The 2026–27 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team will represent the University of South Carolina during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by nineteenth-year head coach Dawn Staley, will play their home games at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina and compete as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2025–26 season 36–4 overall and 15–1 in SEC play, to finish as the conference regular season champions for the fifth straight season. Their only loss came in January, when they were upset on the road 82–94 by No. 16 nationally ranked Oklahoma in overtime.

Entering the SEC tournament as the top seed and the four-time consecutive champions, the Gamecocks earned a double-bye to the quarterfinals, where they easily defeated No. 9 Kentucky. They then moved on to the semifinals, where they defeated No. 4 LSU 83–77 to advance to the title game for the seventh straight year. However, the Gamecocks were stunned as they lost 61–78 to No. 3 Texas, who also defeated them in November in the Player's Era championship game 64–66 to hand South Carolina their first loss of the season.

In the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks were seeded No. 1 in the Sacramento #4 Regional, as well as fourth overall in the field of 68. In the first and second rounds, they routed No. 16 Southern and No. 9 USC to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they took down No. 4 Oklahoma in a rematch of November's game. They won the regional title in the Elite Eight by defeating No. 3 TCU to move on to the Final Four, where they knocked off Fort Worth #1 top seed and undefeated UConn 62–48 in a rematch of last year's national championship, advancing to their third consecutive NCAA title game and ending the Huskies' 54-game win streak. However, they finished as tournament runners-up once again as they lost 51–79 to UCLA in the championship game.

Offseason Departures South Carolina departures Ta'Niya Latson 00 Guard 5'9" Senior Miami, FL Graduated, selected 20th overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2026 WNBA draft Maddy McDaniel 1 Guard 5'9" Sophomore Upper Marlboro, MD Withdrew from South Carolina Madina Okot 11 Center 6'6" Senior Mumias, Kenya Graduated, selected 13th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2026 WNBA draft Raven Johnson 25 Guard 5'9" Senior Atlanta, GA Graduated, selected 10th overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2026 WNBA draft Maryam Dauda 30 Forward 6'4" Senior Bentonville, AR Graduated

Incoming transfers South Carolina incoming transfers Brooke Quarles Daniels 6 Guard 5'7" 5th year Macomb, MI Michigan Jordan Lee 7 Guard 6'0" Junior Stockton, CA Texas

Recruiting class

Roster Years are listed according to the new NCAA age-based eligibility model.

Schedule and results

!colspan=9 style=""| Exhibition

!colspan=9 style=""| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=9 style=""| SEC regular season

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Sources:

References

Footnotes