The latest on Raven Johnson’s future with South Carolina women’s basketball
Raven Johnson stood in the center of Colonial Life Arena surrounded by loved ones.
A special Senior Day video, narrated by her mother, had just finished playing, prompting South Carolina fans to drown the arena Sunday afternoon in applause for Johnson.
Then came the chants.
“One more year! One more year! One more year!”
In the moment, Johnson looked a bit flustered by the chants. After the game, she said those words filled her with joy.
“Classy touch by the fams,” Dawn Staley said through a grin.
Although she was honored during Senior Day festivities, Johnson is technically a redshirt junior since she missed all but two games of her freshman year with an injury. Johnson could decide to enter the WNBA Draft after the season concludes, but she could also come back to USC for another year if she so chooses.
After the game, Johnson said she’s still undecided on her future.
“You never know,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Staley emphasized that Johnson has yet to make a decision and said it’s Johnson’s alone to make.
“For me, it’s a personal choice,” Staley said. “So I’m not going to to push her either way. I’m just going to let her and her family decide what they want to do.”
That being said, Staley would love to have Johnson back another year. Johnson is a key part of one of the winningest classes in South Carolina women’s basketball program history. Johnson has been a cornerstone of the Gamecocks’ last two national title wins.
In her last 64 games over two seasons, she has averaged 6.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and four assists.
“Obviously, Raven makes us a better basketball team,” Staley said. “Raven is a winner. She comes back, it increases her chances of winning a lot more basketball games. If she doesn’t, I’m sure the WNBA will welcome her. Probably not as well as we would if she came back.
“But Raven is going to be a pro whether coming out this year or coming out next year. We’re going to let her and her family decide which way she wants to go.”
Sakima Walker, like Johnson, also has the opportunity to come back for another season with the Gamecocks. Walker started her career at Rutgers in 2020-2021 and was there for two seasons before transferring to a junior college for the 2022-23 season. Walker transferred to South Carolina last season, making this her fifth year of college basketball.
Walker could play next year after the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for former JUCO players out of eligibility this year to be eligible for the in the 2025-26 school year.
Regardless of whether Johnson or Walker come back, Staley hopes their decisions are made soon.
“Hopefully they’ll make a decision in a timely fashion in that we’ll know what we need when the transfer portal opens up and we can concentrate on that,” Staley. “There’s room for both of them to return, but we’re gonna let them decide on their own accord. I’m not gonna pressure them to do it. It’s just that if they come back and we’ve already been in the portal, we’re just gonna have a lot more on the roster than probably we would like.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2025 at 6:37 PM.
