Skip to main content
Gamecock CentralThe Big Spur
Forums
South Carolina
Join Now

WNBA general managers vote former South Carolina women's basketball star as biggest steal of 2026 WNBA Draft

Screenshotby: Kevin Miller05/05/26kevinmillerGC

The third South Carolina women’s basketball product picked in the 2026 WNBA Draft was guard Ta’Niya Latson. She followed point guard Raven Johnson (Indiana Fever, 10th) and post player Madina Okot (Atlanta Dream, 13th). The Los Angeles Sparks took Latson at No. 20 overall. Frankly, the second-round selection came later than most expected.

In fact, in the WNBA’s annual preseason survey of general managers, the league’s GMs selected Latson as the draft’s biggest steal, along with Connecticut Sun rookie Nell Angloma. Both Latson and Angloma received 21% of the total votes.

The sentiment echoes what future Hall of Famer and re-signed LA star Nneka Ogwumike had to say about her new teammate a couple of weeks ago.

“I absolutely love her,” the 10-time All-Star said about the former Gamecock guard. “I think she is the biggest steal [in the WNBA Draft] this year. You can tell who’s somebody that’s locked in, she is someone who does not like to lose, and she’s quite mature for her age.”

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball! 🏀 

During her own organizational introduction, Latson admitted that the shock of the late selection put a chip on her shoulder. Even so, she likes her place with the Sparks. “It was shocking to everybody; I mean, I was kind of shocked,” she said. “It’s about fit, I feel like. Fit over pick. I flipped my mentality immediately when I found out I was going to LA.”

Ogwumike’s assessment of Latson and the rookie’s desire to prove herself mirror what South Carolina fans saw from the All-American this season.

Formerly the nation’s leading scorer with the Florida State Seminoles, she transferred to the Gamecocks to improve her all-around game. Latson became a much better defender playing for Dawn Staley’s team, and she upped her offensive efficiency along the way.

This year at USC, Latson averaged 14.1 points per game on 48.6%/32.5%/80.3% shooting splits. Despite dealing with some injuries, she also added 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.

Over the past few weeks, Latson has had a strong preseason for the Sparks. That was also the case for former Gamecock and second-year pro Sania Feagin.

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball! 🏀