Who are this year’s top freshmen in SEC basketball? Ranking the league’s incoming classes.
In the constantly shifting world of college basketball, a strong freshman class — or even just one or two talented recruits — can be enough to remind fans of the excitement of the sport.
Whatever your opinion on subjects like the coaching carousel, the transfer portal, or name, image and likeness, there’s nothing like recruiting to bring people together. And throughout the Southeastern Conference, things are heating up like never before.
As we approach the start of the 2023-24 season, many narratives and questions surrounding SEC women’s basketball hinge upon the success of incoming freshmen. How big a role will Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker play for this new-look Kentucky team? Does LSU’s elite, five-player class mean another national championship for the Tigers? How much does it matter that Tennessee doesn’t have any incoming freshmen at all?
Below is our ranking of the SEC by incoming freshman classes. Individual player rankings are from espnW’s HoopGurlz site for the class of 2023.
This list is the second in a two-part series ranking SEC women’s basketball teams, first by transfer portal classes, and now by freshman classes.
1. LSU
Incoming freshmen: No. 2. Mikaylah Williams, No. 7 Aalyah Del Rosario, No. 44 Angelica Velez, No. 73 Janae Kent.
One thing’s for sure — Williams, Del Rosario, Velez and Kent saw the Tigers as a national championship-caliber program long before most of the country did. Head coach Kim Mulkey has convinced many a star player to commit to her coaching style and process, but this is the sort of quartet that makes even the harshest critics do a double-take. Williams, who for a long time held the top spot in the class rankings, is a guard prospect unlike any other. The two-time Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, 2023 McDonald’s All-American and 2023 Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year can do it all. Del Rosario, an effective post, and Velez, an impressive passer, played together at The Webb (Tenn.) School, and LSU fans will appreciate their chemistry on the court. Kent’s talent is also nothing to scoff at — the Illinois native topped more than 1,000 career points at Oak Forest High School.
2. SOUTH CAROLINA
Incoming freshmen: No. 13 MiLaysia Fulwiley, No. 17 Chloe Kitts*, No. 25 Tessa Johnson, No. 40 Sahnya Jah.
Two years running, head coach Dawn Staley has secured a signature from the top player in the state of South Carolina (No. 12 overall in the class of 2022, Ashlyn Watkins, is now a sophomore with the Gamecocks). Fulwiley’s commitment is a reminder to elite talent around the state that the very best play at South Carolina. Fulwiley can do it all. Dunk? Oh, yeah. Consistently shoot from long-range? Definitely. Defend at a high level? Of course. South Carolina fans aren’t new to a monster signing class, and Fulwiley leads the way. She’ll be joined by Johnson, the next in a long line of great guards out of Minnesota (Paige Bueckers, Gianna Kneepkens), and Jah, a 2023 GEICO National Champion with Montverde (Fla.) Academy.
*Kitts, an early enrollee in the spring, is technically a sophomore with the Gamecocks and does not count toward this ranking. Expect her to have a breakout sophomore campaign this season.
3. ALABAMA
Incoming freshmen: No. 22 Essence Cody, No. 50 Reychel Douglas, No. 87 Naomi Jones.
Head coach Kristy Curry went to work on the recruiting trail to bring in a well-rounded — and talented — freshman class. Cody, a 2023 All-American, led Valdosta (Georgia) High School in multiple statistical categories during her senior season, averaging 16.8 points on 45 percent shooting, 12.1 rebounds and 4.9 blocks per game. At 6-4, she’ll be a necessary anchor in the paint for the Crimson Tide. Douglas is a big guard who comes from a big family of Division I athletes who will add backcourt depth following the exits of leading scorer Brittany Davis and guard Hannah Barber. Curry plucked Jones out of Jackson, Alabama, and, in doing so, got a 6-4 forward who averaged a double-double in her senior season with 12.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game at Jackson High School.
4. TEXAS A&M
Incoming freshmen: No. 35 Kylie Marshall, No. 51 Solè Williams, No. 76 Erica Moon, Vanessa Saidu.
In just her second recruiting cycle with the Aggies, head coach Joni Taylor continued her streak of signing ranked players — star forward Janiah Barker was the No. 3 overall player in the class of 2022, Sydney Bowles was No. 37 and Mya Petticord, now at Rutgers, was No. 81. Taylor’s biggest win of the 2023 cycle? Convincing Marshall to stay “home” for college, as the top-ranked player in the state of Texas averaged 21.2 points and 4.2 rebounds during her senior season at Lake Ridge.
5. ARKANSAS
Incoming freshmen: No. 11 Taliah Scott, No. 61 Jenna Lawrence, Maryn Archer, Cristina Sánchez Cerqueira.
It’s one thing to land Lawrence, who averaged 18.7 points and 7.1 rebounds as a senior with Farmington (Arkansas) High School. It’s a whole other to recruit 2023 McDonald’s All-American and Florida Gatorade Player of the Year Scott to lead your freshman class. As a senior at St. John’s (Florida) Country Day School, Scott averaged 36.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.0 steals. Though it’s unlikely Scott will pop in the same way against SEC competition, she’s definitely not one to count out for SEC Freshman of the Year candidates.
6. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Incoming freshmen: No. 48 Quanirah Montague, No. 54 Jasmine Brown-Hagger, No. 86 Mjracle Sheppard.
Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell’s trio of top-90 ranked freshmen provide depth with which a Bulldogs fan can feel comfortable. Brown-Hagger, the 20th-ranked guard in the class of 2022 and the top player out of Illinois, and Sheppard, a two-time GEICO National Champion with Montverde (Florida) Academy, are strong enough to rely on when JerKaila Jordan or incoming transfers Darrione Rogers and Lauren Park-Lane need a rest. Montague, a 6-6 forward who ranks as a top-three recruit out of New Jersey, will benefit from time spent working with graduate student Jessika Carter.
7. FLORIDA
Incoming freshman: No. 19 Laila Reynolds.
Reynolds, a 6-1 guard out of Prince George’s County, Maryland, joins a slew of veterans; every other player on the Gators’ roster is classified as at least a junior. The 2023 McDonald’s All-American averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for Shabach Christian Academy and helped her team to the GEICO National Championship game.
8. OLE MISS
Incoming freshmen: No. 88 Zakiya Stephenson, No. 99 J’Adore Young, Marija Avlijas, Rhema Collins, Mariyah Noel.
The biggest changes to the Rebels’ roster this season? An increase in depth and a stronger sense of offensive identity. Stephenson is just 5-4, but she had a large hand in Princess Anne (Virginia) High School’s 5A Virginia state championships in 2021 and 2023. The 6-4 Young is the type of player head coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin loves — a gritty force who isn’t afraid to make her presence known. Ole Miss was Young’s sole Power Five offer, but there’s a good chance Coach Yo saw something others may have missed. Though Avlijas is unranked, she was outstanding as a member of the Serbian national team this summer during the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship, averaging 20.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. One of the best European prospects is about to make a lot of noise in Oxford.
9. MISSOURI
Incoming freshmen: No. 53 Grace Slaughter, Hilke Feldrappe, Hannah Linthacum, Lucija Milkovic, Abbey Schreacke.
Missouri had a lot of roster turnover following last season. Head coach Robin Pingeton signed five freshmen from all over the world — whether it be Linthacum, the younger sister of rostered players Micah and Sarah Linthacum, or Feldrappe, a talented forward who’s spent the past three seasons playing for ALBA Berlin in Damen Basketball Bundesliga’s top division. But it’s Slaughter, the 2023 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year, who Tigers fans should expect the most from. Slaughter averaged 27.8 points and 5.8 rebounds at Grain Valley High School last season.
10. VANDERBILT
Incoming freshmen: No. 63 Khamil Pierre, Madison Greene, Bailey Gilmore, Aga Makurat, Aiyana Mitchell.
Though graduate student Jordyn Cambridge and junior Sacha Washington will probably find themselves outnumbered by newcomers on the court, Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph’s five-player freshman signing class — the program’s largest since 2019 — could mean a promising future for the Commodores. Especially if Ralph can manage to keep reeling in players like Pierre, four-star forward and 2023 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year.
11. GEORGIA
Incoming freshman: No. 100 Miyah Verse.
Verse stands alone as head coach Katie Abraham-Henderson’s freshman newcomer, but there’s a lot to appreciate about her game. The four-star forward averaged a double-double in her senior season with Mountain Ridge (Arizona) High School, with 15.6 points on 45 percent shooting and 10.9 rebounds per game.
12. KENTUCKY
Incoming freshmen: Jordy Griggs, Janaé Walker.
Griggs and Walker might not be top-100 prospects in the high school class of 2023, but they became the tallest players on the roster the second they arrived in Lexington. The 6-2 Griggs, a 2023 GEICO National Champion with Montverde (Florida) Academy, was known in high school for being a strong defender and good teammate. The 6-4 Walker was initially committed to Gardner-Webb, but decommitted in April following a coaching change. Her choosing of UK over other finalists Southern California, Syracuse and Wisconsin provides the Wildcats a three-level scorer with high basketball IQ.
13. AUBURN
Incoming freshmen: Yakiya Milton, Savannah Scott, Timya Thurman.
Nobody in the Southeastern Conference has a taller freshman class than Auburn, and the Tigers will need to continue to build depth in the frontcourt to compete with some of the nation’s best posts around the SEC. The 6-4 Milton graduated Mandarin (Florida) High School as the program’s leading blocker and rebounder. Scott is an experienced center, helping Conway (Arkansas) to a 2023 state championship as a senior. Thurman was a dual-sport athlete in basketball and volleyball at Linden (Alabama) High School, and was an Arkansas 1A First Team All-State selection her senior year.
14. TENNESSEE
Incoming freshmen: None.
The Lady Vols did not bring in any newcomers from the high school class of 2023. However, Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper did bring in an impressive four-player transfer class, three of whom — Destinee Wells, Jewel Spear and Avery Strickland — are eligible to suit up this season.
Big Blue Madness
What: UK’s annual celebration of the start of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Sold out
TV: SEC Network
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