Dawn Staley hasn’t wasted any time in retooling her roster.
South Carolina women’s basketball on Tuesday landed a commitment from former Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, by way of the NCAA transfer portal.
Latson is coming off a big junior season with the Seminoles, finishing as the nation’s leading scorer at 25.2 points per game while averaging 4.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. She also shot 45.1% from the field this past season, just 0.4% off her career-high of 45.5% from the field that she set in her freshman season.
Latson entered the transfer portal on March 27 after Florida State lost to LSU in the second round in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Landing Latson is a big one for South Carolina, as it gives Staley and her staff a new go-to scorer to pair with Raven Johnson, Joyce Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley. The Gamecocks are set to lose Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall and Sania Feagin, with all three players being out of eligibility.
Shortly after Latson announced her decision to transfer to South Carolina, who has made five consecutive Final Four appearances, her new coach took to social media to break her silence and welcome her newest player to Columbia, South Carolina.
“A birdie just flew in nest!!” Staley wrote on X.
As noted by The Greenville News’ Lulu Kesin, it is also a reunion for Latson with Johnson, Fulwiley and Edwards, as Latson played high school basketball in Florida with Johnson and played AAU basketball with both Fulwiley and Edwards.
In three seasons at Florida State, Latson averaged 25.2 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. The Miami native on Feb. 27 became the third player in ACC history to score 2,000 career points in her first three seasons during Florida State’s win over then-No. 3 Notre Dame.
Latson was the No. 1-ranked player in the transfer portal on ESPN per Charlie Creme, ranking one spot higher than former Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles, who reportedly committed to TCU on Tuesday.
South Carolina finished 34-4 overall on the season while finishing as the national runner-up in the women’s NCAA Tournament after falling 82-59 to UConn in the national championship game on April 6.
