Even after having played a full season with the WNBA and the Unrivaled, Angel Reese continues to keep tabs on her alma mater. LSU women’s basketball has remained one of the prominent programs in the NCAA even after Reese’s exit, having made the Elite Eight for the 3rd consecutive season. By the looks of it, Kim Mulkey isn’t foregoing a chance to let that slip, and the Chi-Town Barbie would attest.

ESPN announced, around a week ago, that the head coach has signed “three of the best perimeter players plus one of the most productive forwards in the country.” This was a reference to the recent signings of forward Grace Knox, point guard Divin Bourrage, guard ZaKiyah Johnson, and guard Isabella Hines. Those players rank Nos. 6, 12, 13, and 30 in the country, respectively.

Now, the Tigers had two of these high school commits playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game: Knox and Johnson. Reese, who was in attendance for the same game, got around to reacting to their presence. The Chicago Sky star took to X to pen, “i like these new lsu babies coming in!!”.

Angel Reese wasn’t the only member of the WNBA fraternity who was there to cheer on the young talents. The event also hosted big names like DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Williams, Rickea Jackson, and Breanna Stewart. Given McDonald’s All-American is the place for the best talent in the country, the W stars seemed to have wanted a glimpse of the upcoming stars for themselves.

LSU commits Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson — the younger sister of Flau’jae Johnson — are both Naismith High All-Americans, who had been described as “highly coveted recruits.” Both the future Tigress also got to meet and pose with Angel Reese. Highlighting all 3 players making the L sign with their hands, Johnson soon featured the moment on her official Instagram story. She added a caption that read “Geauxxxx”.

With the new recruits, Angel Reese hopes the LSU Tigers could again attempt for the NCAA title next year. After all, she would have been devastated, alongside the Tigers squad, after the team recently got eliminated. However, when placing blame for the loss, Reese did not choose to attack the current batch of players.

Angel Reese criticized NCAA officials after LSU’s loss

Teams rolled in and out of March Madness, but officiating remained a constant concer. From Florida Gators men’s basketball team fans to UConn Huskies (men) coach Dan Hurley, everyone publicly highlighted their frustration over the calls the referees were, or were not, making. Even Tigers Nation took out their frustration on social media after the absence of foul calls in the LSU-NC State Wolfpack matchup. After the loss against UCLA, it was Angel Reese who was upset.

The Elite Eight matchup was filled with some memorable moments; controversial included. In the final minutes of the game, a loose ball went out of bounds, which was called to have last hit LSU’s Kailyn Gilbert. Video replays of the incident, however, showed the ball hitting the foot of UCLA’s Kiki Rice. Other such moments contributed to Reese taking to X and writing “These refs man smh”.

That wasn’t the only tweet from Reese that day. She was completely invested throughout the match. She kept posting on X while the game was on, sharing live reactions. “We gotta fight! COME ONNNN,” she expressed as the game continued to remain a back-and-forth. In the end, the outcome was determined by the shooting percentage. The Tigers shot 37.3% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point line. The Bruins made 38.2% field shots, including 41.7% from beyond the arc.

Having only joined the WNBA last year, it was no surprise that Angel Reese continues keeping tabs on the LSU Tigers. After all, it was the team that propelled her rise to national stardom. The team through which she averaged 18.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists throughout 116 games, and won the NCAA tournament in 2023. For the new batch of players, it will be heartwarming to have a former LSU player, and one of the biggest names in the modern WNBA, continue to cheer them on as they set the foundation for their own careers.