What’s next for the SEC?

The home of the last three national champions, the SEC, best conference in women’s college basketball, looks to be even better in 2024-25.

Texas and Oklahoma arrive from the Big 12, prepared to challenge South Carolina’s supremacy. With new head coaches, Kentucky and Tennessee also will be rising threats. And even after three SEC players were selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft, talent abounds, with transfers and recruits ready to make their mark.

Here’s a look at what’s next for the SEC:

The arrival of Red River rivals

Although there are plenty of reasons to protest the football-centric realignment that has shaken college sports, the changes should at least be fun for fans of SEC women’s basketball.

Texas and Oklahoma significantly will increase the already high quality of the SEC. The Longhorns were the Big 12 Tournament champions and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. The Sooners captured the Big 12 regular season title for the second season in a row before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed.

Texas tracks to be even better next year, with Madison Booker, who already won the Cheryl Miller Award as the best small forward in the nation as a freshman, buoyed by a year of experience and Rori Harmon, lost for the season to an ACL injury just as the calendar turned to 2024, returning to the court. The Longhorns also will be boosted by rising senior wing Laila Phelia, who has traded the blue and maize of Michigan for burnt orange. Head coach Vic Schaefer also knows the conference well, having spent 12 years in charge at Mississippi State. Oklahoma should return the core contributors to their solid squad, with freshman forward Sahara Williams poised to emerge as a bigger presence for the Sooners.

Although we do not yet know how the conference schedule will shake out, it will be exciting to see what rivalries quickly emerge between the Longhorns, Sooners and the conference’s longer tenured teams.

Tennessee, Kentucky look to return to the top

It would not have been surprising if Tennessee had stuck with Kellie Harper and Kentucky had given Kyra Elzy another season. Harper was hired in 2019 and Elzy took over in 2020, meaning both head coaches ascended to pressure-packed jobs just as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated changes to the college sports landscape. In short, it’s easy to argue that neither got a full, fair shake. Nevertheless, both Tennessee and Kentucky moved on, with the firings and subsequent hirings indications of both programs’ eagerness to again become major forces in the SEC.

On Rocky Top, Tennessee reached beyond the Pat Summitt tree, tapping Kim Caldwell to revitalize the Lady Vols after just one season at the Division I level. But that single season was a resounding success, as she instantly made a mediocre Marshall squad into the best team in the Sun Belt, earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history. The coach on the other sideline of that game? Kenny Brooks, who arrives at Kentucky after eight seasons at Virginia Tech that included a pair of ACC titles and a trip to the Final Four. Brooks and Virginia Tech bettered Caldwell and Marshall in that first-round game; however, both coaches’ new programs likely would love to see them face off again in consequential conference matchups.

The impact of the portal

The winds of the transfer portal will continue to blow until May 1, when the portal window closes. Right now, 47 athletes who played in the SEC last season have entered the portal, with some having selected their new school, whether it be within or outside of the conference, and others having yet to determine their future.

The most prominent mover thus far is grad guard Hailey Van Lith, who, after one season at LSU, heads to TCU. Forward Sahnya Jah, suspended indefinitely by South Carolina around the midpoint of her freshman season, is headed to Arizona State. A notable name who has yet to decide on her next destination is Janiah Barker, the Texas A&M forward who just finished her sophomore season and was the No. 2 recruit in her class. Although Texas will be arriving in the SEC without forward DeYona Gaston, Gaston also will be in the SEC, taking her talents to Auburn for her fifth and final collegiate season. Joining her at Auburn will be Taliah Scott, as the guard chose to leave Arkansas after her freshman season. Arkansas also is losing the services of two rising junior wings, with Jersey Wolfenbarger going to LSU and Saylor Poffenbarger off to Maryland.

The coaching change at Kentucky resulted in a conference-high nine players putting their names in the portal; in contrast, only junior wing Karolin Striplin responded to the change at Tennessee by entering the portal. However, Kenny Brooks is welcoming the most significant transfer into the conference, with guard Georgia Amoore exercising her extra year of eligibility and following Brooks from Blacksburg to the Bluegrass State. Soon-to-be sophomore center Clara Strack also is leaving Virginia Tech for Lexington. Brooks also added wing Teonni Key, who spent two seasons at North Carolina. Another noteworthy conference newcomer will be DeeDee Hagemann, with the guard from Michigan State suiting up for Ole Miss for her senior season.

South Carolina stays winning

In the end, will all this moving and shaking really matter?

In an ever-shifting women’s college hoops world that supposedly features more parity than ever, the conference—and the sport—still belong to South Carolina and head coach Dawn Staley. Fresh off going 38-0 and winning the national championship in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season, the Gamecocks are set to double down on their dominance.

South Carolina will miss Kamilla Cardoso, the “separator” who elevated her team on both ends of the floor. The Gamecocks will have to adjust to her absence, but, in addition to returning talents who can assume bigger roles, they’ll also be enhanced by newcomers who will bring different dimensions to the court in Columbia. At the top of that list is Joyce Edwards, the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year, who has been putting on a show as she closes out her prep career.

With Team USA trailing World Team Select by 17 points at the Nike Hoop Summit, Edwards went to work in the second half, displaying off an enviable combination of power, craft and composure as she scored a game-high 25 points and led the Americans to the comeback victory. At the Jordan Brand Classic, it was more of the same, another 25-point showcase.

Now just imagine her doing all that surrounded by Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, Ashlyn Watkins, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts and Tessa Johnson.

The 2023 national champions also will remain a factor in the SEC. Even with Angel Reese off to the WNBA, the trio of Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams give LSU loads of fire power. Add in growth from Aalyah Del Rosario and the Tigers still loom as a contender, for both a conference and national title.