Clemson women\u2019s basketball isn\u2019t a secret anymore.<\/p>\n
A year ago, Shawn Poppie was the new coach with a roster pieced together mostly from mid-major transfers.<\/p>\n
The Tigers were supposed to be interesting, maybe scrappy, but hardly a factor in the ACC.<\/p>\n
Instead, the team turned into one of the best stories on campus.<\/p>\n
Clemson nearly doubled its attendance in 2024-25, pulling 36,408 fans into Littlejohn Coliseum compared to 19,055 the year before. That\u2019s a 91% jump \u2014 the type of number you just don\u2019t see unless people are truly bought in.<\/p>\n
And the product on the floor matched the buzz.<\/p>\n
The Tigers knocked off two ranked teams, starting with Cal \u2014 their highest-ranked win since 2022.<\/p>\n
For a group that entered the year with more questions than answers, it was clear progress.<\/p>\n
That was year one. The challenge now is proving it wasn\u2019t a fluke.<\/p>\n
What stands out about Poppie\u2019s tenure so far is how quickly momentum has stacked.<\/p>\n
The 2025-26 roster is another transfer-heavy build, but this one looks deeper and more complete than the team he inherited.<\/p>\n
Wake Forest forward Demeara Hinds, a 6-foot-2 veteran, brings frontcourt stability and ACC experience.<\/p>\n
DePaul guard Taylor Johnson-Matthews adds instant scoring after averaging 14.5 points per game on 38 percent shooting from three.<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech\u2019s Rusne Augustinaite gives Clemson another steady leader in the backcourt.<\/p>\n
And if Rachael Rose is healthy \u2014 the same guard who led the Southern Conference in points with 22.3, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 87% free throws made at Wofford in 2023-24 \u2014 she could be a game-changer.<\/p>\n
These individuals join returning Tigers who logged meaningful minutes a year ago. Guards Mia Moore and Hannah Kohn were reliable options in the backcourt, plus forward Raven Thompson gives Clemson a versatile returning piece in the frontcourt.<\/p>\n
Poppie doesn\u2019t have to rebuild from scratch anymore. Now he\u2019s adding pieces on top of a foundation that already held up against ACC competition.<\/p>\n
That is the short-term picture. The long-term is even more intriguing.<\/p>\n
Clemson currently holds the nation\u2019s No. 1 recruiting class for 2026, according to 247Sports.<\/p>\n
Not UConn. Not South Carolina. Not LSU. Clemson.<\/p>\n
The class features three top-60 prospects: forward Julia Scott from Albertus Magnus, forward Kimora Fields from Bradley Central and guard Meeyah Green from Webb School of Knoxville.<\/p>\n
Landing even one of those recruits can shift a program\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Landing three \u2014 in the same cycle \u2014 is the kind of haul that changes the conversation about what Clemson women\u2019s basketball is.<\/p>\n
And the recruiting haul didn\u2019t start until 2026. That class will join Holland Harris, Clemson\u2019s lone 2025 high school signee. The 6-foot-1 Montverde Academy product is another top-50 prospect who will suit up for Clemson in Poppie\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Now, recruiting numbers do not guarantee wins in the ACC.<\/p>\n
The league is too strong, and the climb from up-and-coming to sustained contender is steep. But you don\u2019t pull in 90% more fans, beat ranked teams and start reeling in the nation\u2019s best recruits by accident.<\/p>\n
If year one was about proving people should care, year two is about proving Clemson can handle the grind of the ACC.<\/p>\n
And if that No. 1 class delivers the way it projects to, the Tigers could be on the edge of something much bigger in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
Littlejohn Coliseum was already a louder environment last season. Another step forward, and it could become one of the hottest tickets in town.<\/p>\n
For now, Poppie has already achieved something important: he\u2019s made Clemson women\u2019s basketball worth following.<\/p>\n
That shift \u2014 paired with the best class in the nation waiting in the wings \u2014 suggests this might only be the beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clemson women\u2019s basketball isn\u2019t a secret anymore. A year ago, Shawn Poppie was the new coach with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,38707,51139],"class_list":{"0":"post-317053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clemson-womens-basketball","10":"tag-shawn-poppie"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115304375742249101","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}