Trio of Gamecocks on Naismith Trophy Watch List

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Three South Carolina Gamecocks are among the 50 entries on the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time. Seniors Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson and sophomore Joyce Edwards combine to make the Gamecocks one of five teams with at least three entries on the list. The SEC leads all conferences with 15 players tapped with the preseason recognition.

Johnson has led the Gamecocks from the point guard position each of the last three seasons, which have yielded a 109-5 record that includes three trips to the NCAA Final Four, back-to-back championship game appearances and an undefeated 2024 National Champion season. South Carolina has won the SEC regular-season and tournament championships each of her first three seasons, losing just one SEC game in that stretch. Individually, Johnson’s 410 career assists rank 10^th in program history, and her 166 in SEC play are fifth in the Gamecock record books. Her single-season assist-to-turnover ratio each season account for three entries in the program’s all-time top 10, led by her 3.09 mark in 2023-24 ranking second.

Latson joined the Gamecocks over the summer after three high-scoring seasons at Florida State, which she capped by leading the nation in scoring average at 25.2 last season. A three-time First-Team All-ACC selection, Latson was AP All-America Second Team last season after capturing honorable mention honors each of her first two seasons. A career 44.8 percent shooter with a career scoring average of 22.5 points, she has scored in double figures in 86 of her 93 career games, including 62 20-point outings. Her three-year resume features five double-doubles, including a triple-double, and 68 games leading the Seminoles in scoring.

Edwards was the Gamecocks’ top scorer last season at 12.7 points per game and third in rebounding at 5.0 per outing. Her consistent production in her first season yielded All-SEC First-Team and All-America honorable mention honors. Her 57.2 percent field goal shooting ranked second in the SEC, and she set the program’s record for free throw percentage by a freshman (.777). Edwards earned a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team behind her 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in the last weekend of the season. In the offseason, Edwards was part of the United States’ gold medal team at the FIBA AmeriCup, and she also competed for USA Basketball the FIBA 3×3 Nations League Americas Conference 2.

No. 2/2 South Carolina will play its second exhibition game of the season tonight, facing No. 11/11 North Carolina at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster. The Gamecocks’ home opener is set for Mon., Nov. 3, when they will host Grand Canyon at Colonial Life Arena in a 7 p.m. tipoff that will be streamed on SECN+.

Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for more information on the program.

2025-26 Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List
Nunu Agara, Stanford
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Madison Booker, Texas
Zoe Brooks, NC State
Addy Brown, Iowa State
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Jazzy Davidson, Southern Cal
Maggie Doogan, Richmond
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Skylar Forbes, Marquette
Toby Fournier, Duke
Azzi Fudd, UConn
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Yarden Garzon, Maryland
Delaney Gibb, BYU
Rori Harmon, Texas
Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Ashlon Jackson, Duke
Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU
Kymora Johnson, Virginia
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
Reniya Kelly, North Carolina
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor
Cotie, McMahon, Ole Miss
Olivia Miles, TCU
S’Mya Nichols, Kansas
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Khamil Pierre, NC State
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Kaylene Smikle, Maryland
Kennedy Smith, Southern Cal
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Sarah Strong, UConn
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Syla Swords, Michigan
Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Serah Williams, UConn
Laura Ziegler, Louisville