How a former Gamecocks transfer portal target came up big vs. USC in title game
Gianna Kneepkens has a lot of respect for South Carolina.
That was the case last spring, when Kneepkens entered the transfer portal, heard from coach Dawn Staley and reportedly took a visit to Columbia.
And it was still the case on Sunday, after UCLA — the school Kneepkens wound up choosing instead — routed the Gamecocks 79-51 in the 2026 national championship game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Kneepkens, a Utah transfer, was a big part of the Bruins’ blowout win with 15 points, a team-best three 3-pointers and four assists against South Carolina. In the 26 minutes Kneepkens was on the floor, UCLA outscored the Gamecocks by 41 points.
After helping the Bruins win their first-ever championship, though, Kneepkens had nothing but kind words for an opponent she considered playing for a year ago.
“They’re an incredible program,” Kneepkens said of South Carolina, which was playing in its sixth straight Final Four and third straight national championship game under Staley. “They’re coached well and have fantastic players, so all the respect to them.”
South Carolina’s recruitment of Kneepkens
There’s not much to relitigate about Kneepkens’ brief recruitment with the Gamecocks. Around the time she was visiting South Carolina along with Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA as a graduate transfer, Staley and South Carolina already held transfer commitments from Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot.
Kneepkens, a guard who averaged 19.3 points per game last year for Utah and shot 44.8% on 3-pointers, would’ve been a good plug-and-play prospect anywhere.
But with South Carolina returning most of its roster and already landing two transfers including Latson — one of the nation’s top scorers at Florida State as well as a high school teammate and close friend of USC point guard Raven Johnson — it made sense personnel-wise (and likely financially) for the sides to go separate ways.
After visiting four schools in late April, Kneepkens reportedly narrowed her focus to Oklahoma and UCLA. She committed to coach Cori Close and the Bruins on May 1.
“Yeah, I did (talk to South Carolina),” Kneepkens said. “They recruited me, and I have so much respect for that program and Coach Staley, but I just had to see what was the best fit for me. I’m just grateful to be here at UCLA.”
Kneepkens added that every program she visited had “great, genuine people.”
“So that was super important,” she said. “And then just (UCLA’s) ability and their vision they had for me and how I could have growth as a person and as a player.”
Kneepkens: ‘Respect all around’ between USC, UCLA
That both the Gamecocks and Bruins reached Sunday’s championship game was a nod to how well their transfers fit in alongside established starters.
Latson saw her scoring drop significantly but was still USC’s second-leading scorer at 14.4 points per game and made big plays on big stages in the NCAA Tournament. Okot, a center from Mississippi State, gave South Carolina much-needed size, averaged a double-double and earned WNBA Draft attention.
And Kneepkens meshed admirably with UCLA’s established core of Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez. Her points per game dropped by about seven, but she still averaged 12.8 and shot a team-best 42.9% on 3-pointers.
“Her transition has been so seamless because of how she’s been willing to dive right into the culture of our program, add to it, make us better,” Rice said of Kneepkens.
Kneepkens was on point against the Gamecocks early, scoring seven of her 15 points in the second quarter on perfect 3-3 shooting as UCLA built a 13-point halftime lead.
She finished 5 of 15 from the field but was still the Bruins’ second-leading scorer behind Jaquez (21 points) as UCLA routed South Carolina by 28 points (the third-largest margin of victory ever in a women’s championship game).
But it’s not like she was playing with something to prove against the Gamecocks Sunday. Sometimes, in a world of roster turnover and portal recruiting that often feels more like speed-dating, one place is just a better fit than another.
“Oh no, not at all,” Kneepkens said. “There’s respect all around.”
She added of UCLA’s performance: “Honestly, if it was any team, we would have come in with the same mindset because we just wanted it for each other so bad.”
