Kim Mulkey delivers a firm message regarding the return of an LSU standout amid the hectic transfer portal activity.
The LSU Tigers aimed for a deep run in this year’s women’s NCAA Tournament after securing the third seed in the SEC. However, their journey ended in the Elite Eight, where they fell to the UCLA Bruins with a final score of 72-65.
Following the tournament, LSU lost several key players through the transfer portal, while star forward Aneesah Morrow declared for the WNBA draft and now plays for the Connecticut Sun. Despite this, guard Mikaylah Williams chose to remain with the Tigers.
Head coach Kim Mulkey expressed no hard feelings toward players who transfer but praised Williams for staying loyal to LSU.
“Mikaylah Williams stayed home when she could have gone anywhere in the country,” Mulkey said. “There’s nothing pretentious about Mikaylah… She loves her home state.”
Williams, who grew up around Shreveport, Louisiana, excelled in basketball, softball, and track and field at Parkway High School. She received basketball offers from schools like Duke, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss but decided to stay close to home by committing to LSU.
Williams has emerged as a rising star for the Tigers, averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game this past season, while shooting 46.5% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. The year before, she earned the title of SEC Freshman of the Year.
She is projected to be one of the top picks, if not the first overall, in the WNBA draft once she becomes eligible.
LSU captured the national championship in 2023, just before Williams joined the program, marking the school’s first-ever women’s basketball national title.
