Angel Reese returning for next LSU game after mysterious absence

Angel Reese will be back soon after having her wings clipped.

Reese has been mysteriously absent from the lineup of defending national champion LSU since she was benched in the second half of a win over Kent State on Nov. 14.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey announced Wednesday that Reese is back with the team.

“Angel’s back,” she told reporters. “”It’s a boost having her back. She’s a tremendous player, one of the best in the country. She gives us a good matchup with [Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth] Kitley, but it’s not just for this game — it’s for the rest of the season.”

OutKick had previously reported that Mulkey had suspended Reese for the purposes of an “attitude adjustment.”

Reese is returning in time for a marquee matchup Thursday night between No. 7 LSU and No. 9 Virginia Tech in primetime on ESPN.

Reese has missed wins over Southeastern Louisiana, Texas Southern, Niagara and Virginia.

Senior LSU guard Kateri Poole, a close friend of Reese’s, has also missed the team’s last four games and will continue to be out with no timetable for her return, Mulkey said.

The coach also revealed the time will be without sophomore Sa’Myah Smith for the rest of the season after she suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus.

“It’s just so sad for her, because she’s improved by leaps and bounds,” Mulkey said. “Angel being back kind of helps, but there’s no substitute for the value of Sa’Myah and what she’s meant.”

Reese has said little about her absence, other than posting cryptic messages on social media.

Last week, she posted a video on TikTok with a clip of Deion Sanders speaking at a Colorado press conference this past August.

“Look at me,” Sanders said in the clip.

“What about me would make you think that I care about your opinion of me? Your opinion of me is not the opinion that I have of myself. You ain’t make me so you can’t break me.”

Mulkey has been generally evasive about the reasoning for Reese’s absence.

“You always have to deal with locker room issues,” Mulkey told reporters on Nov. 20 when asked about Reese.

“That’s just part of coaching. In 40 years, I can never think of a time where I didn’t have to deal with issues. That’s what coaches do. Sometimes y’all know about it and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know.