With South Carolina’s season over, who leaves roster? Who returns for Gamecocks?

The 2022-23 South Carolina women’s basketball ended on Friday with the Gamecocks’ 77-73 loss to Iowa in the Final Four at American Airlines Center.

Next comes some expected roster shuffling for the 36-1 Gamecocks, who came up two wins short of becoming the 10th undefeated champion in NCAA women’s history and first back-to-back champion since 2013-16 UConn.

As coach Dawn Staley has alluded to multiple times this season — including after Friday’s game — South Carolina’s 2023-24 roster could look very different.

Up to seven seniors, including all five members of USC’s formative No. 1 overall 2019 recruiting class, could leave USC this offseason while the Gamecocks bring in three high school signees.

South Carolina’s five four-year seniors all have the option to return for an extra year due to a blanket waiver the NCAA extended to athletes competing during the COVID pandemic.

Another factor in any potential movement to and from USC is the transfer portal, which is being utilized by college basketball players and teams at an all-time rate. The Gamecocks would have four open roster spots they can fill if all seven seniors opt to leave. (South Carolina’s no stranger to the portal, bringing in forward Kamilla Cardoso from Syracuse in 2020 and Kierra Fletcher from Georgia Tech in 2021 while losing guard Saniya Rivers to N.C. State last spring.)

Here’s a player-by-player breakdown from South Carolina’s roster:

Leaving

• No drama here. Starting forward Victaria Saxton and starting guard Kierra Fletcher both exhausted their college eligibility by playing a fifth and final season of college basketball with the Gamecocks in 2022-23. After utilizing their COVID-19 season exemption for one last run, Saxton and Fletcher will be moving on from USC.

Expected to leave

• Aliyah Boston is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the April 10 WNBA Draft. She won the Naismith National Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the year in 2022 before winning the Most Outstanding Player award in the national championship game that same year. This season, she led South Carolina in rebounds and blocks and was a unanimous selection to the AP All-American first team. Boston told The State she has factors she’s considering for declaring, but didn’t reveal them. “There’s a lot of pros and cons. Can’t give it away too much,” Boston said leading up to the Final Four. She said after Friday’s game that she wasn’t ready to announce a decision.

• Zia Cooke was South Carolina’s leading scorer, and shot a career-high in field goal percentage. She made the AP All-American third team, marking the first All-American selection in her career. When asked about the timing of WNBA Draft preparations, she told The State she had not come to a conclusion on what she’ll do. “Everything’s moving pretty quickly, but my decision is still in the air of what I’m going to do,” Cooke said. “And I try not to talk about it too much, but I have no choice but to talk about what my next move will be. But it’s still within just me and my family and the people that are gonna help me with that.”

• Brea Beal’s draft stock has risen this season due to her defensive abilities and increased 3-point shooting percentage. She posted on Twitter that the team’s second-round game against South Florida would be her last at Colonial Life Arena. The process of declaring for the WNBA Draft moves quickly after the NCAA Tournament, but Beal said she was making it a priority to graduate. “So it moves pretty fast, and I think it’s hard with school, too, especially when you have in-person classes,” Beal said. “So you got to figure all that out as well. ... I definitely think when I’m in class, I’m thinking about, ‘Oh, man, now I’ve got to tell her I’m gonna miss like a whole month’ ” (if she goes to the pros now).

• Senior guard Olivia Thompson has a fifth year of eligibility but confirmed to The State that she won’t be using it. With the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, her college basketball career is over. Thompson, a psychology major, said she’d love to stay connected to the program as she figures out her next career step. “There’s no bitterness to it,” she said. “You know, everything ends at some point. But I’m really excited. I’m forever grateful for this opportunity that I’ve had here. It’s just time for something new.”

Wait and see

• Backup forward Laeticia Amihere has a fifth year of eligibility and told The State she’ll decide on whether to use it soon after the season’s over. Amihere played in the post, on the wing and at point guard during her time at USC. She averaged a career-high in points as a senior. “I’ll make a decision after we’re done playing, for sure,” she said. Amihere, the former No. 10 overall recruit in the Class of 2019, said her decision to stay or go will be primarily a “feel thing.”

Expected to return

• Reigning SEC Sixth Woman of the Year Kamilla Cardoso is returning to South Carolina for a third season, she confirmed to The State. Cardoso is technically eligible for the 2023 WNBA Draft because she turns 22 years old this calendar year, but that would require forfeiting her remaining eligibility to go pro. “I have great teammates,” Cardoso said. “We’re close with each other. We’re gonna help each other no matter what. And the coaching staff, they’re the best in the business. So everything here is perfect.”

• Redshirt freshman Raven Johnson is expected to return and start for South Carolina. She was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, and led the Gamecocks in assists. She was part of the team’s 2021 recruiting class and missed most of her true freshman season due to a knee injury. Johnson alternated with Fletcher for point guard minutes, and could take on a more full-time role next season.

• Sophomore guard Bree Hall saw a bigger role for South Carolina this season and would likely take up one of the starting spots at shooting guard or small forward, if Cooke and Beal were to forgo their final year of eligibility. Hall was a floor spacer for the Gamecocks, shooting the third-highest 3-point percentage on the team.

• Sophomore forward Sania Feagin has two seasons left of college eligibility. She saw an increase in playing time but did not always get consistent minutes. She missed four games in January due to a lower right leg injury, but also did not appear in some games because of “coach’s decision.” Feagin was the No. 4-ranked player in the Class of 2022, and led the team in points per 40 minutes.

• Talaysia Cooper, Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins were South Carolina’s freshmen this season. Watkins played the most of the group. Cooper would be one of the team’s young guards if she returns, and could fill in for the losses of Fletcher and Cooke. Kitts, originally in the 2023 recruiting class, joined the team in December after graduating from high school early. She’d fill the void at the wing positions should Beal and Amihere leave.

The incoming freshmen

• Three Class of 2023 recruits will enroll at USC this summer: Keenan (S.C.) guard Milaysia Fulwiley, St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) guard Tessa Johnson and Montverde Academy (Fla.) wing Sahnya Jah. Among USC’s incoming freshmen, Fulwiley ranks the highest at No. 13 nationally per espnW. Johnson and Jah also rank as top 40 recruits. This group would’ve included Kitts (the No. 17 player in the class) before she chose to reclassify to 2022 and join USC as an early enrollee freshman for 2022-23.