Dawn Staley’s South Carolina might have missed out on a National Championship by a whisker, but that’s not stopping them from making major moves in the transfer portal. In a recent out-of-the-box move, the Gamecocks have reportedly landed a seasoned transfer from Texas, who will help the team build on its exploits next season.

On3 reporter and basketball insider Talia Goodman recently confirmed on X that Longhorns sophomore Jordan Lee is moving to South Carolina, weeks after entering the transfer portal and just after two seasons in Vic Schaefer’s program.

“BREAKING: Texas transfer Jordan Lee has committed to South Carolina, sources told @On3,” the post read.

Reports surfaced just a day ago that the Stockton native had visited the South Carolina program. As reality set in, it was all that took to prompt Lee to commit to Staley’s program. Lee was among the many Texas players, including Aaliyah Moore, Aaliyah Crump, and Justice Carlton, to take the transfer portal route after the 2025-26 season.

Losing Lee to the portal is a major loss for Schaefer, as she helped the program immensely alongside Madison Booker and Harmon in pushing the team to a Final Four appearance this season. The 2025-26 stretch was possibly a career season for Lee, contributing with 13.2 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. The move was also surprising, given that Schaefer had guided the team in a positive direction and led it to an SEC title last season.

Jordan Lee hasn’t spoken publicly about her reason for leaving the Longhorns program. Nevertheless, it’s Staley and the Gamecocks who are on the winning side of this deal. Getting an experienced backcourt player like Lee doesn’t just boost the backcourt of the team, but also raises their ceiling.

Furthermore, Staley had already hinted after the March Madness Final Four loss that her team needed a strong athletic guard. “We’ve got to add some guard play, definitely some lead guard play, some more athleticism in the guard department, Staley said about two weeks ago. “I think our front line is pretty good, especially the ones that are coming back from injury, coming back to our team. We got to add some guard play.”

Staley found the perfect fit in a formidable player from possibly her toughest conference opposition. Furthermore, reports suggest that the Gamecocks have long been pursuing Lee since high school. In that regard, the signing might feel a bit late, but from a broader perspective of the program’s necessity, it’s exactly on point.

Dawn Staley and South Carolina haven’t faced many setbacks in the transfer portal this season. Neither have they lost any player in the portal, nor have they brought an array of players. In fact, Lee is their only signing from the portal this season, compared to the three they landed last year: Madina Okot, Ta’Niya Latson, and Maryam Dauda.

While Lee is the team’s only transfer signing, this solitary commitment could work wonders for a program that saw three seniors depart for the WNBA.

How Does Jordan Lee Fit Into Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks?

Dawn Staley and South Carolina might not have lost a player to the transfer portal in the offseason. But the team has seen three departing seniors transition to the WNBA. Raven Johnson and Madina Okot went as first-round picks in the draft, while Latson went in the second. The important thing to note here is that two of these players are guards, which is why Staley said the program needs backcourt players.

This is the void that Jordan Lee will have to fill in the upcoming season. Of course, Lee will have able teammates to look to behind her, including Raven Johnson and a formidable scorer like Joyce Edwards in the frontcourt. All in all, this signing wasn’t about the luxury of adding depth to their roster; it’s about the necessity of forming a competitive lineup that can raise their ceiling for the upcoming season.

From a skill set perspective, Lee is quite a seasoned two-way player. She’s a volume scorer, with 42.2% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc. In addition, she contributes efficiently to perimeter defense and the opposition rim, and her career averages of 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks add weight to it. Additionally, with her experience, she can also fit into that Raven Johnson role of dictating the play on the court for her team.

With the signing, Dawn Staley’s team looks complete on paper. On top of that, the Gamecocks will also have some talented incoming freshmen recruits, including fifth-ranked Jerzy Robinson, Kaeli Wynn, and Kelsi Andrews. Thus, it will now be up to Staley to mold these incoming players with the Gamecocks mentality and bring them in line with the key returners.