When Oak Grove superstar Caroline Bradley showed up in Baton Rouge in March, LSU fans thought the Tigers had their future locked down. The five-star forward, the No. 1 player in Louisiana, was expected to stay in state. She has visited LSU multiple times, and the Tigers have leaned hard on the hometown pitch. But things have changed since then, and the edge might be slipping away, with some national heavyweights now on her radar.<\/p>\n
Kim Mulkey\u2019s Top Target Caroline Bradley Set to Visit Dawn Staley, Cori Close, and Other LSU Rivals<\/p>\n
Bradley\u2019s recruitment has officially gone national. The Oak Grove star told Rivals she is lining up unofficial visits to South Carolina, UCLA, Kentucky, and Notre Dame while keeping LSU in the mix. Each program comes with its own pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely relationship-oriented,\u201d Bradley said, per On3.<\/a> \u201cPlay style, honestly, throughout the recruiting process, is going to be really big\u2026Somewhere that my family can get to is going to be important as well.\u201d That\u2019s where coaches like Dawn Staley and Cori Close step in.<\/p>\n Competing runs in the family. @caroline_brad23<\/a> was built for this.\ud83d\udcaa #UAnext<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xjDV6iADno<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Girls UAA (@UANextGHoops) April 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Staley appears to have an edge in philosophy. \u201cShe believes in a play style of playing through the post and things like that, which is really important to me,\u201d Bradley said. It also helps that Staley comes with a 475-110 record.<\/p>\n At UCLA, Close also made a major impression. \u201cShe plays through the post. She believes in a post-play style. She\u2019s just a really, really good human, and they\u2019re a really good staff,\u201d Bradley said. That matters because while Mulkey has recruited her since eighth grade, Bradley is openly drawn to systems that highlight her game.<\/p>\n And no doubt, Bradley\u2019s game is worth spotlighting. She averaged 21.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game in her sophomore season. She led Oak Grove to the Non-Select Division III state championship game, posting 38 points and 22 rebounds in the final. She closed her sophomore year with 1,595 points and 1,146 rebounds in her prep career.<\/p>\n ESPN ranks her No. 5 overall in the 2027 class, and Gatorade named her Louisiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Bradley is agile for her size, skilled in the post, and able to stretch the floor. It is no surprise bluebloods are chasing her.<\/p>\n Still, LSU isn\u2019t backing off. Assistant coach Kaylin Rice has been on the recruiting trail, and Mulkey has hosted Bradley repeatedly in Baton Rouge. The Tigers didn\u2019t land a homegrown player in 2025, and Mulkey appears focused on changing that.<\/p>\n 2026 top prospect Caroline Bradley was in the house today to watch #LSU<\/a> take down Florida State to advance to the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n Kim Mulkey getting a little recruiting time in after the game. pic.twitter.com\/X4f223tAHs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) March 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The LSU-UCLA tension adds another wrinkle. In March, Close apologized after reposting a Los Angeles Times column branding the Tigers as \u201cbasketball\u2019s villains.\u201d<\/p>\n Mulkey blasted the piece as sexist, her players called it racist, and the tension only grew when UCLA eliminated LSU from the NCAA tournament. Now, Close is one of the very coaches Bradley is considering, raising the stakes in one of the most intriguing recruitments in women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n Regarding the Los Angeles Times column. pic.twitter.com\/kzZThRTigt<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cori Close (@CoachCoriClose) March 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bradley is also set to visit Kentucky. \u201cI think that Coach Brooks is great. What I like most about him is he already knows what he would do when I came there. He has a plan. He\u2019s envisioning me being there, and he has a plan for the kinds of things he wants to do with me there. I think that\u2019s really cool,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kenny Brooks knows how to elevate a program. In his first season at Kentucky, he went 23-8 overall and 11-5 in conference play. He arrived in Lexington with a 180-82 record from Virginia Tech.<\/p>\n Notre Dame is also in the mix. \u201cI think they\u2019re one that I kind of want to get up there and see the campus, especially to just kind of get a feel for it,\u201d Bradley said. Coach Niele Ivey has compiled a 117-38 record since taking over in 2020 and led the Irish to a Sweet 16 run last season.<\/p>\n Oak Grove\u2019s @caroline_brad23<\/a> scores 9 points and grabs a team-high 11 rebounds in 21.5 minutes in Team USA\u2019s win over Puerto Rico after 6 points and 7 rebounds in an opening win over Venezuela at the U-16 Women\u2019s AmeriCup tournament. https:\/\/t.co\/6j3TvzHMkD<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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