SEC Coaches Select LSU Women's Basketball To Finish No. 1 In League

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The coaches across the SEC have selected LSU to win the league. Angel Reese was tabbed as the Preseason SEC Player of the Year and Hailey Van Lith joined her on the Preseason First Team All-SEC. Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow both earned Preseason Second Team All-SEC honors.

LSU has won the SEC regular season title three times before, most recently in 2008. The Tigers have finished No. 2 in the SEC both years through Coach Kim Mulkey first two seasons in Baton Rouge, before going on to capture the 2023 NCAA National Championship.

Also on Tuesday, Reese was named to the Preseason AP All-America team while Morrow and Van Lith earned honorable mention accolades.

A unanimous First-Team All-America last season, Reese set the NCAA record with 34 double-doubles throughout the season after beginning the season with a LSU record 23 consecutive double-doubles. She led the SEC in scoring (23.0 ppg) and rebounding (15.4 rpg), becoming the fourth player in conference history to lead the league in both categories. Reese also set SEC record in total rebounds (555), free throws made (240) and free throw attempts (339). Her 830 points were the third most ever by a LSU player in a season.

Over the past three seasons, Van Lith was one of the top players in the ACC and in the country, playing at Louisville before transferring to LSU this summer. Last season she was on the First-Team All-ACC and was an AP All-America honorable mention. She averaged 19.7 points, 3.2 as-sists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season and was the only player in American other than Iowa’s Caitlin Clark who averaged at least 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Over the Sum-mer, Van Lith claimed a Gold Medal with Team USA at the 3×3 FIBA World Cup.

Johnson started all 36 games for LSU a season ago and was the SEC Freshman of the Year, averaging 11.0 points, and 5.9 rebound to help the Tigers claim the national championship. She finished the season with 20 games scoring in double figures and had three double-doubles throughout the year.

A double-double machine, Morrow has 53 double-doubles in 66 career games at DePaul before transferring to LSU this summer. She led the Big East in rebounding both of the past two seasons and finished second in the conference in scoring both years. Last season Morrow averaged 25.7 points (No. 4 in NCAA) and 12.2 rebounds (No. 7 in NCAA). She and Reese were the only two players in the country to rank inside the top-10 nationally in both scoring and rebounding. As a freshman during the 2021-22 season both the WBCA and USBWA tabbed Morrow as the National Freshman of the Year.

Preseason SEC Coaches Selections:

Order of Finish
1. LSU
2. South Carolina
3. Tennessee
4. Ole Miss
5. Mississippi State
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Alabama
9. Georgia
10. Florida
11. Missouri
12. Auburn
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kentucky

Player of the Year
Angel Reese, LSU

First Team All-SEC
Angel Reese, LSU
Hailey Van Lith, LSU
Madison Scott, Ole Miss
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
Hayley Frank, Missouri
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Janiah Barker, Texas A&M

Second Team All-SEC
Makayla Daniels, Arkansas
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Erynn Barnum, Mississippi State
JerKaila Jordan, Mississippi State
Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina
Tamari Key, Tennessee
Jewel Spear, Tennessee
Aicha Coulibaly, Texas A&M

(Release via LSU Athletics)