Gamecock basketball transfer Talaysia Cooper picks next college. It’s a top SEC rival
Former Gamecock Talaysia Cooper will play next at Tennessee, she announced Tuesday via Instagram.
Cooper entered the transfer portal in June and was South Carolina’s first transfer of the offseason. At 6-foot, Cooper was ranked the No. 4 guard and No. 18 overall player in the Class of 2022, according to espnW. She attended East Clarendon High School in Turbeville, South Carolina, where she was named a McDonald’s All-American. Cooper was USC’s most prolific transfer since five-star Saniya Rivers left for North Carolina State last year.
Cooper’s move isn’t the first intraconference transfer from South Carolina. Haley Troup left for Missouri in 2017, and Eniya Russell ended up in Kentucky in 2022.
The Gamecocks and Volunteers will play each other twice this season — once in Columbia and once in Knoxville.
Cooper saw little playing time at South Carolina, appearing in 24 out of 37 games. She averaged just over 8.5 minutes per game — which ranked second fewest among USC’s guards (only ahead of Olivia Thompson). Cooper’s average statline consisted of 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Her best showing came in the Gamecocks’ December bout with Texas A&M. She scored a career-high 15 points and logged five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 19 minutes on the court.
As an eighth-grader, Cooper led the East Clarendon Wolverines to their first state championship. She scored more than 3,000 points in her career there and was named the S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021.
South Carolina returns six players from its 2022-23 roster — including center Kamilla Cardoso, guard Raven Johnson and wing Bree Hall. The Gamecocks added five new faces — two via the transfer portal and three true freshmen — who all enrolled at USC in June.
Even with the additions, South Carolina’s roster sits at 11 scholarship athletes, four below the NCAA’s maximum for Division I women’s basketball.
South Carolina roster movement
▪ GONE (8): Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Victaria Saxton, Laeticia Amihere, Olivia Thompson, Kierra Fletcher, Talaysia Cooper
▪ RETURNING (6): Bree Hall, Kamilla Cardoso, Raven Johnson, Ashlyn Watkins, Chloe Kitts, Sania Feagin
▪ TRANSFER ADDITIONS (2): Te-Hina Paopao, Sakima Walker
▪ FRESHMAN ADDITIONS (3): MiLaysia Fulwiley, Sahnya Jah, Tessa Johnson
This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 6:30 PM.
