Flau'jae Johnson ready to embrace leadership role ahead of final season at LSU

Flau'jae Johnson announced that she will be returning to LSU for her final year of eligibility, with the aim of taking up the leadership mantle. She opted against declaring for the 2025 WNBA draft, to the excitement of LSU fans and the shock of many college basketball fans.

Johnson spoke with Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports on Wednesday, stating the need to lead by example in the 2025-26 season.

“It’s going to be me, allowing Coach Mulkey to coach the hell out of me,” Flau'jae Johnson said. “Just so everybody else falls in line. I’m going to have to be the one to take that to show an example, this is the standard here. I’m ready to do that. I wasn’t ready to do that in my previous years. Now, I know what it takes.”

Johnson has been at LSU for three seasons, winning the NCAA championship in her freshman year.

She has improved every year since joining the Tigers, scoring 14.9 points per game in her sophomore season, an improvement from 11.0 points per game in her first year.

The guard reached a career-high 18.6 points per game in her junior year while also contributing 2.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Johnson’s performance helped the team reach the Elite Eight this season, but she will be looking to win her second national title next campaign.

One of her tasks is to help the team’s cohesion, with the Tigers having a somewhat new look, having lost five players to the transfer portal.

Mulkey has added Kate Koval from Notre Dame and Amiya Joyner from East Carolina.

Flau'jae Johnson is ‘ready to win’

NCAA Women's Basketball: Flau'jae Johnson at the NCAA Tournament Spokane Regional-UCLA Bruins vs LSU Lady Tigers - Source: Imagn

While speaking with Front Office Sports, Johnson also declared her intention to win and develop her game ahead of next year’s draft.

“This is my last year,” Flau'jae Johnson said. “I definitely want to win, but I want to make sure I’m being developed to be the player that I want to be in the WNBA. Trying to find out how I can make that happen this year. I want to be as prepared as possible.”

Since winning the NCAA title in 2023, Johnson and LSU have not managed to reach the Final Four, falling short at the Elite Eight stage in back-to-back seasons. They were knocked out by Iowa in 2024 and then by UCLA in 2025.

Despite the loss to the Bruins, Johnson delivered an outstanding individual performance, scoring a game-high 28 points, though it was not enough to secure the win.

Now, with her final season coming up, the LSU superstar will have a chance at another national championship as part of a revamped roster including Kate Koval, Amiya Joyner, and 2025 recruits Bella Hines, Zekiyah Johnson, and others.