There’s a new face wearing No. 00 for South Carolina women’s basketball
The South Carolina women’s basketball team will have four new faces when the Gamecocks take the court again for the first time in an exhibition game in October.
Dawn Staley brought in two high-profile players from the transfer portal in Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson and Mississippi State transfer Madina Okot. She also added two five-star true freshmen to the roster in Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer.
Those four “new birdies” had their jersey numbers unveiled by USC on social media Tuesday morning. Here’s who will be sporting which number, along with a bit of history about each jersey:
Ta’Niya Latson: No. 00
Latson will be wearing the double-zero jersey for the Gamecocks, just like she did in the last three seasons at Florida State.
She’s the first Gamecock to wear No. 00 in over 20 years. The last to do so was Petra Ujhelyi from 2000 to 2003. Latson will be the third player in program history to wear the number for South Carolina.
Latson comes to South Carolina after a prolific three years with the Seminoles. She was a three-time All-ACC player who earned All-American honors last season after leading college basketball in scoring with 25.2 points per game.
Madina Okot: No. 11
Okot will be wearing the No. 11 jersey for South Carolina this season. Okot is switching things up after wearing No. 15 at Mississippi State last season.
She is the first to wear No. 11 at South Carolina since Talaysia Cooper did so in her one season with the Gamecocks in 2023. Okot is the 11th player in program history to wear No. 11.
Okot comes to South Carolina after a stellar season with Mississippi State last year. She averaged 11.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Her field goal percentage of 64.9% led the SEC.
Ayla McDowell: No. 24
McDowell will be wearing the No. 24 jersey for the Gamecocks this season. McDowell wore No. 2 in high school at Cypress Springs and No. 5 with the Brazilian National Team but wore No. 24 in AAU ball.
She’ll be the first to wear No. 24 for South Carolina since Sahnya Jah did in her lone season with the Gamecocks in 2024. McDowell is the 15th player in program history to wear No. 24 for USC.
McDowell signed with South Carolina back in October. She ended her high school career as a five-star wing ranked No. 15 in the class of 2025 by ESPN. McDowell was a McDonald’s All-American.
Agot Makeer: No. 44
Makeer will wear the No. 44 jersey for South Carolina. Makeer wore No. 1 at Crestwood Prep before wearing No. 11 at Montverde Academy. She also wore No. 1 in AAU and for the Canadian National Team.
Makeer is the first to wear No. 44 for the Gamecocks in nearly a decade. The last player to wear the number for South Carolina was India Farmer in 2016. Makeer is the seventh player to wear No. 44 in program history.
Makeer signed with South Carolina in April. She comes to Columbia as a five-star wing ranked No. 6 in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Makeer, like McDowell, was a McDonald’s All-American.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 9:23 AM.
