LSU's Flau'jae Johnson set for final college game in NCAA women's tournament opener

Flau'jae Johnson, a senior guard for the LSU Tigers women's basketball team, will play her last game in a Tigers uniform on Friday when the No. 2-seeded Tigers face 15th-seeded Jacksonville in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament in the Sacramento regional.[1]

Johnson committed to LSU on November 14, 2021, as the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 and the program's first McDonald's All-American signee under coach Kim Mulkey.[2][3] She enrolled in fall 2022 and has remained with the Tigers through four seasons, graduating this year amid an era marked by frequent player transfers enabled by the NCAA's name, image and likeness rules and transfer portal.[2]

The 21-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, is also a recording artist signed to Roc Nation since 2020 and has secured multiple NIL partnerships, including with the Unrivaled women's 3-on-3 professional league set to debut in 2026.[2][4] Johnson buried her bearded dragon, named Four after her jersey number, on the Baton Rouge campus, underscoring her attachment to LSU.[1]

Mulkey, who has won four NCAA titles including one with LSU in 2023, praised Johnson on senior night for her loyalty. "She took a chance on LSU... The greatest story of all to me is she stayed four years at LSU and will graduate," Mulkey said.[1]

Teammate Izzy Besselman credited Johnson's work ethic for motivating the locker room. "Seeing how hard she works motivates me and everybody else," Besselman told Yahoo Sports.[1] Johnson recently averaged double figures in scoring during the 2025-26 regular season while balancing workouts, film study and NIL commitments.[3]

LSU recently defeated Tennessee 78-72 on February 26, 2026, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.[1] A win over Jacksonville would send the Tigers to the second round on Sunday, March 22.[1]