Chloe Kitts: “We never have doubts because our Coach doesn’t have doubts.”

Dawn Staley, South Carolina prepare for season without Chloe Kitts: ‘We’re unafraid’

South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) shoots against Florida forward Eriny Kindred during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A day after Chloe Kitts announced her season-ending ACL tear on social media, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley took the podium at SEC basketball media days and said her plan was simple: It will be business as usual for the second-ranked Gamecocks.

Staley traveled to Birmingham with sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, senior guard Ta’Niya Latson and Kitts’ media days replacement, junior guard Tessa Johnson. Their job this season?

“I just really need them to be themselves. Chloe is irreplaceable for what she brings so tangibly and intangibly,” Staley said Tuesday. “All the players on our roster, with the exception of our two transfers and our freshman, they know what it’s about.”

With or without Kitts, the Gamecocks were already facing significant turnover this year. Six letterwinners departed in the offseason, three of them starters who were selected in the 2025 WNBA draft.

The team is well prepared, welcoming two top freshman, Agot Makker and Ayla McDowell. Staley looked to the transfer portal and landed Florida State’s Latson, the NCAA’s leading scorer at 25.2 per game a year ago, and Mississippi State’s Madina Okot, last season’s SEC leader in shot percentage.

That’s not to say Staley doesn’t have confidence in her returning players.

“Maryam (Dauda) is playing extremely well,” Staley said. “Adhel (Tac) is playing much improved. Joyce is Joyce. Joyce is probably going to take the brunt of it because she’s just got more playing experience under us.”

The Gamecocks finished the 2024-2025 season with a 35-4 record and a 82-59 loss to UConn in the NCAA championship game. Edwards led the team in points (494), averaging 12.7 points per game, the second-most by a freshman in program history.

Edwards may take the brunt of it, but she understands that the responsibility to replace an irreplaceable player falls on everyone.

“It puts more pressure on the team,” Edwards said. “She contributes something that everybody will have to contribute individually. So as a team, you have to come together collectively and fill the gap that she normally fills.”

Even without Kitts, the 2025 SEC tournament MVP, Staley insists her team won’t show sign of weakness.

“We’re unafraid to go into the season without Chloe,” Staley said. “You’re not going to see us skipping a beat. Our players know anytime we sustain any kind of injury, we believe in the system that we put together. We believe in the players that we assembled.”