The best women’s basketball player remaining in the transfer portal is going to an SEC rival

South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley will join Kim Mulkey and Flau’Jae Johnson at LSU.

The schedules for women’s basketball in the SEC won’t be released for a few more months, but when they come out folks will want to circle one matchup that just got a whole lot more interesting: South Carolina at LSU.

It’s difficult to call this series a true rivalry because the Gamecocks have 17 consecutive wins over the Tigers. However, since Kim Mulkey arrived in Baton Rouge in 2021, these two programs have been the very best in the SEC — arguably the best conference in women’s college basketball. And when the two teams meet, it typically draws a big audience for the sport. This past season — even though the game tipped off at the unconventional time of 5 p.m. ET on a Friday due to bad weather — a peak viewership of 1.1 million fans tuned in, making it one of the five most-watched regular season games across all networks.

The two sides also met in a memorable 2024 SEC Tournament final. And MiLaysia Fulwiley was a big reason why the Gamecocks won as she scored 24 points and took home tournament MVP honors.

But Fulwiley has traded in her Garnet-and-Black for Purple-and-Gold.

Indeed, she’ll be playing for the other side of this rivalry next season, adding another storyline to an already highly anticipated matchup.

Fulwiley announced Friday afternoon that she had committed to LSU after spending about two weeks in the transfer portal. The rising junior guard will partner with Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams in what will seemingly be a starting lineup featuring at least three guards next season.

“She’s bringing her incredible playmaking ability to Baton Rouge, standing out as one of the most electrifying talents in college basketball,” Mulkey said in a statement. “Her ability to impact winning has been clear throughout her career.”

For the past two seasons at South Carolina, the 5-foot-10 native of Columbia has shown flashes of her otherworldly athleticism and superb talents. With her swagger, creativeness and head-turning abilities, it became clear that she has the potential to be one of the sport’s stars. Under Armour and Red Bull thought so, as they signed her to NIL deals.

However, Fulwiley’s development seemed to stall under Dawn Staley as a sophomore. She played just .5 minutes more per game and never started this past season and many of her stats — from her 3-point shooting percentage to her PER to her assist-turnover ratio — worsened as a sophomore. Still, there were times where Staley turned the keys of the team over to Fulwiley in crucial games and the electric guard powered the Gamecocks to victories. Notably, she had 23 points and five rebounds in a four-point win over Maryland in the Sweet 16.

The lack of growth in a role and playing time for Fulwiley led to chatter amongst fans and media members alike who speculated whether or not she might enter the transfer portal. Those whispers turned into full-throated yells after South Carolina landed Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson — who plays the same position as Fulwiley — through the portal and after Raven Johnson announced she was returning for another season. Indeed, within a week of Latson signing with the Gamecocks, Fulwiley went into the portal.

Fulwiley entered the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag, a source familiar with her situation told SB Nation, which allowed her control the process and reach out to programs instead of vice-versa. A source also said that LSU was the only program that Fulwiley visited during her time in the portal.

This offseason has been one of change for LSU’s roster after the Tigers fell in the Elite Eight for the second straight season. Aneesah Morrow went off to the WNBA, Shayeann Day-Wilson exhausted her eligibility, and players like Sa’Myah Smith, Jersey Wolfenbarger, Last-Tear Poa and Mjracle Sheppard entered the transfer portal.

But Johnson and Williams are returning, Fulwiley and Notre Dame’s Kate Koval are coming in, and two top 10-ranked recruits by ESPN — Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson — will bolster an LSU roster that expects to contend for the SEC crown and a Final Four berth. LSU is also among the programs being considered by Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, a 6-foot-4 junior forward who was a First Team All-Big Ten selection this season.

Another thing worth mentioning about Fulwiley’s transfer to LSU is that while she can continue her NIL deal with Under Armour’s Curry Brand, she won’t be able to wear her signature “Butta” shoes — the Curry 2 FloTro Low PE that is inspired by her nickname — in games or warmups. That’s because LSU has a contract with Nike to outfit its entire athletic department. Nike has already set the precedent to not budge on this, evidenced by its unwillingness to allow Cooper Flagg to wear New Balance at Duke. Similarly, Johnson has an NIL deal with Puma, but wears Nike during LSU games.

Being at a Nike school would however allow Fulwiley to wear the signature shoes of former South Carolina star A’ja Wilson. Fulwiley suiting up against the Gamecocks in a pair of A’Ones would only add more spice to this rivalry.