LSU women’s basketball is back in familiar territory to start the season: right near the top.
The Tigers landed at No. 9 in Tuesday’s Associated Press preseason Top 25, giving Kim Mulkey’s program another spot inside the nation’s elite as it opens its sixth season under her direction. It also extends LSU’s run in the AP top 10 to six straight seasons, matching the longest stretch in school history, which first ran from 2002 through 2008.
Mulkey’s own milestone watch is getting closer, too. The veteran coach is entering her 27th season as a Division I head coach with 783 victories and a career winning percentage of .857.
She needs 17 more wins to reach 800. Her record at LSU is 151-26 over five seasons.
The Tigers’ roster has a mix of proven production and new additions. Mikaylah Williams, a first-team All-SEC guard, returns as one of the marquee pieces, along with MiLaysia Fulwiley, who was named the 2026 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year.
LSU also brings back sophomores ZaKiyah Johnson, Grace Knox and Meghan Yarnevich. Johnson earned SEC All-Freshman honors last season, and all three were part of LSU’s highly regarded recruiting class.
The transfer portal brought in another wave of talent. Jada Williams arrived from Iowa State, Laila Reynolds from Florida and Chloe Larry from Tennessee Tech. The Tigers also added Indiana freshman Lola Lampley, plus international newcomers Noa Morro of Spain and Anna Minaeva of Russia.
That gives LSU an 11-player roster made up of five returnees and six newcomers.
Before the games count, the Tigers will host two free exhibition dates at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on October 22 and October 29. LSU then opens the regular season November 2 against Southeastern Louisiana.
The schedule does not ease in much after that. LSU is set to face several ranked teams, including No.
2 UConn at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, No. 12 North Carolina in the SEC/ACC Challenge and No.
25 NC State at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on November 28.
The SEC, as usual, comes loaded. Seven league teams made the preseason Top 25, with No.
1 South Carolina leading the way. Texas is No.
6, Vanderbilt No. 8, LSU No.
9, Kentucky No. 14, Ole Miss No. 19 and Oklahoma No.
The full AP preseason Top 25 has South Carolina at No. 1, followed by UConn, USC, Duke, Michigan, Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU and Iowa in the top 10.
In Other News...
LSU Heads To Auburn With Two More Starter Questions
LSUs injury picture got a little murkier coming out of the Mississippi State game, and now the Tigers are heading into Auburn with two more starter questions hanging over the week. Princewill Umanmielen and Jackson Harris both went down in the contest, and both figures are likely to land on the injury report as LSU starts sorting out who will be available for a road trip that already figures to test the depth chart.
Umanmielens issue is an upper body injury believed to be head-related, which could put him into concussion protocol, while Harris left with a foot injury and was seen in a boot afterward. Brian Kelly didnt offer any medical updates, though he did indicate Harris is expected to be fine, and LSU is prepared to lean on backups if either player cant go against Auburn. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Lost A Key Piece In Will Wades First Season
LSU has settled one eligibility fight before the season even tips, and the result leaves Will Wades first roster with a notable hole. Guard RJ Luis Jr. will not be cleared by the SEC to play for the Tigers after the league determined he violated conference rules tied to signing a professional contract, ending the programs battle over his status and shifting the focus to getting ready for the year ahead.
There is at least one brighter note in Baton Rouge, though, because forward Saliou Niang has been ruled eligible for the season. Niang was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his decision to attend college came before recent NCAA rule changes, allowing LSU to keep him in the mix as it tries to move past the Luis situation and sort out its rotation. [Read more 🡒]
LSU-Auburn Just Got More Complicated At Linebacker
LSUs trip to Auburn took a hit when linebacker Whit Weeks suffered a fractured right leg and is expected to miss the upcoming game. Weeks has been a key part of the Tigers defensive plans, so his absence adds another layer of uncertainty to a matchup that already carried plenty of weight.
Auburn is dealing with its own linebacker shakeup after Xaiver Atkins was dismissed from the team ahead of the game, following an earlier suspension for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Atkins has said he plans to enter the transfer portal, while Auburn coach Alex Golesh has not revealed what led to the discipline, leaving both sides with major questions in the middle of a conference matchup that was already shaping up to be tricky enough. [Read more 🡒]