LSU W Basketball

LSU women's basketball has added a dynamic piece to the roster via the transfer portal.

Shea Dixon of On3 Sports reported that guard MiLaysia Fulwiley has committed to LSU to continue her collegiate career. Fulwiley spent her first two seasons with South Carolina and was on the program's roster in its 2023-24 national championship season.

Fulwiley averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 77 career games for the Gamecocks. She started three games during her time with South Carolina and now will hope to see an increased role with a strong LSU team.

She is one of two Gamecocks who entered the transfer portal this offseason alongside forward Sakima Walker.

Fulwiley joins Amiya Joyner and Kate Koval as LSU's transfer acquisitions this offseason. She has two years of eligibility remaining.

The Tigers went 31-6 in 2024-25 and advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to UCLA. The program is two seasons removed from a national championship and Fulwiley will join a backcourt that already had Flau'Jae Johnson.

Flau'jae Johnson is staying at LSU after all.

The star guard confirmed to Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile that she's returning to the Tigers after entering the transfer portal. She said she wanted to chat with head coach Kim Mulkey and make sure they remain on the same page as she enters her final college season:

Nothing can be taken for granted in the transfer portal era. Few foresaw Olivia Miles bolting Notre Dame for TCU this offseason. MiLaysia Fulwiley is exploring her options after two years at South Carolina.

LSU's recent success and Mulkey's legendary reputation don't make the Tigers immune from being on the wrong side of the portal.

Johnson obviously had plenty of reasons to stay in Baton Rouge, especially since next season will be critical toward cementing her WNBA draft stock.

Without a Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers-type cornerstone in the 2026 class, the No. 1 spot could be up for grabs. ESPN's Michael Voepel ranked Johnson fifth in his early big board, and she could easily move up a few spots based on how the 2025-26 campaign unfolds.

"I definitely want to win, but I want to make sure I'm being developed to be the player that I want to be in the WNBA," she said to Costabile. "Trying to find out how I can make that happen this year. I want to be as prepared as possible."

Johnson's continued presence will further fuel hopes of a return to the Final Four at LSU. Between her and Mikaylah Williams, Mulkey retains two of her top three scorers.

The Tigers also signed four players (shooting guard Divine Bourrage, small forward ZaKiyah Johnson, power forward Grace Knox and shooting guard Bella Hines) who are among the top 25 recruits in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2025.

Bella Hines signed an NIL deal with Jordan Brand as she finishes up her high school basketball career.

"We're excited to have Bella Hines join the Jordan Brand Family. She's a remarkable young talent who is joining an athlete roster that represents greatness for the next generation," a Jordan Brand spokesperson said to Forbes' Mat Issa.

Hines told Issa she was drawn to the company due to its connection to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

The news comes on the same day LSU confirmed the 5'9" guard has signed on to suit up in 2025-26.

Hines is the No. 25 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings.

"Hines is demonstrating that she is a solid option on defense and a potential sniper on offense," 247Sports' Brandon Clay wrote in his scouting report. "She's a well-conditioned guard capable of logging major minutes all week as Cy-Fair played their way to the Nike National title. Hines' willingness to compete on both ends is a plus. Offensively, she is a true floor-spacing threat. Additionally, Hines' ability to guard the opposing team's top threats allowed her classmate Aaliyah Chavez to stay fresh and avoid foul trouble."

Hines joins a loaded class for head coach Kim Mulkey. LSU also landed shooting guard Divine Bourrage (No. 7), small forward ZaKiyah Johnson (No. 9) and power forward Grace Knox (No. 11).

Poaching Mulkey from Baylor was a major coup for the program and her arrival paid immediate dividends. LSU won 26 games in 2021-22 and then captured its first national title in 2023.

Beyond what the Tigers are doing on the court, they have fully embraced the advent of the NIL era. As much as the opportunity to contend for championships was a selling point for Hines, she also watched Angel Reese and Flau'Jae Johnson become major stars in Baton Rouge.

Her Jordan Brand deal is a sign of her popularity already and her commercial profile will only grow once she's donning an LSU uniform.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese provided the backstory to her break from the LSU basketball team last season during Thursday's premiere episode of her Unapologetically Angel podcast.

Reese said that becoming a lightning rod on social media after winning the national championship the year prior was at times challenging to manage, and after LSU team lost its opening game of the 2023-24 season, the vibes on the practice court weren't quite right and she herself wasn't in the best mental space.

Reese said that she and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey then "got into it" during the team's matchup with Kent State, with Reese sitting out the second half. After that, the pair decided together that it would be best for her to take some time away from the team, with Reese skipping LSU's trip to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Islands Classic.

"Knowing myself, I was just like, let me just take this break for myself, for the team, and just being able to have some peace of mind," she said (5:35 mark). "That was probably the hardest time of my life, just because I never took a break from basketball, and I didn't realize mental health was important. My mom came down for Thanksgiving, we made Thanksgiving dinner, and it was just a reset."

Reese denied the Internet rumors that swirled at the time, saying she didn't take a break from the team because she was suspended, pregnant, or because her GPA was too low. She also pushed back on those rumors in November:

She ultimately missed four games, and Mulkey didn't publicly disclose the reason for Reese's time away from the team beyond telling reporters that there were "locker-room issues."

"I can't sugarcoat things. I feel like people want the truth, but... I'm going to protect my players," she added. "There's a sacredness in that locker room and I'm from that school that what's in that locker room stays in that locker room."

Reese said that she respected Mulkey for protecting her at the time in "the best way she could."

"I had a lot going on, and it became contagious to other people," she added. "I was moody, I wasn't in a good place within myself. I didn't want that to become a cancer in the locker room."

Fresh off dropping her "Came Out A Beast" track with Lil Wayne, LSU women's basketball player Flau'jae Johnson has her eyes set on another star-studded collaboration.

Johnson told TMZ Sports she wants to work with Adele, who's her favorite recording artist, at some point. She listed off Alicia Keys and Atlanta-based rapper 6lack as ideal candidates for a partnership too.

Johnson released the music video for "Came Out Like A Beast" earlier this week, and it's emblematic of the new landscape for college athletes. It opens with LSU head coach Kim Mulkey talking to players during a timeout and prominently features Johnson in her Tigers uniform.

The guard's exploits on the court would garner plenty of attention on their own. Though two seasons, she's averaging 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds, and she was a key part in LSU's 2023 national championship run.

Johnson's emergence in the music business has turned her into a crossover star, one with a seven-figure NIL valuation. She performed "Came Out A Beast" at the ESPYs in July, which further underlined her growing stature.

Whether or not a collab with Adele ever comes to fruition, Johnson is clearly earning the respect of her peers within the rap game.

LSU junior guard Flau'jae Johnson dropped the music video to her new single "Came Out A Beast" featuring New Orleans native Lil Wayne, and it featured more than a few references to the Purple & Gold.

Johnson and Wayne made multiple references to LSU legends Shaquille O'Neal (10:50 mark), Angel Reese (11:09) and Joe Burrow (11:42, 12:41) on the track. The video also featured appearances from Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey and the women's basketball team, with the 2023 NCAA championship trophy frequently displayed throughout:

Johnson and the Tigers famously defeated an Iowa team led by star guard Caitlin Clark to win the 2023 NCAA title. The Savannah, Georgia, native averaged 11.0 points that year as a freshman and improved to 14.9 points per game this past season.

Johnson is expected to assume a bigger role on the team following Reese's transition to the WNBA, and now she gave the Tigers an anthem to take pride in throughout the upcoming season.

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese is building her career in the WNBA, but she still has plenty of love for her former college teammates.

And she showed some of that to Hailey Van Lith on Wednesday by saying how proud she is of her former LSU teammate for being named to the United States 3x3 Olympic team:

Reese was responding to a video of Van Lith being overcome with joy when discovering she made the team.

"The emotions, they can't really be described," the guard said. "A lot of joy, a lot of gratitude. Excited to wear USA across my chest and be in Paris for the first time. I've never been to Paris, and I think it's such a cool reason to go to Paris. I can't wait."

Van Lith will be joined by some impressive company, as USA Basketball announced Los Angeles Sparks center Cameron Brink, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard and former WNBA forward Cierra Burdick will join the TCU guard on the team in Paris.

Reese and Van Lith were teammates for one season with the Tigers and reached the Elite Eight, where they lost to Caitlin Clark's Iowa team. LSU defeated Clark's Hawkeyes in the national championship the previous season, but that was when Van Lith was on the Louisville Cardinals.

She transferred again this offseason and will play for TCU during the 2024-25 campaign.

And, if things go according to plan in Paris, she will be an Olympic gold medalist when the season starts.

Angel Reese had only positives to say after her conference rival took home the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.

South Carolina capped off an undefeated season with a 87-75 victory over Iowa. Following the game, Reese took to X to congratulate the Gamecocks and celebrate the season as a whole for the sport.

She also shouted out Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley specifically and thanked her for her kindness over the years.

Reese is very familiar with what South Carolina is feeling, as she was a catalyst for an LSU team that took home the title a season ago. Her Tigers fell to Iowa in the Elite Eight this season, but the Gamecocks victory ensured that the SEC would take home the title for the third consecutive season.

Staley is also very familiar with this stage. This was her third championship as the head coach of the Gamecocks, with the previous two coming in 2022 and 2017. Sunday's win capped off an undefeated season and Staley has geared South Carolina to a 109-3 record over the past three seasons.

While she grew familiar with Reese via conference play over the past few seasons, that is not set to continue, as Reese declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft.

LSU guard Hailey Van Lith has entered the transfer portal, per The Athletic's Chantel Jennings. Van Lith has one more year of collegiate eligibility.

Van Lith spent the first three seasons of her college career with Louisville, joining Kim Mulkey and LSU this season. After she averaged a career-high 19.7 points per game with the Cardinals, Van Lith's scoring dropped off in the 2023-24 season, when she averaged 11.6 points.

Van Lith's LSU career ended Monday when the third-seeded Tigers fell to No. 1 Iowa in the Elite Eight. Van Lith struggled in the loss, scoring nine points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field while also failing to contain Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, who had 41 points.

LSU star Angel Reese declared for the WNBA draft Wednesday, so the Tigers will have another talent to replace next season. Reese averaged 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game last season and is the projected No. 7 pick in ESPN's mock draft.

The WNBA draft likely would have been an option for Van Lith, but her name did not appear on the list of draft entries. With her entering the portal, it seems clear she won't test the draft waters.

Van Lith's best season came with Louisville when the offense ran through her, but having to share production at LSU saw her game take a dip. She was the Tigers' sixth-leading scorer behind Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Flau'jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and Sa'Myah Smith this past season.

Now transferring, Van Lith is looking to return to being the dominant scorer she was with the Cardinals.