South Carolina women's basketball will never be down for long with Dawn Staley at the helm. The Gamecocks' roster has taken a few hits lately — it's lost three key players to the WNBA and suffered a shocking blow when contributors MiLaysia Fulwiley and Sakima Walker decided to enter the transfer portal.

However, the esteemed head coach and program managed to bounce back soon after by locking down the best scorer in the nation, Ta'Niya Latson, from Florida State. South Carolina's also expecting new commits Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell to come in next season, doubling down on the fresh start in store for this championship team's lineup.

The Gamecocks and Staley have continued courting some very intriguing and coveted players in the days leading up to the transfer window closing. So far, they've been tied to big-name transfers Madina Okot from Mississippi State and Utah's Gianna Kneepkens.

Staley has proven that she's determined to improve her team through the portal and intends to return South Carolina to national title contention. Fans online have noticed and been very vocal about their approval of Staley's decisions.

“Dawn hitting the portal hard! Good to know,” one Gamecocks fan tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.

“If Staley can bring [Okot] and the young lady from Utah in, it's lights out for the rest of the country,” another person replied. This group would have no weaknesses. Go Gamecocks!!”

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“Raven [Johnson], Latson, Chloe [Kitts], Joyce [Edwards], and Okot would be the best starting 5 in the game. We need Okot and we want Kneepkens too,” a user wrote.

“Next season, Dawn Staley's returning to March Madness like Return of the Jedi,” another fan joked.

Staley herself even tweeted a teaser, saying, “A birdie just flew in the nest!!!” This declaration set off a firestorm in the comments with replies like, “I live for these tweets!!! Let's GO!!!”

Okot is a 6-foot-6 double-double machine who averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds with the Bulldogs in 2024-25. Kneepkens, meanwhile, is both one of the best shooters in the NCAA and an extremely versatile wing. Both have been directly linked to the South Carolina women's basketball team, with Okot specifically sharing a lot of her visit on social media.