South Carolina’s women’s basketball roster has a very different look heading into the 2026-27 season, but Dawn Staley isn’t approaching it like a rebuild.
The Gamecocks return only two starters and have nine new players on the roster after losing most of last season’s core, including a three-year starting point guard. From the outside, that kind of turnover could make a team look vulnerable.
Add in the injuries and the inexperience among the freshmen, and it would be easy to lower expectations. That’s not how things work in Columbia under Staley.
Year after year, she has turned elite talent into championship talent, building a program that has produced names like A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston and Allisha Gray. She’s also been part of the freshies from 2020-24 who rolled through a generational run and won championships. The formula hasn’t changed much, and South Carolina again went out and found a major piece in junior guard Jordan Lee.
Lee arrived from Texas in April, and Staley sees exactly what she needed.
"She's seasoned," Staley said. "She's a great addition. She's going to defend, she's gonna hit big shots for us and she's a playmaker."
Last season, Lee started 38 of her 39 games for the Longhorns and scored 514 points, good for 12.4 points per game. She also averaged 2.4 assists, reached double figures 30 times and shot 75% from the free-throw line.
She also brings a history with South Carolina. As a freshman, Lee was part of the Texas team that snapped the Gamecocks’ 57-game SEC win streak, scoring four points in that game. Later that same season, she scored 16 points against South Carolina in the Final Four and earned All-SEC recognition.
Lee has reached the NCAA tournament every year of her college career, and Staley says her speed is another trait that stands out.
"Speed-wise she gives us an element of speed that we lost in someone like Raven," Staley said, "so we're looking forward to having that."
For Staley, the next step is getting Lee to trust her game even more.
"For us, we probably want her to shoot the ball a little bit more," Staley said. "I think she's trying to acclimate and get used to everything.
But we don't really wanna take what you do naturally. We don't want her to overthink things either.
We just want her to take the shots, put the ball up and get comfortable with that."
Lee says the adjustment off the court has helped too. She likes the group she has joined and pointed to the way the players are living together.
"I think we have a really special group," Lee said. "Part of that is our living situation. Everybody's in one area so just spending as much time as we can off the court has been amazing."
The only thing she hasn’t loved quite as much is the weather.
"It's been great, besides the heat," Lee said. "It's hotter here than Texas because of the humidity."
For Lee, the chance to grow inside South Carolina’s program is the big thing.
"It's been truly amazing," Lee said."I've tried to be a sponge and learn and just watch everybody."
Now the attention turns to practice and how quickly Lee settles into her new role. South Carolina has plenty of new faces, but Staley believes Lee can help shape what comes next.
"I'm glad she chose us," Staley said.
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For Clemson, the spotlight also falls on a couple of names that could shape the night in different ways, with running back Gideon Davidson and defensive back Misun Kelley among the players to watch. The bigger question is whether the Tigers can handle the West Coast timing and shore up a defense that has already shown some vulnerability against the run, especially with several defensive tackles dealing with injuries. [Read more 🡒]