South Carolina’s Zia Cooke makes it official, declares for WNBA Draft
South Carolina basketball senior Zia Cooke declared for the WNBA Draft on Tuesday evening.
“Thank you to the Fams for selling out arenas, and thank you to the University of South Carolina,” Cooke said in a video posted to social media. “With that being said, the ultimate goal and dream is here. I will be entering my name in the 2023 WNBA Draft.”
Cooke joined Aliyah Boston, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere in declaring for the WNBA Draft. Beal and Amihere announced their decisions earlier Tuesday.
Cooke was South Carolina’s leading scorer this season (15.4 points per game). She finished in the top three for the Gamecocks in points in all four years of her career.
She was a three-time All-SEC selection and was named to an Associated Press All-American team for the first time in March. She averaged 13.5 points per game with 196 made 3-pointers in 137 games as a Gamecock.
CBS Sports’ latest WNBA mock draft has Boston, Beal and Cooke all being selected in the first round. This year’s draft is 7 p.m. Monday on ESPN.
Beal was known as a defensive stopper for South Carolina, and her offensive game made a big jump in the 2022-23 season. She was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention this season and was named to the SEC All-Defensive first team.
Amihere was used in the post, on the wing and at point guard in her time at South Carolina. She mostly played in a sixth-woman role but started games on occasion. She averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 127 appearances as a Gamecock.
Senior guard Olivia Thompson confirmed through a social media post Tuesday that she’s moving on from the program. Thompson told The State in March that she did not intend to use an extra year of eligibility, meaning that all seven of South Carolina’s seniors are gone.
Their departures open up four scholarships for the team. Coach Dawn Staley could opt to fill them this offseason through the transfer portal.
SOUTH CAROLINA 2023-24 ROSTER PROJECTION
Guards
- Talaysia Cooper, sophomore
- Milaysia Fulwiley, freshman
- Bree Hall, junior
- Raven Johnson, redshirt sophomore
- Tessa Johnson, freshman
Fowards
- Sahnya Jah, freshman
- Sania Feagin, junior
- Chloe Kitts, sophomore
- Ashlyn Watkins, sophomore
Centers
- Kamilla Cardoso, senior
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 7:45 PM.
