7 possible landing spots for South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley
The news of MiLaysia Fulwiley’s heading to the transfer portal sent shockwaves through the women’s college basketball world.
Losing a player Dawn Staley called a “generational star” — much less a homegrown one — isn’t something that’s happened in her time at South Carolina.
Nevertheless, the reality of Fulwiley not wearing a garnet-and-black uniform next year is one Gamecock fans will have to come to terms with.
On Monday, On3’s Talia Goodman reported Fulwiley had officially entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag. The tag generally indicates a player already has their next destination in mind, though that’s not always the case.
That being said, let’s project where Fulwiley could be taking her talents for the remainder of her college career.
An Under Armour school
There’s thought that Fulwiley’s next stop will have to be at an Under Armour school because of her apparel deal with Steph Curry’s “Curry Brand.”
Fulwiley became the first collegiate athlete to sign with the Curry Brand in March 2024. She has two of her own custom, player edition Curry Brand sneaker — one of which she unveiled during March Madness.
There’s no telling how much pull, if any, Fulwiley’s deal with Under Armour has on her next destination. These three Under Armour schools make a lot of sense as potential landing spots:
- Maryland: Brenda Freese and the Terrapins are looking for a guard to fill the shoes of Shyanne Sellers. The three-time All-Big 10 player who averaged 14.4 points per game for Maryland will be drafted Monday in the WNBA Draft. Fulwiley could do just that and would work in the backcourt with the Terrapins leading scorer from last year, Kaylene Smilke (17.9 ppg), and transfer commit Yarden Garzon (Indiana).
- Notre Dame: With the loss of Olivia Miles to the portal, Notre Dame could be looking to pair two flashy players in its backcourt with Fulwiley and Hannah Hidalgo. Although it would be interesting to see how two ball dominant guards would function in this hypothetical pairing, there would be no shortage of highlights coming out of South Bend if it happened.
- Auburn: Nothing breathes life into a rebuild like adding a superstar to a roster. The Tigers recently hired Larry Vickers to take over the program and he’ll face an uphill battle in Year One at Auburn next season. A whopping 10 players on Auburn’s roster have entered the portal, per On3’s transfer portal tracker. This seems to be the least likely of the Under Armour options, but going to Auburn would give Fulwiley the chance to stay with the brand, stay in the SEC and be the star player for the Tigers. That all being said, Auburn is only an Under Armour school for a few more months and will be moving to Nike in July 2025. So Auburn just barely makes the cut in the “because of Under Armour” section.
Schools from high school recruitment
Back in November 2022, South Carolina originally beat out Ole Miss, Louisville and Florida for Fulwiley’s talents out of high school.
Almost three years later, two of those finalists seem to have a chance of bringing Fulwiley in this time around.
- Ole Miss: Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has turned Ole Miss around after her first three years with the Rebels. Ole Miss has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons and reached the Sweet 16 this season. Coach Yo has already been active in the portal and earned five commitments from transfers, per On3’s tracker. Fulwiley could be just what Ole Miss needs to take the program to the next level of success. Going to Ole Miss over say, Auburn, feels more likely for Fulwiley. She’d have an immediate impact and would be in a position to play postseason basketball for a program that recruited her hard out of high school.
- Louisville: Jeff Walz has had sustained success in 18 years at the helm of Louisville’s program, missing the NCAA Tournament just twice during his tenure. Fulwiley could be one of, if not the, best players on the roster if she decided to go to Louisville. She’d be playing for a program filled with rich history — not that South Carolina lacks said history — and could be just the player needed to get Louisville back to the Final Four.
Powerhouse programs
These big-name programs, much like South Carolina, have a shot at landing just about any transfer in the country. So it’s not exactly an outlandish thought they could be in the running for Fulwiley’s talents.
- LSU: Kim Mulkey joked after losing to South Carolina in January she’d love to have some of Staley’s former McDonald’s All-Americans who come off the bench. Acquiring Fulwiley would do just that. LSU is returning star guards Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams in 2025-26, so Fulwiley’s fit in the rotation would be interesting. She’d likely play second or third fiddle next season before Johnson departs for the pros, but playing at LSU would give Fulwiley nearly as good of a shot at winning titles as she would have if she stayed in Columbia.
- Southern Cal: The Trojans lost a superstar when Juju Watkins went down with a tore ACL during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The timetable for recovering from such an injury varies, but Watkins not playing at all next season isn’t off the table. Couple Watkins’ injury with the fact Southern Cal lost four guards to the portal and Fulwiley could be the answer to head coach Lindsey Gottlieb’s prayers. Fulwiley could be Southern Cal’s star this upcoming season and then be paired with Watkins when she eventually returns. This hypothetical pairing would make Southern Cal even more of a must-watch basketball team.
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 11:54 AM.
