Budding star: Agot Makeer showed high ceiling in freshman year with South Carolina
Dawn Staley has developed her fair share of star players during her 18 years at South Carolina.
The most recognizable names have typically been post players — think A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston and Kamillla Cardoso — but there have been no shortage of talented guards, either.
Players like Tiffany Mitchell, Allisha Gray, Tyasha Harris, Zia Cooke and Raven Johnson have all excelled at South Carolina before finding their way to the pros.
It’s still very early in her career, but Agot Makeer showed flashes during her freshman campaign that begged the question: Could she be one of South Carolina’s next star guards?
Her teammates certainly think so.
“She’s just getting started…I know that she’s going to be arguably one of the best players in college basketball,” USC guard Ayla McDowell told The State.
Makeer puts together solid regular season
The Thunder Bay, Ontario native came to South Carolina as a five-star prospect who’d earned McDonald’s All-American honors and was ranked No. 6 in the class of 2025 by ESPN.
Those rankings and accolades came with high expectations but Makeer, alongside fellow freshman in McDowel, impressed her coaches and teammates with their preseason work.
Makeer spent most of the beginning of the season (and most of the season, for that matter) coming off the bench for the Gamecocks. She averaged about 16 minutes of action in her first eight games of the year. The injury bug got to Makeer midway through non-conference play and she missed most of December in concussion protocol, but returned with a double-double against Providence just before SEC play.
“I feel like at the start of the season I struggled to get in rhythm a little bit,” Makeer said in December. “Then being out for the last five games, I saw a different perspective from the sideline. Sitting next to Chloe (Kitts), still getting confidence from coaches and stuff helped a lot. Once I got up there, I just knew it would come eventually.”
Her return came at the perfect time. When Ta’Niya Latson went down with an injury, Makeer was called on to fill her spot in the starting lineup. Makeer started in the first three SEC games of the season for the Gamecocks and averaged 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and two assists.
Makeer made three more starts in the regular season for South Carolina. She was moved into the starting five twice after Madina Okot was sent to the bench for a few games in conference play. The freshman also started in South Carolina’s final home game of the regular season.
In all, Makeer averaged 5.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 17.3 minutes per appearance in the 23 regular season games she played in. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but it doesn’t take away from the fact Makeer consistently provided a boost on both sides of the ball when she touched the court.
Makeer shines in postseason
Makeer was South Carolina’s “X-Factor” off the bench during the postseason.
In the NCAA Tournament, Makeer was regularly one of the first Gamecocks off the bench and had her minutes per game increase to 27. With more playing time came more opportunities for production; her scoring increased to 14 points per game during March Madness.
“I feel like everybody really sees how she blossomed,” USC star forward Joyce Edwards said. “I can’t wait to play with her next year.”
Makeer had the best game of her young career in the Elite Eight. She scored a career-high 18 points and totaled four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 78-52 win over TCU.
The Elite Eight performance landed her on the NCAA Tournament All-Regional team and felt like somewhat of a coming out party for the budding star.
“I’ve been saying, ‘Gotti’ is the X-factor of this team,” Johnson said after the game. “She’s a silent killer. She’s not afraid, she’s not afraid of nobody. I think her confidence is through the roof through the March Madness tournament like it’s showing.”
Makeer’s freshman year came to an end in the national title game after South Carolina’s loss to UCLA. She tallied 11 points and two rebounds in the loss.
After the game, Makeer fought through tears answering questions from the media. When asked how she carries the momentum from her successful postseason into her sophomore year she answered it like a pro: “I don’t really have an option but to.”
“She’s an amazing player, amazing person. She’s only up from here,” McDowell said. “With her, you won’t go back down, you’re gonna only improve your game. I’m very excited for what’s to come and I know she’s gonna keep working for what she wants.”
