LSU WBB 2025-2026

[CajunHusk94]

Lets try to keep the thread civil as it seems most LSU threads end up turning into doom/gloom, coaches suck, players/locker room is cancerous etc (lots of trolling)

The team is coming off an elite 8 after losing Hailey Van Lith/Angel Reese and really didnt add anything of substance from HS or portal ranks last offseason. this season came with its share of losses to portal and graduation but have a lot of interesting new pieces

Adding 3 transfers (Koval, Fulwiley, Joyner) and #1 Freshmen Class (Knox, Zakiyah, Bourrage, Hines, and Yarnevich

Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Malaysia Fulwiley- 5'10 Guard
2. Flaujae Johnson- 5'11 Guard
3. Mikaylah Williams- 6'0 Wing
4. Amiya Joyner- 6'3 Forward
5. Kate Koval -6'5 Center

Bench:
Kailyn Gilbert 5'8- Guard
Jada Richard- 5'7 Point Guard
Grace Knox- 6'2 Forward (#7 ESPNW)
Zakiyah Johnson- 6'0 Guard (#10 ESPNW)
Divine Bourrage- 6'0 Point Guard (#24 ESPNW)
Bella Hines- 5'10 Guard (#32 ESPW)
Meghan Yarnevich- 6'2 Forward (Unranked)
Izzy Besselman- Walk On Guard

Top questions Questions:

1. How will PG play play out?
Will we see a rehash of Hailey Van Lith? Or will Fulwiley take on a role similar to Morris in which she is more of a scorer than being a facilitator purely. To me this is why some of the Hailey Van Lith experiment failed, she took a backseat to everyone else and never could find a rhythm on that 2024 LSU team and you saw her confidence tank and it reflected on the court. Jada Richard was heralded by Mulkey and is a PG she has been working with in detail for a while. She is clearly an explosive offensive play maker but her defense is a big reason why she struggled to get consistent minutes in year one. Can Divine Bourrage assert herself for minutes at the PG spot? The talent, size, versatility Is there...

2. How will post play evolve?
Losing Morrow was a significant loss and she isn't replaceable to me but that isn't to say the new faces can't have success and do well. Koval showed flashes at a freshmen especially with her rim protection and at times on the boards but she will need to settle in more offensively. The potential is sky high, will we see a sophomore in year 2 for her? She has arrived at LSU early so maybe a full summer of training could help with this. Joyner to me was nice addition as its the type of bigs Kim used to have at Baylor, big, physical and versatile. The adjustment of coming into the SEC is a question but based on her performances vs P4 her first 3 years in college she should be able to provide a nice spark to the post room. Grace Knox is highly heralded as one of the best rebounders of the 2025 class, how big will her role be? Physically she has to add weight and adjust to the speed of the game but very versatile and high ceiling?

3. Where is the leadership coming from?
Mulkey and assistant Bob Starkey alluded to this consistently last season, it was a struggle to replace the void and leadership left by Angel Reese after her departure. It did not seem like there was a consistent presence that provided that each week, sure there were spurts where people took on those roles but there didnt seem to be anyone who could provide that consistently last season?

4. How impactful can the freshmen be?
Collectively on paper this is definitely the most talented and deep class Mulkey has had on paper since her 2018 signing class (Smith, Egbo, Decosta, etc). There is a lot of talent, will Mulkey allow some of them to work through freshmen mistakes and evolve into key contributors? Mulkey let Williams, Flaujae, Sa'myah Smith play big roles as freshmen. The 2023 class were not given that opportunity completely although with time its looking more and more like that class was a bust purely from a talent evaluation standpoint outside of Williams. LSU has not had quality bench production in general in a while, so while this group will be much younger and inexperienced, their potential is high to provider scoring and a punch off the bench when starters get tired. To me this has been a issue for LSU the last two years, starters getting too overworked and the fatigue impacted many of their starters

 

[temery]

Lets try to keep the thread civil as it seems most LSU threads end up turning into doom/gloom, coaches suck, players/locker room is cancerous etc (lots of trolling)

The team is coming off an elite 8 after losing Hailey Van Lith/Angel Reese and really didnt add anything of substance from HS or portal ranks last offseason. this season came with its share of losses to portal and graduation but have a lot of interesting new pieces

Adding 3 transfers (Koval, Fulwiley, Joyner) and #1 Freshmen Class (Knox, Zakiyah, Bourrage, Hines, and Yarnevich

Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Malaysia Fulwiley- 5'10 Guard
2. Flaujae Johnson- 5'11 Guard
3. Mikaylah Williams- 6'0 Wing
4. Amiya Joyner- 6'3 Forward
5. Kate Koval -6'5 Center

Bench:
Kailyn Gilbert 5'8- Guard
Jada Richard- 5'7 Point Guard
Grace Knox- 6'2 Forward (#7 ESPNW)
Zakiyah Johnson- 6'0 Guard (#10 ESPNW)
Divine Bourrage- 6'0 Point Guard (#24 ESPNW)
Bella Hines- 5'10 Guard (#32 ESPW)
Meghan Yarnevich- 6'2 Forward (Unranked)
Izzy Besselman- Walk On Guard

Top questions Questions:

1. How will PG play play out?
Will we see a rehash of Hailey Van Lith? Or will Fulwiley take on a role similar to Morris in which she is more of a scorer than being a facilitator purely. To me this is why some of the Hailey Van Lith experiment failed, she took a backseat to everyone else and never could find a rhythm on that 2024 LSU team and you saw her confidence tank and it reflected on the court. Jada Richard was heralded by Mulkey and is a PG she has been working with in detail for a while. She is clearly an explosive offensive play maker but her defense is a big reason why she struggled to get consistent minutes in year one. Can Divine Bourrage assert herself for minutes at the PG spot? The talent, size, versatility Is there...

2. How will post play evolve?
Losing Morrow was a significant loss and she isn't replaceable to me but that isn't to say the new faces can't have success and do well. Koval showed flashes at a freshmen especially with her rim protection and at times on the boards but she will need to settle in more offensively. The potential is sky high, will we see a sophomore in year 2 for her? She has arrived at LSU early so maybe a full summer of training could help with this. Joyner to me was nice addition as its the type of bigs Kim used to have at Baylor, big, physical and versatile. The adjustment of coming into the SEC is a question but based on her performances vs P4 her first 3 years in college she should be able to provide a nice spark to the post room. Grace Knox is highly heralded as one of the best rebounders of the 2025 class, how big will her role be? Physically she has to add weight and adjust to the speed of the game but very versatile and high ceiling?

3. Where is the leadership coming from?
Mulkey and assistant Bob Starkey alluded to this consistently last season, it was a struggle to replace the void and leadership left by Angel Reese after her departure. It did not seem like there was a consistent presence that provided that each week, sure there were spurts where people took on those roles but there didnt seem to be anyone who could provide that consistently last season?

4. How impactful can the freshmen be?
Collectively on paper this is definitely the most talented and deep class Mulkey has had on paper since her 2018 signing class (Smith, Egbo, Decosta, etc). There is a lot of talent, will Mulkey allow some of them to work through freshmen mistakes and evolve into key contributors? Mulkey let Williams, Flaujae, Sa'myah Smith play big roles as freshmen. The 2023 class were not given that opportunity completely although with time its looking more and more like that class was a bust purely from a talent evaluation standpoint outside of Williams. LSU has not had quality bench production in general in a while, so while this group will be much younger and inexperienced, their potential is high to provider scoring and a punch off the bench when starters get tired. To me this has been a issue for LSU the last two years, starters getting too overworked and the fatigue impacted many of their starters

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[Baller29]

The problem with LSU is while they have some talent, they have no PG, the quality of the bigs at least right now is in the bottom third of the league and still have zero bench

On paper this may be mulkey worst roster. Ever since 2023 they have legit avoided constructing a roster that fits needs. The HS talent evaluation has been dreadful unless this class is better. I’m high on Knox and Zakiyah but mulkey refuses to let her freshmen play significant minutes which is why they continue to have a heavy turnover rate

And unless mulkey has a superior roster she isn’t going to out scheme or coach you which is why at this time I have them below SC, TX, OU, TN, Ole Miss and KY who have better situations going into next season

 

[JellyBean]

LSU should be exciting to watch again as always. The play of the players, incoming and returning, is going to be a huge factor for the progress of the program. I can't wait to see how it all plays out this season.

 

[Bone Dog]

Flau’jae and Mikayla are substantial talents and likely first round draft picks. Milaysia could be interesting, though she often taketh away as much as she giveth. It’s up to Kim to figure out how to get the best out of her. Koval is a strong, slowfooted rebounder and rim protector. As long as Kim doesn’t need her to be quick or to run the floor much she’ll be an asset. Better at least than Rosario was. I don’t know what to make of Joyner. She was a rebounder and a decent scorer at East Carolina, but I don’t know how that will translate into the SEC.

 

[Baller29]

Flau’jae and Mikayla are substantial talents and likely first round draft picks. Milaysia could be interesting, though she often taketh away as much as she giveth. It’s up to Kim to figure out how to get the best out of her. Koval is a strong, slowfooted rebounder and rim protector. As long as Kim doesn’t need her to be quick or to run the floor much she’ll be an asset. Better at least than Rosario was. I don’t know what to make of Joyner. She was a rebounder and a decent scorer at East Carolina, but I don’t know how that will translate into the SEC.

The team is gonna be much worse this season

 

[CajunHusk94]

Flau’jae and Mikayla are substantial talents and likely first round draft picks. Milaysia could be interesting, though she often taketh away as much as she giveth. It’s up to Kim to figure out how to get the best out of her. Koval is a strong, slowfooted rebounder and rim protector. As long as Kim doesn’t need her to be quick or to run the floor much she’ll be an asset. Better at least than Rosario was. I don’t know what to make of Joyner. She was a rebounder and a decent scorer at East Carolina, but I don’t know how that will translate into the SEC.

Joyner seems more like a traditional big that Kim had at Baylor than some of the other ones they had recruited recently. If you look at her performances vs P5 schools over her 3 years there she did well. Now we will have to see how that looks consistently across SEC teams every week come conference playIf I recall I think she was a former top 100 player out of HS before choosing ECU. I think shell be a nice glue player. She has a big physical body with some size



As amazing as Morrow was Smith and Morrow got worked badly on defense consistently last season by any decent/bigger post player, so they'll have a bit more size this season. 6'2 and 6'1 was the post size of LSUs starters last season.

As fas as Koval, I'm sure LSU still gonna try to run. No different than when Mulkey had Kalani Brown, etc.

I actually think the freshmen gonna play a bigger role than some think, I think specifically Zakiyah Johnson and Grace Knox.

 

[sivad40]

The problem with LSU is while they have some talent, they have no PG, the quality of the bigs at least right now is in the bottom third of the league and still have zero bench

On paper this may be mulkey worst roster. Ever since 2023 they have legit avoided constructing a roster that fits needs. The HS talent evaluation has been dreadful unless this class is better. I’m high on Knox and Zakiyah but mulkey refuses to let her freshmen play significant minutes which is why they continue to have a heavy turnover rate

And unless mulkey has a superior roster she isn’t going to out scheme or coach you which is why at this time I have them below SC, TX, OU, TN, Ole Miss and KY who have better situations going into next season

I'm almost willing to bet you $100 that LSU finishes higher than 7th place but the conference schedules hasnt been revealed yet. I had heard that LSU has home and away games with Texas but I will wait and see until the schedules are revealed.

 

[Geew1992]

The problem with LSU is while they have some talent, they have no PG, the quality of the bigs at least right now is in the bottom third of the league and still have zero bench

On paper this may be mulkey worst roster. Ever since 2023 they have legit avoided constructing a roster that fits needs. The HS talent evaluation has been dreadful unless this class is better. I’m high on Knox and Zakiyah but mulkey refuses to let her freshmen play significant minutes which is why they continue to have a heavy turnover rate

And unless mulkey has a superior roster she isn’t going to out scheme or coach you which is why at this time I have them below SC, TX, OU, TN, Ole Miss and KY who have better situations going into next season

****or develop

 

[Baller29]

****or develop

Mulkey isn’t a good coach.

She isn’t on the level of Dawn, Vic, Caldwell jenny, and brooks from an X/O and development standpoint. It’s only about talent

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Mulkey isn’t a good coach.

She isn’t on the level of Dawn, Vic, Caldwell jenny, and brooks from an X/O and development standpoint. It’s only about talent

In the end, it is results that count, just saying.

On a separate note, I watched a pro softball game being played in Louisiana and Kim Mulkey was interviewed for a half inning. Connections to softball as a former player and through her daughter. In any case, I keep wanting to dislike her, or at least feel I should dislike her, but she said all the right things.

 

[visitingcock]

Mulkey isn’t a good coach.

She isn’t on the level of Dawn, Vic, Caldwell jenny, and brooks from an X/O and development standpoint. It’s only about talent

She has the third most championships of any coach in NCAA history. Imagine how many she would have if she could coach!

 

[CajunHusk94]

In the end, it is results that count, just saying.

On a separate note, I watched a pro softball game being played in Louisiana and Kim Mulkey was interviewed for a half inning. Connections to softball as a former player and through her daughter. In any case, I keep wanting to dislike her, or at least feel I should dislike her, but she said all the right things.

I mean Mulkey hasn't recreated teams as good as her Baylor ones IMO but they have been pretty good.

Took over a program that had been dead for a bit and has lead them to a natty (first in MBB/WBB history at LSU) and two elite 8s in the last three seasons. Obviously they are doing something right.

And Mulkey never made the final four consistently at Baylor every year. She generally always had her teams in the elite 8 area and would put the magic touches and win it every so often. She is doing that exactly at LSU so far...

 

[Baller29]

It’s MS college but I definitely came away impressed with the freshmen class LSU has but specifically Zakiyah

Jada starting over Lay at PG was interesting. Jada looks like she developed significantly in a single Off-season. Looks like a completely different player

 

[visitingcock]

It’s MS college but I definitely came away impressed with the freshmen class LSU has but specifically Zakiyah

Jada starting over Lay at PG was interesting. Jada looks like she developed significantly in a single Off-season. Looks like a completely different player

What was the starting 5?

 

[Baller29]

What was the starting 5?

Koval, Joyner, Flaujae, Williams and Jada.

 

[visitingcock]

I mean Mulkey hasn't recreated teams as good as her Baylor ones IMO but they have been pretty good.

Took over a program that had been dead for a bit and has lead them to a natty (first in MBB/WBB history at LSU) and two elite 8s in the last three seasons. Obviously they are doing something right.

And Mulkey never made the final four consistently at Baylor every year. She generally always had her teams in the elite 8 area and would put the magic touches and win it every so often. She is doing that exactly at LSU so far...

True, she didn't make many final fours, BUT she has a 100% winning percentage when she does make it, Four Final fours produced four NCs

 

[Bone Dog]

It’s MS college but I definitely came away impressed with the freshmen class LSU has but specifically Zakiyah

Jada starting over Lay at PG was interesting. Jada looks like she developed significantly in a single Off-season. Looks like a completely different player

I thought Koval looked really good in the highlights I saw. She was moving well and had good hands. Joyner looked good too.

 

[Baller29]

I thought Koval looked really good in the highlights I saw. She was moving well and had good hands. Joyner looked good too.

Much bigger bodies than Samayah and morrow. I think that’s a plus defensively although none of them will be morrow on the boards

Excited basketball is back. I wanted to watch Texas yesterday too but for some reason it wasn’t streamed

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Morrow graded out extremely well as a defender in all ratings.

I'm sure that Koval might be a better defender than what they played in the post last year.

 

[SCGamecock]

I thought LSU looked pretty good overall. I’m aware of the opponent.

They have a plethora of guards and how Mulkey chooses to use them will be a storyline all season. I’ve already seen one storyline in particular already consuming the conversation on Twitter.

As far as front court, I actually think Joyner is a great get for them. She has had to bang versus the SEC for awhile and I’ve always thought she could play at the P5 level. They have no post depth, so if things get dicey with foul trouble they’ll be playing handicapped a lot this season. Had Koval not transferred they’d be in a world of pain. They’ll be playing a lot of 4-out lineups this year, which is always interesting in the SEC (see schools like Missouri/Arkansas except more physical).

Z. Johnson, the freshman, while young, looks like their next superstar. Shes a guard but can play 1-4 against most teams that don’t have a Joyce Edwards/A’ja Wilson elite type at forward.

 

[mudcat]

The team is gonna be much worse this season

I disagree, but will admit they may be lower in the SEC standings simply because OK, TN, MS St, and Vandy project to be better than they were last year.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I thought LSU looked pretty good overall. I’m aware of the opponent.

They have a plethora of guards and how Mulkey chooses to use them will be a storyline all season. I’ve already seen one storyline in particular already consuming the conversation on Twitter.

As far as front court, I actually think Joyner is a great get for them. She has had to bang versus the SEC for awhile and I’ve always thought she could play at the P5 level. They have no post depth, so if things get dicey with foul trouble they’ll be playing handicapped a lot this season. Had Koval not transferred they’d be in a world of pain. They’ll be playing a lot of 4-out lineups this year, which is always interesting in the SEC (see schools like Missouri/Arkansas except more physical).

Z. Johnson, the freshman, while young, looks like their next superstar. Shes a guard but can play 1-4 against most teams that don’t have a Joyce Edwards/A’ja Wilson elite type at forward.

While Joyner may be good there with be a dropoff from Morrow who the ratings say was great.

Obviously the guards are deep and good.

 

[CajunHusk94]

Looks like Lay was used on and off the ball (50% each).

Z is gonna be a good one it looks like. Mulkey compared her game to Nina Davis a bit being undersized but being an incredible scorer and rebounder inside for someone her size but says she will go back to the perimeter (wing spot) after this season only because depth inside isn't great and is trying to find her minutes this season.

I'm high on Bella Hines, I hope Mulkey lets her get her opportunities but there are a lot of very talented guards to feed. Of all the freshmen, despite being the lowest rated recruit I think she has one of the highest upsides.

Koval/Joyner are not gonna replace morrow scoring or rebounding wise but I do think their size and being a strong physical body inside will have its perks defensively which LSU did not have last season. I believe LSU was among the bottom part of the SEC last season in regards to 2 point defense (much of it was interior players getting handled inside)

Also want to say Jada really looks confident, looks like a completely different player. Seems like she developed a lot in this past offseason

Won't know much about this LSU team until Duke but this appears to probably been Mulkey's deepest team depth wise at LSU outside of depth at the 5. Sucks their OOC isn't better because this looks like it'll be a fun group to watch. Mulkey will definitely have some headaches trying to figure out how to keep everyone happy with PT but given how weak the OOC is everyone should play a bit.

Happy college basketball is back

 

[YoDore]

I'm high on Bella Hines, I hope Mulkey lets her get her opportunities but there are a lot of very talented guards to feed. Of all the freshmen, despite being the lowest rated recruit I think she has one of the highest upsides.

Hines can flat out score. In all honesty, I hated to see her go to LSU simply because I was afraid she could get lost in the shuffle of all the guard talent the Tigers have. She's not quite the physical specimen of some of those ladies, but she can score in bunches.