Chloe Kitts is one of 11 women's basketball national champions from Florida. Who else is there?
Ben Grieco- Eleven college basketball players from Florida have won the NCAA Division I women's basketball championship.
- The first Florida player to win a national championship was Bridgette Gordon, who won twice with the Tennessee Volunteers in 1987 and 1989.
- Three players have won multiple national championships: Gordon, Tiffany Hayes (UConn, 2009 and 2010), and Briana Pulido (UConn, 2014-2016).
TAMPA - The Sunshine State has had its fair share of National Champions in women's basketball.
Since 1982, when the first women's tournament was held, 11 college basketball players from Florida have held the trophy on the final day of the season.
Three of those players won multiple national crowns, with Briana Pulido, of Miami, winning three times with UConn from 2014-2016. The Huskies have the chance to win their 12th title on Sunday, but they currently don't boast any players from Florida.
With South Carolina back in the Big Dance on Sunday here at Amalie Arena, Oviedo native Chloe Kitts has the chance to be the fourth player from Florida to win multiple national championships in women's basketball.
Kitts, then a sophomore last year, played just 16 minutes for the Gamecocks in the 2024 national championship against Iowa. She scored 11 points with 10 rebounds and two assists as South Carolina completed the immaculate, undefeated season at 38-0.
Here are the other 10 players from Florida to win a national championship.
LaDazhia Williams, LSU (2023)
A Bradenton native who played at Lakewood Ranch High, LaDazhia Williams played at a few colleges before finally winning it all at LSU. Williams started at South Carolina (2017-19) before transferring to Missouri (2019-22) and finishing out at LSU.
Williams is the all-time leading scorer at Lakewood Ranch, having scored 1,954 points with 990 rebounds, 110 assists, 194 steals and 215 blocks.
During the championship season at LSU, Williams started in 34 games, averaging 9.9 points. She tallied four double-doubles during the year. In the title game, Williams scored 20 points and recorded five rebounds.
Williams, who was drafted into the WNBA in 2023, was waived months later. She currently plays in the Greek Women's Basketball League.
Destanni Henderson, South Carolina (2022)
Also reaching the top of the mountain with South Carolina, Destanni Henderson is from Fort Myers and played at Fort Myers High School. A former News-Press Player of the Year, Henderson led Fort Myers to the Class 6A state championship as a sophomore before winning the Class 7A title as a junior and senior.
She's since had her No. 3 jersey retired by Fort Myers in 2022.
Henderson, considered the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2018 and a five-star recruit, initially received an offer from South Carolina as an eighth-grader. Henderson finished with a career 1,649 points with 442 rebounds, 446 assists, 400 steals and 56 blocks.
During her senior season at South Carolina, when the Gamecocks won the title, Henderson played in 34 games, averaging 11.5 points per game and 3.1 rebounds. In the championship game, Henderson had a career-high 26 points, four assists and three steals – and held UConn's Paige Bueckers to just 14 points.
Victoria Patrick, South Carolina (2017)
An Orlando native, Victoria Patrick played high school basketball at Edgewater and was ranked as the No. 25 guard in the class of 2016. She led Edgewater to a state championship in 2014.
As a senior at Edgewater, during the 2015-16 season, Patrick averaged 15.8 points per game and tallied five steals in 19 games played, according to MaxPreps.
Playing off the bench during the Gamecocks' 2017 title run, Patrick scored a total 32 points and recorded 11 rebounds during the year. She played limited time in the championship game, not recording any stats.
Patrick ultimately transferred to North Florida heading into the 2019-20 season.
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, South Carolina (2017)
Also on that 2017 squad from South Carolina, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan was a standout for the Gamecocks in her collegiate career. Born in Anguilla, but playing high school ball in Pembroke Pines, Harrigan played at Flanagan.
The championship season was Harrigan's freshman year, where she played in 37 games, starting in three of them. She averaged 4.9 points per game with 3.3 rebounds a game, plus 39 blocks. In the championship game, Harrigan played 10 minutes with just one point and one rebound.
Harrigan is one of three Gamecocks, all-time, to record 1,000 career points and 200 blocks. She's second all-time at South Carolina in blocks with 210.
Harrigan was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in 2020, playing a few seasons in the WNBA. Her reserved playing rights are currently with the Dallas Wings, but Harrigan is presently playing for Maccabi Ramat Gan in Israel. She signed a training camp contract with the Wings back in February.
Briana Pulido, UConn (2014-16)
Briana Pulido was part of UConn's most recent national championship in 2016, back when the Huskies won four titles in a row. In three years with the Huskies, Pulido was primarily coming off the bench.
However, during the 2016 national championship, Pulido buried a jump shot against Syracuse in the final minutes of the game. She finished her career with 23 points, 22 rebounds and eight assists.
A Miami native, Pulido played at Archbishop Carroll and then Gulliver Prep. At Archbishop Carroll, Pulido scored 613 points with 264 rebounds and 83 assists.
Pulido was heavily recruited as a track and field athlete, and became a walk-on for the Huskies her sophomore year at the school before earning a scholarship her senior year.
Kelsey Assarian, Texas A&M (2011)
A Naples native, Kelsey Assarian was part of Texas A&M's first national championship in 2011. That was her junior season, and was primarily a player off the bench in 36 points. She averaged 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game that season.
She saw limited action in the national championship game against Notre Dame, and didn't record any stats.
Assarian played at Barron Collier, and in her junior and senior seasons, recorded 877 points with 487 points, 118 assists and 151 steals.
Tiffany Hayes, UConn (2009-10)
A Winter Haven alum, Kelsey Hayes won a pair of national championships with UConn in 2010 and 2011. During her preps career, Winter Haven went an astounding 117-9, winning state championships in 2004 and 2007. She averaged 18.3 points per game.
In the first championship with UConn, Hayes wound up scoring 11 points in the national championship game against Louisville.
During the follow-up championship season at UConn, Hayes played in all 39 games, starting in 37 of them. She averaged 10.2 points per game with 3.3 rebounds. In the national championship win over Stanford, Hayes scored seven points and tallied three rebounds.
Hayes was drafted into the WNBA in 2012, and played for the Atlanta Dream until 2022. She spent the offseason with numerous overseas teams, and ultimately retired in December 2023.
Hayes' retirement didn't last long, playing for the Las Vegas Aces in 2024, winning the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year award, before signing with the Golden State Valkyries this past February.
Dominique Redding, Tennessee (2007)
Dominique Redding played for Clearwater before going on to play for the Volunteers. Redding, who was a senior in the 2006-07 season, helped push Tennessee to a 34-3 record before beating Rutgers in the national championship.
She played in 33 games, scoring a total 116 pounds with 47 rebounds in final campaign.
Le'Tania Severe, Notre Dame (2001)
Former Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw described Le'Tania Severe "as one of the fastest and strongest guards in the country" during her collegiate career with the Fighting Irish. She was featured in 22 games that 2000-01 season with just 41 points and 40 rebounds on the year.
Severe played at Fort Lauderdale High her senior season, after transferring from Flanagan. At Flanagan, as a junior, she averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists and helped her team finish with a 15-8 record.
Bridgette Gordon, Tennessee (1987, 1989)
Bridgette Gordon has the distinct honor of being the first player from Florida to win a women's college basketball national championship. And she did it twice with the Volunteers in the late 1980s.
A native of DeLand, Gordon's had a career to remember. Gordon played at DeLand High before going to Tennessee. She averaged 18 points per game in her career at Tennessee, including a career-high 735 points her senior year with 105 steals. She was the tournament's most outstanding player in 1989.
In 1988, Gordon won the 1988 Olympics with Team USA in Seoul.
She went onto play for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA for a season before heading to the college coaching ranks. After nearly two decades as an assistant around the country, Gordon took over the Florida A&M job in 2023. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.