LSU senior Mikaylah Williams could be forgiven for allowing her mind to drift into the future. The Bossier City native is a projected lottery pick in the 2027 WNBA draft.
Williams arrived at LSU a year after the Lady Tigers won the national championship. Since then, she has played an integral role in the program. LSU reached the Elite Eight in each of her first two seasons, falling to Iowa and UCLA. Last season, the Tigers lost to Duke in the Sweet 16.
Williams has lost the final game in each of her three seasons by a total of 16 points.
“You know my career and the feeling of having unfinished business will always be there,” said Williams, a two-two All-SEC first-team selection. “I’m excited going into my senior year.”
No. 9 LSU will play the first of two exhibition games at 7 p.m. Thursday at UNT Dallas at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Lady Tigers host Loyola-New Orleans on Oct. 29 at 7 o’clock.
“Just the culture we have and team chemistry we have,” Williams said. “It’s one of the best I’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m just excited. I’m ready to lead and I’m ready to play basketball.”
Williams has built an impressive resume since arriving at LSU from Parkway High School. Coming out of high school, she ranked among the nation’s top two prospects alongside USC’s JuJu Watkins.
Impactful career
Williams has started in 105 of 106 games, ranking 13th in school history with 1,630 points. She also ranks in the top 15 all-time in three other categories – No. 1 in 3-point percentage (39.3), No. 5 in 3-point baskets made (171) and No. 8 in 3-point baskets attempted (435).
“It’s extremely important,” Williams said. “My whole mission was to let all of the little girls in Louisiana know that it’s possible to make it to the next level. That it’s possible to stay at one spot and become great. There’s not a lot of people that come from Louisiana and really make it to the next level and really believe they can make it to the next level. That’s kind of what my mission and goal was to do.”
Williams has followed the same path traveled by guard Flau’jae Johnson, who completed her four-year career with a national championship, was the No. 8 overall pick in the WNBA draft and eventually landed with the Seattle Storm.
“I’ve said it many times,” LSU’s sixth-year women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey said. “When Flau’jae finished last year, you’re not going to see the Mikaylahs of the world and the Flau’jaes of the world anymore, staying where they started. You’ll see a few across the country. To me it’s more about how they were raised and you stay the course and the grass isn’t always greener at other places.
“There are external factors that go into play when kids transfer now with NIL, with playing time,” Mulkey said. “That’s who they are. They stayed the course. They commit to something. They care for LSU and speak highly of LSU, and in return LSU takes care of them.”
Williams has helped LSU compile a 91-18 record during her career. She has earned honorable mention All-America honors twice and made the All-SEC first team in each of the past two seasons. Last season, she averaged 14.2 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 42% from 3-point range.
Williams scored 42 points against Kent State during her sophomore season, the eighth-highest single-game total in school history. She finished just seven points shy of Cornelia Gayden’s school record of 49. She also scored 32 points against Stanford that year and 37 against Oklahoma last season.
She has spent most of her career in the backcourt but has the versatility and savvy to play small forward.
Golden summer
Williams said she dedicated a great portion of the offseason getting into peak physical condition for her final season. She wants to make the most of her time on the court, where she has averaged 31 minutes per game.
“I did focus a lot on my body,” she said. “I’ve been dieting but finding the right diet for my body. The weight just slid off. I think I have good work habits. During the summer I stayed at school. I worked out three or four times a day. Just trying to get in shape knowing where I’m going to go after this and knowing where I need to go this season as well.”
Williams was teammates with senior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley this summer for the USA 3×3 FIBA World Cup team that brought home a gold medal from Warsaw, Poland.
The U.S. defeated Australia 21-20 in the finale with Williams making the game-winning basket. Joyce Edwards of South Carolina and Sahara Williams of Oklahoma also joined them on the team.
It was the second matchup between the United States and Australia in the tournament with the Americans winning 21-18 in pool play.
Fulwiley’s jumper extended the lead to 15-10 with three minutes to play in the final. She later gave her team a 19-17 edge before the Aussies rallied for a 20-19 lead with less than a minute left.
Williams, who earlier had a game-winning shot in pool play, got the ball with time winding down for the game-winning basket and enabled the U.S. to win its fourth goal medal. She became the first American to bring the event’s MVP award since 2023.
“I’m forever grateful,” Mulkey said. “You don’t see it much anymore and I’m going to pat their parents on the back because to me, I’m blessed. I’m blessed those young ladies (Johnson and Williams) have done that.”
Backcourt without peer
Williams and Fulwiley, who is also a projected first-round WNBA draft choice, give LSU one of the nation’s top backcourts that welcomes a handful of newcomers.
Point guard Jada Williams of Iowa State will team with Mikaylah Williams, and Fulwiley, the SEC’s Sixth Woman of the Year, is expected to remain in a reserve role. Florida transfer Laila Reynolds, another senior, is a former McDonald’s All-American who played together with Williams, Fulwiley and Jada Williams in the 2022 game.
Western Kentucky guard transfer Chloe Larry, who teamed with Mikaylah Williams in high school, and Lola Lampley, one of the nation’s top players, are players Mulkey can utilize in the backcourt.
Sophomores Grace Knox and Zakiya Johnson are penciled in the team’s frontcourt with help expected from senior forward Noa Morrow, who has missed fall practice with a stress fracture, and 6-5 freshman center Anna Minaeva.
“We have a lot of new transfers and a lot of new players as well,” Mikaylah Williams said. “Just making sure that everybody’s on the same page. Kind of be an extension of coach Mulkey and speak up and let them hear my voice and lead by example. If one goes, we all go and only good things can happen.”
