With five South Carolina seniors likely heading to the WNBA, the spotlight shifts to the next wave of leaders. One junior, in particular, is poised to take on a bigger role. And Dawn Staley, never one to overlook rising talent, knows exactly who’s ready to step up. As the conversation swirls around recognition and future stars, one thing is clear—her time is coming.

According to a recent post on X by Matt Dowel, Staley praised Chloe Kitt’s triple-double performance in the Recent South Carolina 75-59 win over the Ole Miss Rebels. “What I’m really proud of with Chloe is she’s an adult now. Like she’s grown. Her habits are grown-like… and she’s really not been here very long.”

While Staley was extremely appreciative of Chloe’s performance, she also emphasized that the key to sustained success lay not in chasing repeat performances but in consistently playing the right way. But when it comes to Chloe, it seems she is not worried about that either. “ I think confidence is a, you know, obviously triple-double is going to give you some confidence. Okay, where that confidence leads you to chase the repeat of doing it again or just to play the right way. Chloe got it because she played the right way, like, for as long as she was in the game. And if she can continue to stay playing the right way, she might find herself in another triple-double situation. So she’s always been one for me that has played the right way, the potential to play the right way a lot. And my expectation is that from her.“

Kitts must be on cloud nine right now! Her journey to this point has been a wild ride, and it’s amazing to think about how far she’s come. It was not long ago that she found herself in an entirely different conversation.

After South Carolina’s 83-66 victory over Auburn earlier in February, Staley didn’t hold back, delivering a tough but necessary reality check. She shed light on Chloe’s shooting slump, revealing that her hesitation stemmed from a mental tug-of-war.

“It’s not calling your own number. It’s taking the shot that you’re supposed to take,” Staley explained. “Chloe probably felt like she had shot a lot more than she usually shoots, so now she gets gun-shy because she’s feeling that. And it’s just playing the right way. When you play the right way, it should be a very clear process. It should be a very smooth process and I guess today, Chloe played mind games with herself and sometimes that happens. It’s an unselfish act.”

Kitts admitted she was caught off guard in the moment. Despite putting up a solid stat line with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, hesitation got the best of her. “She said I needed to shoot the ball. She said that like nine times in just that one possession,” Kitts recalled. “Because I didn’t shoot the ball, and then there were like seven seconds left, and we had to figure out what to do. And then no one was in a rebounding position, so it just turned out bad.”

That lesson stuck, fueling her triple-double masterpiece against Ole Miss, where South Carolina tamed the Rebels 75-59. And Chloe packed the stat sheet -16 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists—proving growth isn’t just about numbers but about answering the call when it matters most.

From hesitation to elevation: Chloe answers Coach Staley’s call

Another moment of Chloe’s growth came when Ashlyn Watkins went down with an injury on January 5 and South Carolina needed someone to step up. Staley wasn’t just looking for more rebounds or interior presence—she wanted a player to expand their game. Kitts answered the call. “Chloe was the only one that’s taken me up on it,” Staley noted after Kitts drained a three-pointer for the third straight game in South Carolina’s 74-42 win over Georgia.

For a 6-foot-2 forward, stretching the floor wasn’t a given. But Kitts embraced the challenge.“I realized the more I shoot them in practice, the more they translate to the game,” she said.

Her numbers tell the story of a player evolving. Averaging 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in the 2024-25 season, Kitts might not be a household name just yet, but her efficiency speaks volumes—51.7% from the field, 31.8% from three, and 74.4% from the free-throw line. More importantly, her versatility makes South Carolina’s offense harder to guard.

This isn’t the first time Staley has placed high expectations on Kitts. Back in November, she acknowledged the target on her young forward’s back:

“She’s got the target on her back.”

That’s the price of potential. And Kitts has responded with full responsibility.

As South Carolina prepares to honor five players on Senior Day—Bree Hall, Sania Feagin, Raven Johnson, Sakima Walker, and Te-Hina Paopao—the future of the program will fall on players like Kitts. Johnson’s future remains undecided, but Staley has made it clear that Kitts will be a major piece of the puzzle moving forward.

With each game, Kitts is proving that she belongs. The player who once hesitated is now making decisive plays. The forward who once second-guessed is now hitting threes with confidence. Staley’s tough love has worked its magic yet again. And if this is just the beginning, South Carolina’s opponents should be on high alert.