Raegan Beers commits to Oklahoma, Talia von Oelhoffen to USC: What the Oregon State transfers bring

The Oregon State players who departed after the team’s Elite Eight run have started to land on new teams across the country. On Monday, forward Raegan Beers announced her commitment to Oklahoma, and Talia von Oelhoffen announced her commitment to USC.

Their commitments come after the majority of Oregon State’s roster entered the transfer portal due to the Beavers heading to the West Coast Conference.

Raegan Beers

With Oklahoma — the Big 12 regular season champions — moving into the SEC, the Sooners were looking to grab a big interior player able to own the glass, and in Beers they got just that. As a sophomore at Oregon State, Beers averaged 10.3 rebounds and 17.5 points per game while shooting 66.4 percent from the floor. She had narrowed her choices to Oklahoma and UConn for her final two seasons of college basketball.

Beers joins a veteran group led by reigning co-Big 12 player of the year Skylar Vann (who is expected to return for her fifth season). Seniors Lexy Keys, Aubrey Joens and Naveah Tot are also all expected to use their COVID-19 seasons and with Payton Verhulst and Sahara Williams in the fold, the Sooners don’t just return their top six players, they now add one of the best bigs available.

With Beers anchoring the center, this spaced-out offense will have another wrinkle for teams to plan against while also giving the Sooners a defensive stalwart inside who can go up against the likes of LSU, South Carolina and Texas’ bigs.

I’m Home pic.twitter.com/N1u7ZN5GGU

— RaeganBeers (@RaeganBeers) April 29, 2024

The Sooners were considered a top-25 team and Beers’ addition gives them an obvious boost in the preseason rankings potentially into the top 10. In a crowded SEC, Oklahoma will certainly get tested through the regular season, and it will be interesting to see how coach Jennie Baranczyk utilizes a player with a unique skillset like Beers throughout the year.

Talia von Oelhoffen

Von Oelhoffen is the Trojans’ second major transfer to land in Los Angeles this offseason after Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen committed last week. The graduate transfer will have one season of eligibility remaining and will be USC’s 15th scholarship player, meaning the Trojans’ roster is full ahead of the 2023-24 season

Von Oelhoffen started 90 games for Oregon State over the past four seasons and averaged a career-best five assists per game this past season. She was one of the lead ball handlers for Oregon State this past season as the Beavers advanced to the Elite Eight, where they lost to eventual champion South Carolina. Her ball handling will be particularly crucial for USC as it looks to replace McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla, who were second and third in assists for the Trojans this past season.

🏆 https://t.co/fVYOCACPO3

— talia von oelhoffen (@TaliaVono) April 29, 2024

The Trojans, which made it to the Elite Eight this past season, were already a top-5 team heading into next season with JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall’s return. Now, with Iriafen and von Oelhoffen in the fold, it appears as if USC is putting together a roster that could contend for the national championship. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb will have her work cut out for her with nearly half of her 2024-25 roster comprised of first-year players, but this core veteran group should be more than enough to sustain the Trojans as they enter Year 1 in the Big Ten.

USC’s biggest competition might be fellow first-year Big Ten member and cross-town rival UCLA. But outside of the Trojans’ Big Four (Watkins, Marshall, Iriafen, von Oelhoffen), USC will be young. Of the other four returners, only Dominique Darius averaged more than 12 minutes per game, and Gottlieb will be ushering in a seven-member 2024 recruiting class (six of whom are top-100 recruits).

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(Photo of Talia von Oelhoffen: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)