Women’s Hoops Adds Two Transfers, Welcomes in New Coach

The 2022-2023 women’s basketball season won’t begin for another six months or so but the upcoming Tigers’ roster is starting to take shape.

LSU added a pair of transfers through the portal: Esmery Martinez and Jasmine Carson, both formally of West Virginia.

Martinez was a first-team All-Big 12 selection as a sophomore and a second-team selection this past season. She ranks fifth all-time in West Virginia history with 25 double-doubles and has two years of eligibility remaining.

Carson is now at her third school. She spent this past season with the Mountaineers and prior to that she spent two years at Georgia Tech. Over the past two seasons Carson has appeared in 56 games with seven starts. She’s shown she’s capable of being a reliable three-point shooter and hit 37.5 percent of her threes this past season which would have led LSU.

LSU is replacing four starters from last year’s team so there’s plenty of playing time to be had.

Helping Kim Mulkey divvy up that playing time will be new assistant coach Gary Redus II formerly of SMU.

“Gary is someone I have watched from afar in the recruiting circuit,” Mulkey said. “When talking with other coaches and recruits, he is always brought up in conversation. His infectious personality has allowed him to create and maintain meaningful relationships with his players and fellow colleagues. Being from an athletic family, his dad having played professional baseball for 13 years, a sister who played basketball in the SEC, a wife who played basketball in the ACC, Gary has a love for the game that shows and is evident in the energy he brings and the knowledge he displays.”

On the surface it looks like Redus will be LSU’s new lead recruiter. He’s got ties to the SEC as well as he coached at Vanderbilt for three seasons and helped the Commodores sign a trio of top-100 prospects.