Kim Mulkey, LSU Tigers Enter Season Ranked No. 7 in AP Poll

Flau'Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow earn preseason accolades, Tigers come in as a Top-10 program early.

Feb 22, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey reacts during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Women’s Basketball team will enter the 2024-25 season as the No. 7 team in this year’s preseason AP Poll.

Coach Kim Mulkey enters her fourth season at LSU and returns three starters from last year’s team in Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams. Johnson and Williams were tabbed by the media as Preseason Co-SEC Players of the Year and Williams, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, as a preseason Second Team All-SEC.

The Tigers have two exhibition games on October 24 and October 30, both of which are free for fans to attend in the PMAC. LSU will officially open its season on November 4 at home against Eastern Kentucky.

If both LSU and NC State win their first games in the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week they could meet in a top-10 matchup. NC State goes into the season ranked No. 9.

The SEC has seven teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 7 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 Kentucky and No. 24 Alabama.

The Tigers also return three key players. Last-Tear Poa started 10 games for the Tigers last season and Sa’Myah Smith was a key starter until she suffered a season-ending knee injury in late November last season. Aalyah Del Rosario is also back after earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team last year.

LSU dipped into the transfer portal to add four players with significant experience in Shayeann Day-Wilson, Kailyn Gilbert, Mjracle Sheppard and Jersey Wolfenbarger. Jada Richard, the 2024 Louisiana Player of the Year, is the lone freshman on LSU’s roster.

Preseason Honors for the Tigers, Projected SEC Finish

LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow were selected as Preseason Co-SEC Players of the Year in Monday’s preseason media poll while Mikaylah Williams was on the preseason Second Team All-SEC. LSU was selected to finish third in the league behind South Carolina and Texas.

It was a three-way tie for preseason player of the year as Johnson and Morrow shared the honor with Texas’ Madison Booker. With both Johnson and Morrow, LSU was the only team with multiple players on the preseason First Team All-SEC. The preseason poll consisted of votes from a panel of both SEC and national media members.

Kim Mulkey enters her fourth season at LSU. Johnson, Morrow and Williams are all starters who return from last year’s team that went to the Elite Eight. In addition to those three, LSU returns Last-Tear Poa and Sa’Myah Smith who both have starting experience at LSU too. The Tigers also brought in four transfers in Shayeann Day-Wilson, Kailyn Gilbert, Mjracle Sheppard and Jersey Wolfenbarger.

Johnson enters her junior season at LSU as one of the top returning guards in the league. She is coming off a sophomore season in which she averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to earn a spot on the Second Team All-SEC. Johnson upped her play throughout the 2024 NCAA Tournament, averaging 20.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in four games as LSU reached the Elite Eight. The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, Johnson was a critical piece as a starter on LSU’s first National Championship team.

Senior Aneesah Morrow is entering her second season at LSU after averaging a double-double last season with 16.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game to earn a spot on the First Team All-SEC. Her 21 double-doubles last year ranked No. 5 nationally. Not only is Morrow and threat scoring and rebounding, but her defensive prowess allowed her to gain 93 steals throughout the season which is tied for the third most in program history. Morrow, a Chicago native, who previously played in her hometown at DePaul enters the season ranked in the top-5 nationally in career scoring (2,178 points) and rebounding (1,229 rebounds) among active players. Morrow will make her return to Chicago on December 19 as LSU is scheduled to play at Illinois-Chicago to allow her to play in front of her hometown fans.

Williams is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year as she will make her return to North Louisiana. Williams put together one of the best freshman seasons in LSU history last year, averaging 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, becoming just the fifth LSU player to rank inside the top-10 in points and assists by a freshman in program history. She scored 20+ points in seven games, including a 42-point performance against Kent State, the most ever recorded by a LSU freshman during the NCAA Era.

2024-25 SEC Preseason Media Poll:

Order of Finish

1. South Carolina
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Ole Miss
6. Alabama
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Florida
10. Vanderbilt
11. Mississippi State
12. Auburn
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. Missouri
16. Arkansas

Preseason Players of the Year

Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU

Aneesah Morrow, LSU

Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason All-SEC First-Team

Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama

Georgia Amoore, Kentucky

Aneesah Morrow, LSU

Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU

Raegan Beers, Oklahoma

Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina

Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason All-SEC Second Team

Mikaylah Williams, LSU

Madison Scott, Ole Miss

Skylar Vann, Oklahoma

Raven Johnson, South Carolina

MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina

Rori Harmon, Texas

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