​COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball forward Chloe Kitts is coming up on the one-year anniversary of tearing her ACL.Kitts, 6-foot-2 had a career year in 2024-25 for coach Dawn Staley, averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds as a junior. Then in October 2025, she tore her ACL on a rebound in practice and missed the entire 2025-26 season. Now a fifth-year, she’s back for the Gamecocks, who started practice on Sept. 21 ahead of an outdoor exhibition game against College of Charleston on Sept. 27 (5 p.m.). The season officially starts Nov. 2 in Paris against Maryland.”I feel great,” Kitts said. “Blessed to be back out here with my team.” She wasn’t wearing a brace on her knee and said she doesn’t have to, it’s up to her if she wants to or not. During the drills that media watched, she was running full speed on offense and defense and wasn’t behind any of her teammates. “It’s more of a comfort thing (the brace) but all my numbers look good,” Kitts said. The Gamecocks still made it to a third straight national championship game without Kitts, but there’s no denying the former starter’s return is highly anticipated by both the team and fans. Part of what makes her so special is her mid-range magic, an area where South Carolina’s post players didn’t find much success last season. In 2024-25, Kitts shot 36.5% from mid-range, which was 3.2% above the Division I average, according to CBB Analytics.Last season Joyce Edwards led the team in scoring with 19.2 points per game but was 30.4% from mid-range. Now that Kitts returns, she brings that mid-range shooting threat that doesn’t just potentially punish defenses but also spreads out the offense, especially with Edwards still looking to find success at the rim. The farther out Kitts plays, the better the high-low action can be and prevents double-teams that clog the paint.”It’s great,” Staley said of having Kitts back. “You have experienced posts that understand what we’re trying to accomplish. I mean, everybody knows Chloe works her butt off.”Kitts will be the oldest of a youthful frontcourt. She has fifth-year Ashlyn Watkins back after she sat out last season. Edwards is now a junior but the others are three freshmen, Alicia Tournebize, who only played 20 games last year, and Adhel Tac, who was limited with injuries.”They’re all sponges, they want to do good and be great,” Kitts said. “They’re actually really good communicators, they learn extremely fast and we love being around each other.” Kitts started her career in Columbia midway through the 2022-23 season after graduating high school early. That team lost in the 2023 Final Four to Iowa but got revenge a year later, beating the Hawkeyes in the national championship.Kitts is projected as a high WNBA draft pick after what she hopes is a second championship season. South Carolina has lost in the last two title games.”We’re trying to win. Every day we come in here, we work as hard as we can and we all have one goal,” Kitts said.Lul