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Gamecocks Back on Top: South Carolina Opens 2026-27 at No. 1 in the Preseason AP Top 25

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South Carolina will open the 2026-27 season as the nation’s No. 1 team, receiving 23 of 31 first-place votes and 764 points in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 released Tuesday, ahead of UConn (six first-place votes, 746 points) and Southern California (two votes, 668 points), with Duke and Michigan rounding out the top five. It is the fifth time in seven seasons the Gamecocks have opened at No. 1 under Dawn Staley, and their 14th straight year in the preseason poll. Staley called the ranking “a gift and curse,” noting her players view it as respect but also pressure given the schedule ahead.

The SEC placed seven teams in the poll — South Carolina, Texas (No. 6), Vanderbilt (No. 8), LSU (No. 9), Kentucky (No. 14), Ole Miss (No. 19) and Oklahoma (No. 21) — four of them in the top 10, though the Big Ten set a record with nine ranked teams. Defending champion UCLA, gutted by its record draft class, opens at No. 11.

USC’s No. 3 ranking rides on the return of JuJu Watkins, who missed all of last season recovering from the torn ACL she suffered in the 2025 NCAA Tournament; freshman Jazzy Davidson carried the Trojans in her absence, averaging 17.9 points and 4.1 assists. At UConn, Wade Trophy winner Sarah Strong — 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game last season — leads the No. 2 Huskies.

South Carolina returns leading scorer Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson, who averaged 12.8 points and shot 44.8 percent from three last season. The Gamecocks will be tested immediately: they open November 2 against No. 20 Maryland in Paris, then face No. 12 North Carolina on November 8, No. 3 USC on November 15 and No. 2 UConn on November 24 at the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.

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Five-Star Center Zaniya Johnson Commits to South Carolina

Five-star center Zaniya Johnson of Biloxi, Mississippi, committed to South Carolina over LSU, becoming Dawn Staley’s third five-star pledge of October for the Class of 2027.

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3 days ago

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October 22, 2026

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Zaniya Johnson poses with South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during her official visit to Columbia

Dawn Staley’s October run on the recruiting trail is officially a streak. Five-star center Zaniya Johnson announced Wednesday that she is taking her game to South Carolina, choosing the Gamecocks over finalist LSU and giving Staley her third five-star commitment of the month for the Class of 2027.

The 6-foot-4 post from Biloxi, Mississippi, is ranked No. 18 in ESPN’s SC Next 100 for the Class of 2027, and the 247Sports Composite has her at No. 16 overall and the No. 2 center in the class. She is the top-rated player in Mississippi.

“I truly believe [South Carolina] has everything I need and more to grow both on and off the court,” Johnson told ESPN. “South Carolina has a proven track record of developing post players, and having the opportunity to be part of a program like that was something I couldn’t pass up.”

Johnson visited Columbia on Oct. 2 and was spotted alongside Staley on the sideline before the Kentucky football game. She also took visits to Florida State and Texas A&M, and she canceled a scheduled Mississippi State visit after her South Carolina trip — an early sign of where this was headed. She made it official at a ceremony at her school on Oct. 21.

Johnson joins guards Taylor Brown, who committed on Oct. 3, and Jezelle “GG” Banks, the No. 4 overall player in the class, in South Carolina’s 2027 haul. After loading up on the perimeter, Staley now has her true center — a traditional back-to-the-basket post in the mold the Gamecocks love to build around.

As a junior, Johnson averaged 14.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. She passed 1,000 career points as a sophomore and 1,000 career rebounds as a junior, and she is a two-time Region Player of the Year. For a program with a proven record of developing post players, the fit in the paint is easy to see.

Photo: Johnson’s official visit to South Carolina (via ESPN)

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