WBB: SEC Notebook Part 2

It’s not surprising there has been a lot of upheaval with LSU’s roster, although some of the names might be. It took several months for Kim Mulkey to announce her staff, but in the end she brought most of her Baylor staff with her. Only associate head coach Bill Brock did not come to the bayou, and Mulkey promoted from within her staff to replace him. Somewhat surprisingly, Mulkey’s daughter Makenzie Fuller, who was Associate Director of Operations on her Baylor staff, also is not on the LSU staff.

The roster turnover has been almost comical, if understandable. LSU had two different players transfer in and the transfer out over the summer, including former Baylor guard Moon Ursin. Another player entered the transfer portal and then returned. Seven players transferred out. Four signees ended up not enrolling at LSU. Three players transferred in, and here are four signees. The way things are going, between the time I write this and the time you read this, there could be more changes. The important thing for Mulkey is that she was able to convince LSU’s three best players from last year, Khayla Pointer, Faustine Aifuwa, and Jailin Cherry, to stay for a super senior season. All three announced they were returning prior to the coaching change, and so far are still at LSU (Pointer’s aunt is former coach Nikki Fargas, which made her seem especially questionable to return).

LSU has just seven scholarship players for next season, so Mulkey will be able to remake the roster pretty quickly.

Mississippi State

It has been an eventful offseason for the Bulldogs. Nikki McCray-Penson replaced her entire coaching staff (including one assistant who was hired and then departed a month later). Only Director of Operations Ashley Morris and Graduate Assistant Manager Isaiah Fernandez, who both came with McCray from Old Dominion, remain. It certainly seemed like a summer of turmoil in Starkville

Meanwhile, almost half the roster turned over. Six players transferred out, and another six transferred in. McCray also signed three freshmen for the 21st-ranked recruiting class, meaning nine of the 14 players are new. Such a massive makeover can work - South Carolina did it in 2019 - but regardless of the outcome, Mississippi State is definitely McCray’s program now.

Missouri

The Tigers improved last season, although the record didn’t reflect it. They are still trying to recapture the magic of the Sophie Cunningham era but they have added some talented pieces. This season the Tigers add top 50 wing Kiya Dorroh to a talented core that includes forward LaDazhia Williams and guard Aijha Blackwell, who was second team All-SEC last season.

Ole Miss

Ole Miss continued to build positive momentum this summer. Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her staff got new contracts, and Ole Miss continues to make noise on the recruiting trail. The Rebels return almost every important player from last season, and added a freshman and three transfers. The transfers are headlined by Angel Baker, a two-time All-Horizon League selection, and Lashonda Monk, a four time All-AAC selection and two-time defensive player of the year.

Add them to the core of Shakira Austin, Madison Scott, and Snudda Collins, and the Rebels should be in the running for an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Tennessee

It was a productive offseason for the Lady Vols. Kellie Harper signed a contract extension that bumped her pay to about $800,000 per season and gave her three round-trip flights on a private jet. Must be nice.

Harper adjusted her coaching staff, bringing in a pair of accomplished assistants. Samantha Williams was the head coach at Western Kentucky the last two seasons, but resigned to join the Lady Vols. Before that she was a longtime assistant and recruiting coordinator at Louisville and Duke. Joy McCorvey was the associate head coach at Florida State last season, helping guide the Seminoles during Sue Semrau’s leave of absence.

Tennessee lost Rennia Davis to the WNBA, but returns almost everyone else. That includes super senior Keyen Green, who missed most of last season with a leg injury, and Rae Burrell, who was second team All-SEC. Tennessee also adds the 15th-ranked recruiting class, which doesn’t include any obvious stars, but has three top-100 players.

Texas A&M

It was an active summer in the transfer market for Texas A&M, which is pretty normal, but Gary Blair also made changes to his coaching staff, which is not normal. Blair hadn’t made a staff change since 2011 when Vic Schaefer left to take over at Mississippi State. But two assistant coaches joined first year staffs this summer: Amy Wright at Oklahoma, and defensive guru Bob Starkey at Auburn. Blair replaced them with former Marquette and Illinois assistant Vernette Skeete and former Lipscomb head coach Greg Brown.

Blair is always active bringing in transfers, and the Aggies added three transfers. Guard Qadashah Hoppie is a former Big East freshman of the Year, and forward Aaliyah Patty was an Academic All-Big Ten player who can help fill the loss of N’dea Jones. Texas A&M also got Kayla Wells and Destiny Pitts to return for super senior seasons. Alexis Morris and Zaay Gray transferred out, but both played less than ten minutes a game last season.

Vanderbilt

And then there is Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ top three scorers from last season are gone (two transferred). Shea Ralph assembled a staff with ties to Vanderbilt, hoping to recapture some of the success Vanderbilt had under Melanie Balcomb, if not Jim Foster. Brinae Alexander, who averaged 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds during the pandemic-shortened season, will be counted on to shoulder a heavy load. Roughly half the roster has turned over, with five incoming freshmen. It’s going to be a long season, but at least Nashville hosts the SEC Tournament this season.