clear: the Tigers are once again expected to be in the mix near the top of the league, even with a roster that includes five returning players and six newcomers.
Williams heads into her senior year after a strong junior season. She averaged 14.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while also leading LSU in several major categories.
She finished with 50 made three-pointers, 127 assists and 159 defensive rebounds, and she logged a team-high 999 minutes. Last season she was named First Team All-SEC and received Associated Press All-America honorable mention recognition.
She also crossed two major career milestones, going past 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.
Fulwiley adds another scoring punch after leading LSU with 511 points and 190 made field goals in the 2025-26 season. The 5-foot-10 guard earned SEC Sixth Woman of the Year honors for the second year in a row, making her only the third player in conference history to win the award in consecutive seasons.
Over her three-year college career, she has averaged 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals. She also posted a career-high 28 points against Duke in last season’s Sweet 16, a night when she reached 1,000 career points.
Williams and Fulwiley were central pieces in LSU’s run to a fourth straight Sweet 16 last season.
Mulkey’s rebuild around that duo includes a strong group of returnees and new faces. Sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson, who was an SEC All-Freshman selection, is back with classmates Grace Knox and Meghan Yarnevich.
LSU also added three transfers: Jada Williams from Iowa State, Laila Reynolds from Florida and Chloe Larry from Tennessee Tech. Freshmen Lola Lampley, Noa Morro and Anna Minaeva round out the 11-player roster.
LSU’s new-look team will get an early look later this month in a pair of home exhibitions. The Tigers host UNT Dallas on Oct. 22 and Loyola (New Orleans) on Oct. 29 before beginning the regular season against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov.
- All three games are set for 7 p.m.
CT and will be carried on SEC Network+.
The full preseason media poll placed South Carolina first, followed by Texas, LSU, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Oklahoma was sixth, then Ole Miss, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Auburn and Arkansas.
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes was chosen as the preseason SEC Player of the Year. The preseason All-SEC First Team also included Madison Booker of Texas, Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt, Joyce Edwards of South Carolina and Clara Strack of Kentucky. The Second Team featured Aaliyah Chavez of Oklahoma, Tessa Johnson and Chloe Kitts of South Carolina, Talaysia Cooper of Ole Miss and Fulwiley.
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