Why South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson didn’t reunite with Raven Johnson until 2025
Much has been made about the reunion of Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson, high school teammates who went their separate ways for college only to reunite at South Carolina for their final season.
On Saturday, as 1-seed South Carolina takes on 16-seed Southern, the duo will play in their first NCAA Tournament together after a remarkable season that’s seen Latson average over 14 points per game and Johnson (10.3 ppg) evolve as the Gamecocks’ leader.
And you watch Johnson and Latson play together — they way it feels like they’re using telepathy to communicate and move — and wonder why they ever stopped playing together?
After winning three-straight state titles together at Westlake High in Atlanta, why didn’t the duo keep their chemistry rolling into college?
Well, there were two issues.
Number one: Latson was a year younger than Johnson, which meant that they weren’t being recruited together. More over, after Johnson enrolled at South Carolina in 2021, Latson moved to Florida for her senior year of high school, becoming the Sunshine State’s Gatorade Player of the Year and a five-star prospect.
And, more importantly, Johnson and Latson didn’t team back up until 2025 because, well, South Carolina didn’t really recruit Latson.
“Not initially,” Latson said on Friday. “I think they were trying to, is what coach (Jolette) Law said. But they didn’t initially out of high school. It really just came when I hit the portal.”
Without heavy interest from South Carolina, Latson signed with Florida State, and in her three years with the Seminoles, she averaged over 22 points a game but won just one NCAA Tournament game in three appearances.
And at least once a week, the two would talk and share insights on their respective teams. Confiding in each other through Seminole and Gamecock basketball updates was, as Latson said, their way of keeping “our friendship alive.”
Last spring, one of those conversations included a major update: Latson was entering the transfer portal.
“I’m like, Ta’Niya, you know where to come,” Johnson said on “The Coop” podcast.
Said Latson: “It didn’t take much convincing when Raven was wanting me to come here. So it was ultimately one of the biggest decisions of my life, and she made the decision way easier.”
When Latson arrived at South Carolina, it provided the opportunity to compare the actually Gamecocks’ women’s basketball program to the one Johnson told her about. Among the striking realities was USC coach Dawn Staley.
“She treats us like pros,” Latson said. “I mean, we all have our own individual relationships with her, and I feel like that makes her so unique. She knows how to speak different languages with everybody.”
What’s unclear is if Staley has cracked the unspoken code that Johnson and Latson have mastered through their connection.
“Raven knows where everybody is at, but especially Ta’Niya,” said freshman guard Agot Makeer. “She knows where Ta’Niya wants her stuff, and she’s gonna make it happen.”
The questions now becomes: Can that continue in the NCAA Tournament? And, if so, will it be enough for Johnson and Latson to cap off their college careers with a trophy?
Time will tell, but what a story it would be.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Why South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson didn’t reunite with Raven Johnson until 2025."
