“To the fans and the Florida State community—your love and support have been everything to me. Thank you for showing up, cheering loud, and making Tallahassee feel like home. Representing you has been an honor, and I’ll forever be grateful for the chance to wear garnet and gold.” With those heartfelt words, Ta’Niya Latson bid farewell to the basketball program she called home for the past three years.

During her three seasons in Tallahassee, Latson established herself as one of the nation’s elite scorers, averaging 22.5 points and 3.9 assists in just over 30 minutes per game. Though she was eligible to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, she decided to take a different route. Just three days after the sixth-seeded Seminoles fell 101–71 to LSU in the NCAA Tournament, the Florida ace entered the transfer portal, after putting up a valiant 30-point effort in that game.

While Latson’s decision stunned the college basketball world, her dad later admitted, “I knew she was going to do what she had to do, but I just knew that it was probably gonna be it.”

For three years, she was the heartbeat of Florida State, a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year. Last season, she took her game to new heights, averaging 25.2 points per game and earning second-team All-American honors, all while leading the Seminoles to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2019.

Every Florida State fan believed Ta’Niya Latson was destined for more, whether that meant another dominant season in Garnet and Gold or hearing her name called on draft night. So why did she leave and join the Gamecocks? Well, the reason might not be what most people think!

Why did Ta’Niya Latson leave?

The biggest reason many believe Ta’Niya Latson left Florida State is pretty straightforward. They think she wants to win it all. In three years at Tallahassee, Latson never got a taste of what a Sweet 16 run even feels like, let alone a championship chase. Every March ended way too soon…

So when a player who just finished as the nation’s top-scoring guard decides to look elsewhere, it’s not shocking. It’s ambitious! Latson wants to experience the big stage before turning pro, and joining a championship-caliber program like South Carolina honestly gives her that chance.

“I just needed a change after last year, to challenge myself,” Latson said when asked why she left FSU. And what better place to do that than South Carolina? Under Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks have reached five straight Final Fours and played for the national title three times since 2021. They might have fallen short last season, but that run was all the proof the FSU star might’ve needed to convince her to join the program.

But what if we told you, joining a championship-ready team wasn’t the real reason Ta’Niya Latson chose to play for Staley?

Ten minutes after Ta’Niya Latson announced her move to South Carolina, Raven Johnson dropped her own bombshell: she was skipping the WNBA Draft and coming back for one more year with the Gamecocks. Coincidence? Not quite.

The two go way back. Ta’Niya Latson and Raven Johnson were once the dynamic duo at Westlake High School in Atlanta, coached by the legendary Hilda Hankerson. Together, they built a mini dynasty: three straight high school state titles and the 2021 GEICO High School National Championship. Latson later transferred to American Heritage in Florida, but the bond between the two never faded. And turns out Raven did play a part!

“I’d tell her, ‘Let’s run it back,’” Raven Johnson said when asked if she’d try to recruit Latson to South Carolina last season. “She knows what a winning culture feels like… I’m definitely gonna try to get her to come here. I’m definitely in her ear.”

Johnson started all 39 games for Dawn Staley’s squad last season, averaging 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Over the past two years, she had firmly established herself as the team’s floor general, and her connection to the program was undeniably the game-changer for the Florida State guard.

“I got my point guard back. We’ve been reading each other like that since high school. She knows my spots, I know her spots, and I know her confidence is getting back to where she needs to be, and also she’s given me that confidence, too, to be myself,” Latson said about reuniting with her former high school teammate. The Johnson-Latson duo is definitely one to watch: A reunion years in the making that could make South Carolina’s backcourt even scarier.

But the larger question remains unanswered: did Ta’Niya Latson make the right call by moving to South Carolina?

Senior Author’s verdict on the marquee Gamecocks move

Of course, on paper, this appears to be a match made in heaven. Remember, between the third and fourth quarters of last season’s national championship game, Dawn Staley was asked on the broadcast, “Who else can score for you right now? Where do those points come from?” Her response: “I don’t know.” The Gamecocks struggled to find offense in what ended as a 23-point loss to UConn. And that’s precisely where Ta’Niya Latson comes in.

In theory, Latson is exactly the kind of high-volume scorer South Carolina needs. She’s a pure bucket-getter who can create her own shot, something the Gamecocks clearly lacked last season.

However, this is a program that has always valued depth over stardom. Sure, there have been exceptions like A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, but even they never averaged over 20 points per game. That tells you everything about how Dawn Staley runs her system. It’s always been team over individual.

Latson led the ACC in usage rate for three consecutive years, and in 2025, no one in the country came close to her. She ended at 38.2% of Florida State’s possessions while on the floor, a true one-woman offense. For comparison, the only Gamecock to crack 30% usage last season was MiLaysia Fulwiley, and she averaged under 20 minutes per game!

Even coach Staley made it clear that Ta’Niya Latson won’t have the same freedom she did as a Seminole. “Sometimes she’s going to have to allow defenses to not think about her so much. Sometimes you gotta make them forget about you.”

Let’s not forget, South Carolina’s backcourt is already stacked. The Gamecocks are returning three key rotation guards in Raven Johnson, MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Tessa Johnson, along with rising sophomore Maddy McDaniel.

So why join a program where she won’t have the same offensive freedom she had at Florida State? Especially when that adjustment could impact her draft stock next year, that’s a question only Latson can honestly answer. But you’d think she weighed all of that before making the move, and maybe, just maybe, her goal was simple: to win a championship alongside her best friend.

Call it luck or perfect timing, but things have lined up just right for Ta’Niya Latson…

With Chloe Kitts sidelined by injury and Ashlyn Watkins opting to take the season off, Latson’s role in South Carolina has grown bigger than anyone expected. The former Florida State star will now have more minutes, more touches, and more responsibility than she might’ve imagined when she first transferred.

According to ESPN, Dawn Staley has already talked about adding new layers to Latson’s game. If she adapts quickly, don’t be surprised to see her right in the Player of the Year conversation.

No one really knows how much losing Chloe Kitts will impact South Carolina or whether their depth will be enough to fuel another deep tournament run. But one thing’s certain. Suppose the Gamecocks are going to stand toe-to-toe with UConn, who look even stronger this year with Serah Williams joining Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong. In that case, Ta’Niya Latson will need to deliver another monster season like her junior year. Because if she wants to leave college basketball with a championship on her resume, this is her moment to make it happen.