Latest news with #KimMulkey
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LSU women's basketball lands MiLaysia Fulwiley. Kim Mulkey plucks South Carolina transfer
BATON ROUGE — Kim Mulkey and her staff have done it again. LSU women's basketball makes the biggest splash of the offseason once more, this time landing highly sought after South Carolina junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley out of the transfer portal. Advertisement Fulwiley entered the portal a couple of weeks ago after two seasons at her hometown school where she won a NCAA championship with Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks her freshman season in 2023-24 and played for another title this past season. Despite being one of the biggest names in women's basketball since she showed up on the scene, Fulwiley has never been a full-time starter in her collegiate career, having only started three games at South Carolina and averaging just over 18 minutes per game. MJRACLE SHEPPARD ENTERS PORTAL LSU women's basketball guard Mjracle Sheppard to enter transfer portal AMIYA JOYNER Amiya Joyner transfers to Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball, from East Carolina Advertisement Fulwiley posted 11.7 points per game in both of her seasons in Columbia along with 2.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds. South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley commits to LSU, Kim Mulkey LSU needs a point guard and that's exactly where Fulwiley fits in with this upcoming season's roster in Baton Rouge. Questions have circulated about how LSU was going to keep three ball-dominate players in stars Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, now paired with Fulwiley, all content. As flashy as Fulwiley is with her ability to finish at the rim and her knack to knock down the big outside shot, plenty of her highlights are of her mind-boggling passes she's made to teammates. Advertisement Turnovers have been an issue for Fulwiley with the Gamecocks the past two seasons and that's the part of her game she'll need to clean as she moves into a starter role for the first time. But she's played on the biggest stage multiple times, which LSU will only have Johnson on the team that has played on that level. In 12 NCAA tournament games, Fulwiley averaged 10.8 points and has scored nine points in each of the two national championship games she's played in. For LSU, landing Fulwiley gives them the best transfer portal class in the country for the second time in three seasons. And it fills the biggest need remaining on Mulkey's team heading into next season after bringing in Notre Dame forward transfer Kate Koval and East Carolina forward Amiya Joyner. JERSEY WOLFENBARGER LSU women's basketball forward Jersey Wolfenbarger to enter the transfer portal Advertisement KATE KOVAL LSU women's basketball lands Notre Dame transfer forward Kate Koval Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@ This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball lands South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball add late addition to 2025 class with Meghan Yarnevich
BATON ROUGE – Kim Mulkey and her LSU women's basketball staff have been searching for post depth. They officially landed some more of it Tuesday afternoon. Meghan Yarnevich, a 6-2 center from the class of 2025 who had originally signed with Georgia, has committed to LSU, she announced via her social media pages. Advertisement Her joining the Tigers now brings the team's 2025 class to five players, with four officially signees in Divine guards Divine Bourrage, ZaKiyah Johnson, Bell Hines and combo player Grace Knox. LSU's 2025 signing class already ranked No. 1 in women's basketball before Yarnevich coming on board. From the roster building standpoint, Mulkey needed a big in this class and she gets it late in the recruiting calendar with Yarnevich. LSU LANDS MILAYSIA FULWILEY LSU women's basketball lands MiLaysia Fulwiley. Kim Mulkey plucks South Carolina transfer LSU WBB 2025-26 EARLY OUTLOOK Early outlook for LSU women's basketball in 2025-26; Key returners, biggest portal needs Advertisement The Maryland native had been committed to Georgia for nearly a year and had other offers from Georgia Tech, Pitt, Cal, Georgetown, among others. Yarnevich announced her decommitment from the Bulldogs May 4 via her socials and within a week-and-a-half, she is joining LSU. After losing Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow to the WNBA to last two years as well as Sa'Myah Smith an Aalyah Del Rosario to the transfer portal following the conclusion of this season, depth inside the paint has been at the top of LSU staff's priority list this offseason. The Tigers have signed Notre Dame sophomore transfer forward Kate Koval and East Carolina graduate transfer Amiya Joyner for immediate pieces that project to play and start for LSU. LSU TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER LSU women's basketball transfer portal tracker: Who's in, out for Kim Mulkey Advertisement AMIYA JOYNER TRANSFERS TO LSU Amiya Joyner transfers to Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball, from East Carolina Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@ This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey, LSU add center Meghan Yarnevich to 2025 class
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thoughts About Death Made Kim Mulkey Choose Between Family and Basketball
LSU women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey is entering her fifth season with the Tigers, but she's been a fixture of the sport since 2000, her first season as the Baylor Bears head coach. The three-time AP College Basketball Coach of the Year and four-time national champion as a coach spoke on an episode of "Get Gordon Presents" about her family, faith and true priorities in life. Advertisement "I told the Baylor president at the time, if a decision has to be made between my family and my job, that decision was made a long time ago. I always keep my priorities in line. And I always think, 'When I die and those kids stand at that casket, are they going to look at their mom and go, 'She put her career in front of us"? Or are they going to say, 'She had a great career but she never lost her priorities and her priority was us.' LSU coach Kim Snook-Imagn Images "That's why I always make decisions including Makenzie, including Kramer, now Clay, my son-in-law. ... Everything I do, I make sure it revolves around them." Mulkey coached at Baylor from 2001 to 2021, winning three titles with the Big 12 program. Notably, her Lady Bears team in the 2011-12 season finished 40-0 and won a national championship. By going 40-0, they matched the 2014 UConn team to tie the all-time best record. Advertisement After 21 seasons at Baylor, she left the school to become the head coach at LSU. In her second year in the SEC, she led the Tigers to a national title. LSU is projected to be a top team again next season, ranking No. 5 in ESPN's most recent way-too-early Top 25. They finished last season 31-6 and exited the women's NCAA Tournament during the Elite 8, losing to the eventual tournament runner-ups, the UCLA Bruins. The Tigers will be led in 2025 by Flau'jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and transfer portal addition MiLaysia Fulwiley. Related: Kim Mulkey Makes First Comments After MiLaysia Fulwiley's LSU Transfer Related: 4x WNBA Champion Names Hardest Part About Playing Under Geno Auriemma
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kim Mulkey Makes Major LSU Retirement Statement
Kim Mulkey has firmly cemented her legacy as a legend. Lately, however, she is sounding more like someone weighing the exit than chasing another title. The LSU head coach, who just two years ago led the Tigers to a national title behind a star-studded roster that included Angel Reese, is opening up about what's wearing her down. Advertisement 'I want to educate you in a way where you understand what's going on,' Mulkey said at a recent luncheon, according to The Advocate's Jan Risher. 'LSU takes care of me, OK? Our coaches are well paid, I'm well paid. But this NIL, here's the deal ... .' Mulkey's message went beyond LSU. It was a candid look at the financial reality facing women's basketball as a whole. 'For all of us in athletics, we've got to pull for football, and we've got to pull for men's basketball because the NCAA Tournament is where the men in basketball get the money and we reap it. When we get to the College Football Playoffs, we reap it,' she explained. Even women's basketball powerhouses aren't in the black. Advertisement The South Carolina Gamecocks, for instance, brought in $5.9 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024 — but reported $11.5 million in expenses. 'Even though you win national championships and you get to the tournament, there's no dollar value from TV that they're paying the same way they do for the men,' Mulkey said. Mulkey also opened up about the high cost of recruiting in today's NIL era. When asked what a player like South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley might cost, Mulkey was blunt. 'Some kids can be 400,000. Some kids can be 500 grand,' Mulkey admitted. And then, almost offhandedly, Mulkey revealed what might really be weighing on her. Advertisement As Risher reported, the luncheon wasn't just about raising awareness — it was, in Mulkey's own words, 'to keep me from retiring.' Mulkey is one of the sport's giants. A four-time NCAA Tournament champion at Baylor (three) and LSU (one), she's won 12 Big 12 regular season titles, 11 Big 12 Tournament crowns and coached legends along the way, including Reese, Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims, among many others. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey talks with Angel Hinton-Imagn Images But right now, she's spending less time on sets and zone reads — and more on selling donors on why LSU needs half a million dollars to land elite players. So, no farewell yet — but the weight of the times is clearly being felt. Related: 5-Star College Basketball Recruit Makes Major Kentucky Statement
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Best women's college basketball transfer portal fits: MiLaysia Fulwiley at LSU and more
More than 1,500 Division I women's basketball players entered the portal this season, including nearly 300 power conference players — that's an average of four players per power conference team. With most of the top transfers finding their landing spots, it's time to look again at the landscape of the sport. The best players in the portal had a chance to improve their future team's ceilings, locate a better spot for themselves or receive more NIL money. But from a basketball perspective alone, some of these fits — especially those who seem to be the perfect puzzle piece on some national title and conference title contending teams — were just … chef's kiss. Let's examine five players (in alphabetical order) who seem to be perfect fits at their new programs: MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU 2024-25 stats (at South Carolina): 11.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG (19 minutes per game); 43 percent FG, 26 percent 3-point FG Fulwiley's transfer to LSU makes an already great SEC rivalry that much spicier (Thank you, basketball gods). This fit is pretty dang appealing for other reasons as well. The duo of Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams gave the Tigers a high-octane playmaking backcourt. Adding Fulwiley? Yeesh. Talk about showtime in Baton Rouge. Transition time has slowly ticked upward in Kim Mulkey's four seasons at LSU. Last season, the Tigers spent nearly a quarter of their possessions in transition, and with the addition of Fulwiley to the Johnson-Williams backcourt, I'm assuming that number will go even higher. All three players can create or score in transition, and adding Kate Koval (Notre Dame) as a center who is ready to run the floor gives them a dump-off option in the paint, too. It's a role that Fulwiley, in her limited minutes, played well at South Carolina, as 45 percent of her scoring and 39 percent of her assists came in transition. Fulwiley also gives the Tigers versatility in their pick-and-roll game. They often used high screening actions last season with Aneesah Morrow at the four. If LSU goes small and runs Jada Richard at the point, bumping Fulwiley-Johnson-Williams to the two through four, then Williams becomes the player setting high-ball screens. Though she doesn't have the same inside presence as Morrow, her ability to step out and knock down 3s makes this pick-and-roll option with ballhandlers like Fulwiley or Johnson a fun two-player game. Last season, Williams acted as a ball screener only four times, including twice when she hit 3-pointers. So, LSU can see how this new wrinkle changes its offensive schemes, considering pick-and-rolls and spot-ups were the Tigers' most common possessions in half-court play. With Fulwiley as the ballhandler (and ability to score at all three levels, including — like below — in the midrange) and Williams as the screener (and Johnson off-ball), defenses will be forced into a true p ick-your-poison. Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA 2024-25 stats (at Utah): 19.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG (30 minutes per game); 50.4 percent FG, 44.8 percent 3-point FG At Utah — both under Lynne Roberts (who departed early last season for the vacant L.A. Sparks job) and current coach Gavin Petersen — Kneepkens played in a unique offense that basically ignored the midrange. In fact, Kneepkens has attempted exactly 89 midrange jumpers in her career (roughly eight percent of her total shots). UCLA doesn't skew quite this extreme, but it isn't exactly a midrange-loving team — only 12 percent of its field goal attempts were midrange shots last season. Timea Gardiner was last season's most efficient 3-point shooter, knocking down nearly 40 percent of her attempts, but Kneepkens' 45 percent 3-point shooting (with a 63 percent effective field goal percentage) will give UCLA's offense a secondary counterweight to Lauren Betts in the post, which should benefit both players. Kneepkens is better than almost anyone in the nation on either wing or in the left corner, which will allow the Bruins to set her up to force defenses to shade more to her. That also will open driving lanes for Kiki Rice and provide more space in the paint for Betts. More than one-third of her 3-pointers last season came from catch-and-shoot scenarios, off which she shot 48 percen t, mostly because of her quick release. Because defenses had to respect her elite 3-point shooting, Utah also loved running Kneepkens off high screens. If defenders went under, she could step back and knock down a triple, but she also has the size and ballhandling to attack the basket. (Most of her limited midrange shots also came in these scenarios when she decided to stop and pop.) UCLA fans should be thrilled (and opponents terrified) about the potential of a Kneepkens-Betts two-player game. UCLA didn't need to expand Betts' game outside of the paint, but Bruins coaches say the midrange game is in her wheelhouse. If coach Cori Close can put one of the nation's best 3-point shooters and the nation's best center (with an extended range) into some high two-player situations, it's dangerous. Betts has better size and hands than anyone Kneepkens has played with thus far. Then, consider Rice or Gabriela Jaquez off ball and ready to slash, or Gardiner standing by in the left deep corner (where she shot 44 percent from beyond the arc). I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how opponents will stop this. Let them cook, Cori! Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland 2024-25 stats (at Duke): 10.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 SPG (22 minutes per game); 47.3 percent FG, 30 percent 3-point FG Most players on this list joined more fully-formed teams, but Maryland reloaded almost entirely from the portal once again to replace losses of Shyanne Sellers, Sarah Te Biasu and Christina Dalce to graduation or the WNBA. Okananwa makes it onto this list because coach Brenda Frese has perfected the art of adding multiple key transfers and continuing to chug along. Even with the additions of Yarden Garzon and Gracie Merkle (who both will likely play large roles), Frese can quickly get these transfers to mesh with the returners and one another fairly quickly. To best understand the impact Okananwa can have, look no further than her three-game stretch during Duke's ACC tournament title run last season. She averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game while shooting 65 percent, including a blistering 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. Unlocking Okananwa's offensive potential and giving her a bit more pace to play with is a recipe for expanding her game and getting the Terrapins back into the top third of the Big Ten after losing so much following a Sweet 16 run. I'm particularly excited to see Okananwa as Maryland's best perimeter defender. The Terrapins aren't exactly known for stout defense (Frese would much rather just outscore opponents), but Okananwa best fits into Maryland's identity because of her steal-and-score or steal-and-create abilities. Getting out in transition with Smikle and Garzon provides Maryland a fun transition game. Last season, the Terrapins were one of the Big Ten's best transition teams, shooting 51 percent and scoring nearly a quarter of their points there. Her defensive quickness and understanding of correct defensive positioning should steal a few possessions every game for Maryland. Madina Okot, South Carolina 2024-25 stats (at Mississippi State): 11.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG (23 minutes per game); 65 percent FG The Gamecocks added two impressive players — Okot and Ta'Niya Latson — through the portal. As a go-to scorer and proven ballhandler, Latson's addition is exciting, but I love the prospect of 6-foot-6 Okot elevating South Carolina's chances to win a national title. The Gamecocks' interior defense last season didn't quite meet the standard of the previous few seasons, and some of that can be chalked up to uber-athletic Ashlyn Watkins missing most of the season with an ACL tear. In her absence, Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin did a nice job, but there was a noticeable difference from South Carolina's typical fierce rim-protecting presence when Dawn Staley utilized Kamilla Cardoso and Aliyah Boston. Opp. PPSA = Opponents' points per scoring attempt at the rim Okot is still a bit raw. Despite one season of eligibility remaining, she has played only one season of Division I hoops, after competing her first two seasons of college ball in Kenya. But she has the physical gifts and foundational tools for Staley's staff to mold her into a polished, effective rim protector and interior presence who can clear space on the outside for shooters like Latson, Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson to be as effective as they were during the 2023-24 season when Cardoso roamed the interior. Offensively, Okot moves well and runs the floor nicely for someone of her size, and she'll benefit from playing with multiple skilled, unselfish passers. On a team as deep as South Carolina, Okot won't need to score 20 points per game, but she will need to make open shots. I can't wait to see how Staley's crew uses Okot defensively. She'll be facing some SEC posts for a second season, so she has the knowledge base of her opponents' games, but the Gamecocks' defensive scheme should free her to make even more plays at the rim. Already, she's great at finding her assignment in transition and providing help (as seen below) while recovering to make big plays. Her size offers a change from 6-1 Kitts and 6-3 Joyce Edwards, but it'll be fun to see how the Gamecocks can zero in on getting her into better initial defensive positioning and helping off the ball to create turnovers. Serah Williams, UConn 2024-25 stats (at Wisconsin): 19.2 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.3 BPG (32 minutes per game); 49.3 percent FG The national champs lost Paige Bueckers but return Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong, Ashlynn Shade, KK Arnold … the list goes on. The Huskies also bring in freshman Blanca Quiñonez, a 6-2 Ecuadorian forward who has been playing professionally in Italy for the last four years. She might just be the front-runner for Freshman of the Year. Adding a 6-4 former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year who averaged a double-double last season is a case of the rich getting richer. Williams was perhaps the most sought after player in the portal, but she's a perfect fit on both sides of the ball for the Huskies. She'll bring a consistent inside presence that UConn lacked last season, while also allowing Strong to continue to roam all three levels offensively. Williams spent about half her possessions posting up for Wisconsin last year, and even as the Badgers' focal point, she was still super efficient, scoring 0.92 points per possession off each post up. (By comparison, Kiki Iriafen scored 0.97 points in each post up last season for USC.) Williams seals well and finds good positioning, even when she doesn't get the ball on her first open look, a nd she'll benefit from receiving crisper passes from better passers at UConn. She also could be the Huskies' best pure post defender in a minute, and their best rim protector/shot blocker since Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The Huskies were an exceptionally strong defensive team last season, but against top competition, they could've performed better by limiting paint scoring and keeping opponents off the offensive glass. (They were outrebounded on O-boards during the postseason.). Williams averaged more than seven defensive boards per game. She'll be a much more disciplined, active player in the interior who can log heavy, physical minutes, which will alleviate some of the burden stemming from UConn posts' foul troubles. (Photo of MiLaysia Fulwiley:)
