The LSU Tigers Women’s Basketball Team is bringing in a re-worked roster to the 2025/2026 season with hopes of returning to the Final Four for the first time since they won a championship in Year 2 of the Kim Mulkey era.
With a mixture of elite returning guards, high-profile transfers and top-rated freshmen, here’s a look at the roster that Mulkey will bring into Year 5 and a little bit about the biggest names on it:
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No. 3 Bella Hines
No. 4 Flau’Jae Johnson
No. 6 Divine Bourrage
No. 11 Zakiyah Johnson
No. 12 Mikaylah Williams
No. 14 Izzy Besselman
No. 16 Kailyn Gilbert
No. 23 MiLaysia Fulwiley
No. 30 Jada Richard
This is, undoubtedly, the strength of this Tigers squad. It’s one of the strongest single groups of players in the nation. Flau’Jae Johnson, Fulwiley and Williams could all be the No. 1 options pretty much everywhere. Instead, they will work together to form a great rotation.
Johnson is this team’s leader. Few guards in the country are as talented on both ends of the court. She was a third-team All-American last season and should be in the running for an even higher finish this time around.
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Williams is also primed for another step forward. She was well-rounded as a sophomore, as she improved across the board. Watching her play has been a blast. Some view her as already being WNBA-ready, just a pure, talented basketball player.
Fulwiley will still come off the bench for LSU, like she did with the South Carolina Gamecocks, but here involvement should also go up. She will also be stepping in as a point guard for the first time, which will be a major adjustment.
Richard will also likely feature much more heavily on this team, as she played just 6.8 minutes per night as a freshman. She looked very strong during the team’s exhibition games, active on both sides of the court. Her, Gilbert, Johnson and Williams are the only returning major contributors.
Zakiyah Johnson is the top freshman guard to watch in the fight for minutes. She was a top-10 player in the country and has impressed this offseason. She scored 25 points and grabbed 10 in 22 minutes off the bench during the first exhibition game.
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No. 1 Amiya Joyner
No. 2 Garce Knox
No. 13 Kate Koval
No. 15 Meghan Yarnevich
Joyner and Koval are going to be the starting bigs for the Tigers this season.
Koval averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 18.3 minutes per night as a freshman for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last year. She was an ACC All-Freshman recipient. She is already a very strong paint presence and could be able to anchor the front court this season.
Joyner is a bit more experienced, playing three seasons for the East Carolina Pirates before transferring to LSU. She’s averaged 12.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks for her career. She was a two-time All-AAC player.
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Knox should have the chance to carve out an early role for herself as a freshman, another top-10 freshman along with Johnson.
This is going to be an interesting year for Mulkey to work through the front court as they no longer have the superstar power of Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow to lean on.
