Kim Mulkey suffers massive transfer loss losing veteran center Sa'Myah Smith

On Sunday, the LSU Women's Basketball season came to an end as the Lady Tigers fell to the UCLA Bruins in the Elite Eight. The loss officially started the offseason for Kim Mulkey which brings another game of musical chairs building a College Basketball roster. As veteran pieces like Aneesah Morrow, Last-Tear Poa, and Shayeann Day-Wilson graduate, Kim Mulkey already had a tall task on hand when it came to piecing together this roster.

On Monday, Kim Mulkey's task only got tougher as veteran forward Sa'Myah Smith entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Sa'Myah Smith leaves Baton Rouge as a National Champion, ending her three year run with the Lady Tigers. Smith came to LSU as a Freshman alongside Flau'Jae Johnson, playing 14.7 minutes per game for the Lady Tigers National Championship team scoring 4.6 points per game. As a Sophomore, Sa'Myah Smith became a dominant scorer inside for LSU scoring 11.7 points per game while grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game but, her season was cut short as she tore her ACL mssing most of the year.

This season saw Sa'Myah Smith take on her biggest role yet, starting as the Lady Tigers' center as a key cog on another loaded team. Smith scored 6.6 points per game while grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game while being a solid defender inside. The NCAA Tournament was a great showcase of how dominant Smith can be as she recorded 20+ point double doubles in both games when LSU needed her to step up.

The challenge for Kim Mulkey is now rebuilding this team's forward core as she loses both starters in Aneesah Morrow and Sa'Myah Smith. While the Lady Tigers have some promising pieces on the roster and coming in via the freshman class, Mulkey will need to be aggressive in the transfer portal. Mikaylah Williams and Flau'Jae Johnson are one of the best returning guard combinations in the Country and Mulkey can't afford to roll the dice with younger pieces next season.

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