LSU head coach Kim Mulkey has predicted that a “big personality” will step up to the plate to replace departed superstar Angel Reese for the Tigers next season.

The power forward led the program to its first ever national championship in 2023 during a record-breaking campaign as she set new standards including for double-doubles in a single season. Following on from this, the youngster she was named SEC Player of the Year in her senior year.

However, after two memorable seasons in Baton Rouge, Reese declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she was selected as the seventh overall pick by the Chicago Sky. Now, LSU coach Mulkey has revealed that she believes that her former Tigers teammates will rally in her absence during the next NCAA campaign.

During an address to the media, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer said: “I don’t think there was ever any pressure even when Angel was here. She had a different personality and I told you many times I coached some big personalities and somebody in this bunch will have the big personality.

“It might not be in comparison to Angel but the personalities just kind of rise to the top when they get comfortable and it comes with confidence and it comes with being older, but we’re gonna always play with emotion,” the coach continued. “We’re gonna always play excited and those personalities will surface.”

“Well, I’m probably gonna forget all of them if I do them individually. What you’re gonna notice is good guards, quickness, kids that can get up and down the floor.”

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Head coach Kim Mulkey of the LSU Tigers spoke positively about her roster ahead of the new campaign

Head coach Kim Mulkey of the LSU Tigers spoke positively about her roster ahead of the new campaign ( 

Image:

Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Mulkey is also confident that new additions will help the team to improve in the upcoming campaign, as she asserted: “I recruited Jersey [Wolfenbarger] out of high school when I was at Baylor and she played in a great program for Ricky Smith and she went to Arkansas and she didn’t finish the year and I contacted her. She came on a visit and she’s here. We’re excited about all the transfers.

“I think it’s a good mix of transfers, older players with experience, then you add it to the ones that have the experience, and then you look at Jada [Richard], our local young lady. She’s really the only freshman that we have. We’ve got a good little mixture of experience and new players and one young one.”

As for her thoughts on her current roster, she said: “I hope it’s athletic. I hope it’s speed and quickness. I think we have more depth of the guard spots. I hope when we get everybody healthy, the post will be just as good as you expect them to be. You know, when Sa’Myah went down, she was almost average in double double.

“You hope that she can give you that and more. You saw the value of Aaliyah, particularly in that UCLA game when we had to go against Betts. You know what Marrow gives you.”

Mulkey added: “You got a senior in Amani and then you add Jersey in there and you can move Jersey and you can move Marrow outside if you need to. So I’m gonna be curious in a month to tell you more based upon what I see every day.”