Kim Mulkey Is Confident That Her Freshman Group Is Ready For NCAA Tournament Spotlight

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

The LSU women’s basketball team is gearing up for the NCAA Tournament this week as it faces No. 15 seed Jacksonville on Friday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (5 p.m., ESPN).

#LSU will take on fifteenth-seeded Jacksonville of the Atlantic Sun Conference in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at a time to be announced. pic.twitter.com/IjABhP9n5j

— Andre Champagne (@andrechampagnee) March 16, 2026

The tournament brings new storylines each year, and for LSU this season, it will mark the first NCAA Tournament appearances for four freshmen: guards Bella Hines and Divine Bourrage, along with forwards Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson.

Head coach Kim Mulkey said playing in the NCAA Tournament is a privilege and something many freshmen across the country never get the opportunity to experience.

“The first thing I look forward to is the fact that is this is why they came here,” Mulkey said on Sunday. “There are a lot of freshmen across the country, very talented freshmen and freshmen who had numbers in front of their name that aren’t going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament.”

Hines, Knox and Johnson have all played major roles for LSU this season, and that will need to continue if the team wants a legitimate shot at making a deep run in March.

“You just got to be playing your best basketball at the right time, all five on the floor and even the bench,” Mulkey said.

LSU Needs More Consistency From Its Stars To Make Deep NCAA Tournament Run

Since LSU will rely heavily on its freshman class in the postseason, it can be easy for young players to get caught up in the moment. The lights shine brighter during the NCAA Tournament, and that spotlight can sometimes overwhelm players –  especially freshmen – when the pressure rises. But Mulkey believes LSU’s freshman group will be ready for the challenges ahead since they are battle-tested and no strangers to playing in big games.

“I hope the SEC has prepared them. I really do,” Mulkey said. “You look at the arenas we’ve gone into and how large those arenas, how many are in there and a lot of them are for us. But I think just going on the road, the SEC Tournament, I think it prepares them for the postseason because quite honestly, we’re going to go play and how many are really going to be in that arena? I don’t know. You just played in Greenville, packed. You play here, it’s packed. You go to other places in the league, it’s packed.”

The freshmen also won’t be navigating the moment alone. Seven other players on LSU’s roster have NCAA Tournament experience, including seniors Flau’jae Johnson and Izzy Besselman, who have both won national championships. Their experience can help prepare the younger players for what lies ahead.

“I think they can share their experiences with their teammates,” Mulkey said. “But really listening to a teammate tell you what’s it all about, you have to go experience it for yourself. On the floor, they can lead you. They can calm you down when things get crazy, but no, you just go to go play and it’s exciting.”

On Friday, LSU’s freshmen will get their first real taste of postseason basketball in a win-or-go-home setting. For the Tigers to make a deep run, it will be essential for them to stay poised through both the highs and lows.