It's been 63 days since South Carolina outlasted 67 other teams to claim its second National Title, (third time finishing the season as a unanimous #1). Like any sports dynasty, Dawn Staley's program experienced some significant roster changes thus this offseason. With as many McDonald's All-American as Staley has on her bench, there simply was not enough minutes for everyone.

Eniya Russell. Russell, a former McDonald's All-American, scored 53 total points for Carolina in the 2021-2022 season. She had a difficult time carving out a role in the rotation and transferred to SEC rival Kentucky to get more minutes that she likely wouldn't have seen in Columbia next season.

Elysa Wesolek. The Charleston native was a fan favorite throughout her time in Columbia. Wesolek was regulated to mop up minutes during her time with the Garnet and Black logging only 72 total minutes last season. Wesolek will take advantage of her COVID year in Jacksonville with North Florida.

Destiny Littleton. Littleton is traveling back to the west coast to spend her Super Senior year back home in Southern California with the other USC. Littleton wants to attend medical school after her playing days and wanted to go to a school closer to where she was looking to enroll in graduate school. Littleton had a niche in Columbia, especially with Destanni Henderson gone. She would have entered the 2022-2023 season as Dawn's best 3-point shooter and would have likely logged some decent minutes off the bench to bust some zones.

Saniya Rivers. The McDonald's All-American was expected to be a big part of the Carolina program for the next three years, instead, she chose to transfer to NC State to continue her career. Rivers struggled mightily from the field this year shooting 24% and .032 from behind the arch, nonetheless, her athleticism kept her in the lineup. The highlight of her Gamecock career was in the Final Four win over Louisville where she had four assists and two steals.

In addition to the transfers, Destanni Henderson chose to forgo her 5th year of eligibility and enter the WNBA Draft. Lele Grissett also exhausted her eligibility. Dawn Staley also lost her Director of Women's Basketball Operations Cynthia Jordan to Florida. Jordan takes over as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Gators.

Ashlyn Watkins. Dawn Staley only had to travel about five miles from the Colonial Center to Cardinal Newman to land Watkins. The SC Gatorade Player of the Year is ranked as the #12 player in the country by HoopGurlz. Don't expect Watkins to have an impact next season but her freakish athleticism will make her hard to keep off the court. Watkins joined all-time great Candice Parker and current Stanford reserve Fran Belibi as the only females to win the McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Contest.

Talaysia Cooper. It's a nice luxury when your second-highest-rated commitment is also a McDonald’s All-American and 5-star recruit. Dawn only had to travel about an hour from Columbia to land Cooper. The East Clarendon High product will add some more depth to the point guard position.

Kierra Fletcher. Speaking of point guard depth. Fletcher sat out last season for Georgia Tech recovering from a foot injury. She will likely push Raven Johnson for the starting point guard spot. Fletcher shot 36% from 3 during her last season with the Yellow Jackets. Fletcher's last game was an NCAA Tournament loss to the Gamecocks where she scored 16 points and had 7 boards.

Aliyah Boston is back and will probably need to add a wing to her home for all hardware she won this season. Boston was motivated by the Gamecocks' loss to Stanford in the 2020-2021 Final Four, but will she and the rest of the Gamecocks have the same drive after winning a National Title? If Boston wins another one, she has to slide past A'ja Wilson as the best player in program history. The biggest coup of the offseason was convincing Victoria Saxton to return for a 5th season. With Boston, Kamilla Cardoso, Saxton, and Laeticia Amihere back it's a safe bet that Carolina will once again lead the country in rebounding.

In the SEC, the closest contenders will likely continue to be LSU and Tennessee. Don't expect those two programs that are living out of the transfer portal to be serious threats in 2022-2023. UConn and Stanford are likely to be Final Four contenders once again. The Gamecocks should enter the season in a familiar spot, #1 in the polls.