Dawn Staley's new recruit Ta'Niya Latson opens up on South Carolina transfer: "Goal is to be prepared for next level"

South Carolina transfer guard Ta'Niya Latson said her reason for transferring to the Gamecocks after having three excellent seasons with Florida State.

During the media availability session on Tuesday, Latson, who was recruited by South Carolina coach Dawn Staley during the offseason, stressed the decision to switch programs was more about preparing herself for her future.

She felt South Carolina was capable of helping her become a professional player.

"The coaching staff, the culture they have, and I know the standard they have. My goal is to be prepared for the next level and I know they have a lot of resources here," Latson said.

Latson, who averaged 22.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game in her three-year stint with the Seminoles, noted that choosing South Carolina was easy.

"Coach (Dawn) Staley, she's amazing. My teammates are amazing, so it was an easy choice for me," she said.

She believes that the Gamecocks would help her achieve her goals of becoming the SEC Player of the Year and possibly winning the national title as well.

South Carolina is coming off a second-place finish in the 2025 Women's NCAA Tournament, losing to UConn in the national final.

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Ta'Niya Latson shares the things she wants to improve this season

Ta'Niya Latson wants to help South Carolina get back into the title picture in the 2025-26 season. She expects to grind it out to achieve her objective due to the conference the Gamecocks are in.

The SEC has LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee as the teams that can give South Carolina a run for the money when it comes to conference play.

With this in mind, the 5-foot-8 guard disclosed she had practiced shooting more 3-pointers and will have a conscious effort to reduce her turnovers to avoid wasted opportunities.

Last season, Latson made 1.3 3-pointers and shot 34.3% from deep. She committed 3.1 turnovers per game as she was the No. 1 option for Florida last season.

In her last game against LSU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Latson led Florida State's offense with a game-high 30 points. However, she shot 11-for-26 and 2-for-10 from the 3-point line.

She committed five turnovers while being hounded by LSU's elite defenders during the game, which ended with the Seminoles losing to the Tigers 101-71.

Ta'Niya Latson is arguably one of the best rebounding guards in the nation, grabbing an average of 4.6 boards last season. She pledged to improve on the stat despite sharing the duties with Gamecocks bigs Chloe Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins and Madina Okot.

Latson is one of the sought-after transfer portal recruits this season and South Carolina hopes that her offensive prowess will carry on to this year's campaign.