Women's college basketball transfer portal winners and losers: LSU, South Carolina and TCU

New York Times

28-04-2025

Most of the top players who entered the women's basketball transfer portal have made their own decisions, so it's time to turn our attention to how those moves will impact the 2025-26 outlook for teams.
More than 1,300 Division I players entered the portal this season, including more than 250 from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. But some of those changes were more impactful than others, both for the teams they joined and the teams they left.
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Here's an early look at the winners and losers from the 2025 transfer portal season:
A self-described 'portalista,' Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin did it again — maybe better than ever. After graduating four of their top five scorers and rebounders, the Rebels unsurprisingly turned to the portal to reload … and McPhee-McCuin did it quite well.
The only player returning with significant 2024-25 starting experience is guard Sira Thienou, so bolstering the inside was crucial. The Rebels landed Ohio State transfer Cotie McMahon, who was the first big surprise of this year's portal season. Though several top power conference programs pursued her, McMahon chose Ole Miss for her final college season. She is relentless around the rim and improved her range this past season, so it'll be interesting to see how the move to The 'Sip might improve her 2026 WNBA Draft stock (as she buys into the Ole Miss defensive system) and if she can help the Rebels get over the Sweet 16 hump. Joining her inside is Virginia transfer Latasha Lattimore. She played heavy minutes for the Cavaliers, averaging 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
An interesting addition is Debreasha Powe. Ole Miss doesn't shoot a ton of 3s, but that's Powe's strength as a 40 percent 3-point shooter (on five-plus attempts per game). She'll give Ole Miss a nice changeup by stretching the floor.
Cotie McMahon is heading to @OleMissWBB! 👏
#NCAAWBB x @cotiemcmahon23 pic.twitter.com/HGzqMpUQqU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 24, 2025
Did we expect anything less from Mark Campbell? The portal opened on his birthday this year and, well … he received some gifts. The Horned Frogs needed to replace their four leading scorers and rebounders, all of whom were transfers. So it's no surprise that Campbell jumped back into the portal to find their replacements.
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Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles is the cornerstone of this class. She can step into that pick-and-roll point guard mold occupied last season by Hailey Van Lith. Alongside guard Donovyn Hunter — TCU's one returning starter — its backcourt looks pretty solid. She'll be operating in that role with multiple bigs from Campbell's portal haul. Clara Silva, a 6-foot-7 center, played limited minutes at Kentucky behind Clara Strack, but Silva has a ton of upside and gives the Horned Frogs a strong defensive rim protector, a role occupied at TCU by Sedona Prince the last few seasons. Marta Suarez, a 6-3 forward, brings her all-around game, filling gaps from the departures of Madison Conner and Agnes Emma-Nnopu. Suarez has the size and physicality to play inside, along with athleticism on the glass, good vision for passing lanes and range that forces opponents to respect her 3-point shooting (32 percent last season).
🥽 pic.twitter.com/ddvPXJjgT9
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) April 9, 2025
South Carolina had an interesting portal season. The Gamecocks added the nation's leading scorer in Latson and a 6-6 center in Okot, who averaged a double-double in SEC competition this season. That solves two issues that hurt the Gamecocks' national title hopes this season as Latson and Okot can plug gaps in the go-to scorer position and the inside. But the departure of Fulwiley in particular provides the first counterpoint to what has been South Carolina's road to success (a method that has run counter to the way most programs operate). Younger players understand they'll sit for older players, and minutes will be dispersed more evenly. Perhaps Fulwiley's exit — even to rival LSU — is just a one-off and the Gamecocks' train will keep chugging along. Or could it be a harbinger that even South Carolina — as powerful as it's become — isn't impervious to the changing waves of college sports?
Kim Mulkey has built much of the Tigers' success through the transfer portal, getting players like Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow to play in Baton Rouge. With Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, LSU had two of the nation's most exciting players heading into next season, but they still needed to build around them. The loss of Smith, who had come into her own late last season, was disappointing. Koval replaces some of that interior production, but it still seemed like the Tigers needed to add another player or two to return to the Elite Eight conversation heading into next season.
Enter Fulwiley and suddenly that Elite Eight conversation is a Final Four conversation. If nothing else, the dynamic rising junior star will bring highlight reel plays to Baton Rouge that will attract basketball fans across the country to tune into games (and certainly for that LSU-South Carolina SEC matchup). On the floor, Fulwiley's playmaking potential, along with Johnson and Williams, instantly gives the Tigers the most unmissable backcourt in the country.
Brenda Frese has been one of the most successful portal recruiters in recent years. Last season, she had Kaylene Smikle, Christina Dalce and Sarah Te-Biasu. Previously, she brought in Jakia Brown-Tuner and Brinae Alexander. The year before, she nabbed Abby Meyers. (Just to name a few.) This year, it has been more of the same as Frese reloads the Terrapins, who were just two possessions shy of the Elite Eight.
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Smikle, the Terrapins' leading scorer, returns along with Saylor Poffenbarger (17 starts, 27 minutes per game) and Allie Kubek (21 starts, 24 minutes per game). Bri McDaniel, who tore her ACL in January, could be back on the floor by conference play, depending on her rehab progression. But building out from that core, Frese has added players who could take Maryland further in March.
Okananwa should be a great fit for the Terrapins' up-tempo play, and she'll be an excellent individual defender for Frese. Garzon, who shot 41 percent on 3-pointers last season, is an obvious fit. Maryland is consistently one of the highest-percentage 3-point teams in the country, even if it doesn't attempt as many as other squads. In the last two years, the Terrapins' attempts per game have decreased, but Garzon's addition could increase their treys. (She shot nearly seven 3s per game last season.) Gracie Merkle — a 6-6 former Penn State center with two seasons of eligibility remaining — should provide a nice inside presence, especially because she has already faced Big Ten conference foes. She averaged 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 68 percent in Big Ten play last season.
Not every 'winner' is a team remaining in the top 20 despite major roster losses. Under fourth-year coach Tina Langley, Washington's additions could help the Huskies compete in their second Big Ten season. Their portal class seems under-the-radar, but it's a significant win for Langley.
Washington made its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season after nearly a decade. The Huskies return three of their four top scorers, including Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers, so they didn't need a full rebuild. USC transfer Avery Howell will be a nice addition to that backcourt, giving the Huskies three players who hover around 40 percent from 3.
Langley needed to replace 6-4 forward Dalayah Daniels, who led the Huskies with 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, as well as 6-3 forward Tayra Eke. Picking up Yulia Grabovskaia, who's 6-5, doesn't give the Huskies the same athletic profile on the inside, but with Howell stretching the floor even more, that might not be too big of a deal.
Before the transfer portal, players needed to apply for NCAA waivers to change schools (without sitting out a season) in the wake of a coach's firing or retirement. Not so now. For the sake of this assessment, we're not considering programs like Georgia Tech (Nell Fortner's retirement) or Arizona (Adia Barnes' departure for SMU), where coaching changes took place and several players jumped into the portal. Instead, we're looking solely at programs without a coaching change that lost players.
After the Bruins made history with their first Final Four run of the modern era, it looked like they were gearing up to run it back, considering no players were graduating or heading to the draft. Instead, UCLA lost six players to the portal, including its entire freshman class, one starter and the Big Ten's sixth player of the year. That hurts the Bruins' chances of a second-straight Final Four run, as well as the prospects of a future title run with a young class coming up behind a veteran core.
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A possible reason for the exodus? Fresh off the Final Four, UCLA anticipated returning its starting five return as well as getting back Bruins guard Charlisse-Leger Walker, who missed last season rehabbing an ACL injury, and 6-4 forward Amanda Muse. With an incoming class that includes 6-4 forward Sienna Betts (younger sister of starting center Lauren Betts) and 6-3 wing Lena Bilić — even with Jones opting to enter the portal — minutes were going to be hard to come by in Westwood.
Three starters graduated (Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall, Talia von Oelhoffen), so there were going to be major minutes up for grabs in 2025-26. Then, JuJu Watkins, who ranked 12th among power conference players in minutes per game — tore her ACL, which provides another opportunity for players to get on the floor.
Right now, it's hard to know what USC will look like next season. The Trojans return Kennedy Smith, who started 28 games as a freshman, and Malia Samuels. But beyond them, no player averaged more than 10 minutes a game.
Coach Lindsay Gottlieb might be in a similar position as she was two years ago — entering the season with the nation's top-ranked freshman (this time: 6-1 guard Jazzy Davidson) and a group that hasn't played much together. That season went pretty well for the Trojans, as Watkins led the Trojans to the Elite Eight. Could the same be expected next season?
back in the lab 🧪 pic.twitter.com/Nzvfz5tt60
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) April 26, 2025
Quite surprising to see a third team that was considered a national championship front-runner in the 'losers' section right now. But here we are. Welcome to the modern era of college sports, where everything changes by the day.
After much talk about the successful backcourt chemistry between Miles and Hannah Hidalgo, the partnership was short-lived as Miles opted to spend her final season at TCU. Koval, who played an increased role until Maddy Westbeld returned from injury, also opted to transfer. Her older brother attends LSU, so it wasn't a huge surprise she landed there, even if her decision to depart from Notre Dame was unexpected. Risch appeared in only 13 games this season while rehabbing a hip injury, and Watson didn't play at all because of a knee injury.
Those exits, coupled with Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld's departures for the WNBA, leave a dearth of minutes in South Bend. Hidalgo is a heck of a point guard, but beyond her, the Irish have only one player (forward Cassandre Prosper) who played more than five minutes a game last season. Notre Dame's 2025 high school recruiting class has only one player (Leah Macy). So far, coach Niele Ivey has secured commitments from Kansas State's Gisela Sanchez and Wake Forest's Malaya Cowles. But work is required to fill out a starting five, let alone a roster.
(Photo of MiLaysia Fulwiley: Elsa / Getty Images)