South Carolina women's basketball suffered a heartbreaking blow ahead of the NCAA season's tip-off as starting forward Chloe Kitts tore her ACL in practice, bringing an early end to her senior year before it had even begun. Gamecocks fans are already starting to feel the effects on their upcoming campaign, taking to social media to vent about their concerns over the team's uphill battle for 2025-26.
“Prayers up, big Chlo,” one fan said on Reddit. Amid their grief, another also offered their well-wishes to Kitts as she heals from her injury. “That sucks. After how she played at the end of last season, I felt like she'd fully break out and be like [a] AA this year. Hope she recovers fully soon.”
Some Gamecocks fans were clearly devastated by the news but tried to lighten the situation. “Sedate me!” one said. “UConn, please take your injury bug back. We do not want it,” a fan joked with a crying emoji.
Others leaned into what Kitts' absence means for the outlook of South Carolina's season.
“Man, this [is] going to hurt them. Especially with how competitive the SEC will be alone,” they said. “Yea, this is a tough one. Hopefully one of their recruits will step up.”
Fans speculated about how head coach Dawn Staley would strategize to recover from this blow. “Massive loss for South Carolina. Dawn might have to go only one in, with Okot surrounded by [3-point] shooters. So much of her offense runs through post passing, and you lose a lot of that without [Sania] Feagin and now Kitts.”
They seemed to end on an optimistic note, though, as some fans chose to find the silver lining. “On the bright side, there's no harm waiting another year to enter the [WNBA] draft.”
Chloe Kitts ACL tear confirmed 🥺
byu/freeee_as_a_birdd inNCAAW
Staley also expressed her disappointment over Kitts' torn ACL and with the way South Carolina's campaign is starting off.
“We hate this first for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season,” Staley's official statement said. “Her teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team’s success.”
Kitts herself remained positive, though. She took to Instagram to calm the fanbase's fears about the season ahead.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support,” Kitts' post started. “I recently suffered an ACL tear and, unfortunately, will be out for this season.”
Kitts went on to assure people that this doesn't spell disaster for the team this year.
“While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose. I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!”
Kitts averaged career highs with 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds in 2024-25, helping South Carolina reach the National Championship game for the second year in a row. However, the Gamecocks ended up falling short of the title to UConn, 82-59.
South Carolina isn't without hope for the future, either. Staley managed to recruit the nation's leading scorer in Ta'Niya Latson from Florida State, while Raven Johnson, Maddy McDaniel, and Joyce Edwards plan to return to the Gamecocks.
