Nine Gamecocks on WNBA Opening Day Rosters
COLUMBIA, S.C. – After seeing 12 Gamecocks enter training camp, nine South Carolina women’s basketball alumnae made opening day rosters as the WNBA tips off its 2025 season this weekend. Head coach Dawn Staley’s program is the third-most represented as the league opens its 29th season, trailing just UConn (15) and Notre Dame (12). The Gamecocks’ six additions in the last five years are the most of any program, topping the four from UConn and Baylor. South Carolina’s nine entries lead the SEC, which has a total of 29 alumnae on rosters.
In program history, 19 Gamecocks have played in the WNBA, including 15 in Staley’s 17-year tenure. Six Gamecocks have been named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team with three claiming WNBA Rookie of the Year honors – Gray (2017), Wilson (2018), Boston (2023). Two of Staley’s alums have won WNBA Championships and three have been named to at least one WNBA All-Star team.
Guard Tiffany Mitchell is the longest tenured Gamecock in the group, entering her 10th WNBA season and her first with the Las Vegas Aces where she is reunited with Gamecock teammate A’ja Wilson, who is the reigning WNBA MVP. The two played together in 2014-15, leading the Gamecocks to their first Final Four and again in 2015-16, pairing for back-to-back SEC regular season and tournament titles. Mitchell was then taken ninth in the 2016 WNBA Draft, going on to earn a spot on the All-Rookie team.
After becoming South Carolina’s first overall No. 1 pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, Wilson’s career is already among the best in league history as just the third player to be named MVP three times. She is also a two-time WNBA Champion, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-Star, four-time All-WNBA selection and the 2018 Rookie of the Year.
Guard Allisha Gray is set for her ninth WNBA season and her third with the Atlanta Dream. She was the first Gamecock to pick up WNBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2017 with her No. 4 selection by the Dallas Wings in that year’s draft following the Gamecocks’ first National Championship. She is a two-time WNBA All-Star selection since joining the Dream in 2023.
This season, Gray welcomes Gamecock rookie guard Te-Hina Paopao to her team following her selection at No. 18 in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Paopao made the team after helping the Gamecocks to back-to-back national championship games, including capping the undefeated 2023-24 season with the national title. She was the NCAA’s top 3-point percentage shooter that season and picked up All-America status in both her seasons in the Garnet and Black.
Guard Tyasha Harris opens her sixth WNBA season back with the Dallas Wings, which is the team that drafted her in 2020 after an All-American career at South Carolina that included the 2017 National Championship, two SEC regular-season titles and three SEC Tournament crowns. The seventh overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, Harris was an All-Rookie selection and played three seasons for the Wings before heading to Connecticut for two seasons.
South Carolina’s second No. 1 overall draft pick Aliyah Boston opens her third season with the Indiana Fever. The forward’s unprecedented Gamecock career included unanimous National Player of the Year honors in 2022, during which she led South Carolina to its second National Championship, and first-team All-America honors all four seasons. She was the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year and has been a WNBA All-Star every season of her professional career.
Guard Zia Cooke is set for her third WNBA season as well, this one with the Seattle Storm after spending her first two in Los Angeles, which selected her 10th in the 2023 WNBA Draft. Cooke’s time in the Garnet and Black was highlighted by the 2022 National Championship, two other NCAA Final Four appearances, three SEC regular-season titles and three SEC Tournament championships, along with her individual All-America honors.
Center Kamilla Cardoso is back for her sophomore season with the Chicago Sky. The team made her the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, after which she heard a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
Forward Sania Feagin joins Paopao in the Gamecocks’ WNBA rookie class, making the cut for the Los Angeles Sparks after the team chose her 21st in this year’s draft. The SEC All-Defensive Team selection grabbed All-Tournament honors at both the 2025 SEC Tournament and NCAA Regional. She was part of the Gamecocks’ 2022 and 2024 National Championships and played in the NCAA Final Four every year of her career.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.
