South Carolina Gamecocks Women’s Basketball Earns Top SEC Prediction as Dawn Staley Leads Preseason Honors

The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball 2026-27 preseason SEC outlook is drawing national attention, with Dawn Staley earning preseason Coach of the Year honors and her team unanimously selected to finish atop the Southeastern Conference.

South Carolina enters the new campaign with championship expectations, a talented returning core and another opportunity to reinforce its standing as one of the nation’s premier women’s basketball programs. The USA TODAY Sports Network’s preseason selections placed the Gamecocks firmly in the spotlight, recognizing three players across the All-SEC first and second teams.

The message from the preseason voting is unmistakable: South Carolina remains the team to beat in the SEC.

Dawn Staley and South Carolina Set the Pace

The veteran coach has won the SEC Coach of the Year award seven times, including three consecutive honors from 2022 through 2024. Now, her next challenge is to guide the Gamecocks toward a sixth straight SEC regular-season championship.

That goal will require consistency, depth and the ability to deliver when conference games become increasingly physical. South Carolina’s unanimous selection as the preseason favorite suggests voters believe Staley has the personnel and leadership needed to keep the program at the summit.

Joyce Edwards Headlines South Carolina’s All-SEC Recognition

Edwards received two votes for preseason SEC Player of the Year, joining Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes and Texas forward Madison Booker among the players recognized in that category. All three were unanimous first-team All-SEC selections.

The Gamecocks’ presence did not stop with Edwards. Guard Tessa Johnson and forward Chloe Kitts were selected to the preseason All-SEC second team, giving South Carolina three honorees across the two squads.

That total was the highest among all programs in the preseason selections. LSU was the only other school with multiple players named to the first and second teams.

Mikayla Blakes Leads the Player of the Year Race

[IMAGE 3 — Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes playing basketball]
Image search: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=Mikayla+Blakes+Vanderbilt+women%27s+basketball

Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes claimed the preseason SEC Player of the Year award after a remarkable 2025-26 season in which she averaged 27.1 points per game overall and 30.5 points in SEC contests.

According to the supplied USA TODAY Sports Network report, Blakes became the first SEC player this century to average at least 30 points per game in conference play. Her scoring ability makes Vanderbilt a significant presence in the SEC race, even as South Carolina holds the top spot in the preseason team rankings.

Booker joins Edwards and Blakes as a unanimous first-team selection. LSU guard Mikaylah Williams and Kentucky center Clara Strack complete the first team.

Strack also received preseason SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors after ranking second in the conference in blocks the previous season, averaging 2.5 per game.

Preseason SEC Awards: The Biggest Names to Watch

The preseason awards reveal a conference packed with established stars, emerging talent and transfers expected to make an immediate impact.

Preseason Player of the Year: Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Preseason Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Jada Williams, LSU
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Clara Strack, Kentucky

Williams enters the SEC after transferring from Iowa State, where she averaged career highs of 15.3 points and 7.7 assists per game last season. Her arrival gives LSU an experienced playmaker as the Tigers look to challenge South Carolina and Texas near the top of the conference.

Complete Preseason All-SEC Teams

First Team

G — Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (unanimous)
F — Madison Booker, Texas (unanimous)
F — Joyce Edwards, South Carolina (unanimous)
G — Mikaylah Williams, LSU
C — Clara Strack, Kentucky

Second Team

G — Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
G — Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
G — MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
G — Talaysia Cooper, Ole Miss
F — Chloe Kitts, South Carolina

South Carolina Faces a Competitive SEC Race

The Gamecocks may be the unanimous preseason favorite, but the conference standings project a demanding road ahead.

The predicted order of finish:

South Carolina
Texas
LSU (tie)
Vanderbilt (tie)
Kentucky
Ole Miss
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Mississippi State
Florida
Texas A&M
Alabama
Georgia
Missouri
Auburn
Arkansas

The preseason poll is a projection, not a guarantee. Still, South Carolina’s unanimous first-place selection and three All-SEC honorees demonstrate the confidence surrounding Staley’s team before the season begins.

Each conference opponent will have an opportunity to test the Gamecocks, and maintaining their championship standard will require strong performances on both ends of the floor.

The Road Ahead for the Gamecocks

For South Carolina, the immediate focus will be turning preseason praise into results. Edwards, Johnson and Kitts give the Gamecocks three recognized players, while Staley’s experience provides a proven foundation for another demanding SEC schedule.

The team’s unanimous selection to finish first establishes the expectation before a single conference game is played. That kind of consensus can bring confidence, but it also means opponents will approach South Carolina with extra motivation.

Blakes and Vanderbilt, Booker and Texas, and LSU’s talented roster will all have their own ambitions. The SEC race promises plenty of individual brilliance, but South Carolina has been identified as the program with the strongest overall outlook.

The bottom line: The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball 2026-27 preseason SEC outlook points to another championship chase, with Dawn Staley honored as the conference’s top preseason coach, three Gamecocks earning All-SEC recognition and the team unanimously predicted to finish first.

Source: USA TODAY Sports Network preseason SEC awards coverage. Original background report: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/womens-basketball/2025/10/14/sec-preseason-womens-basketball-awards-2025-26-madison-booker-dawn-staley/86462588007/

Editorial note: Confirm all statistics, award details and image permissions against current primary sources before publication.