Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen enters transfer portal 4 days after Tara VanDerveer retires: Source

Four days after head coach Tara VanDerveer announced her retirement, Stanford is losing its best player for the 2024-25 season. Junior Kiki Iriafen entered the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag, a source with access to the portal confirmed to The Athletic.

Iriafen was noncommittal about her future at VanDerveer’s retirement news conference Wednesday, shrugging her shoulders when SF Gate asked her about returning to the Cardinal.

Her departure continues an exodus of talent from Stanford over the last two years through the portal, including 2023 No. 1 overall recruit Lauren Betts.

Iriafen averaged 19.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game during 2023-24 as the Cardinal won the Pac-12 regular-season title. She also earned the Katrina McClain Award, which honors the best power forward in the country. Iriafen had one of the defining performances of the NCAA Tournament when she scored 41 points in Stanford’s second-round win over Iowa State, though the Cardinal would ultimately lose in the next round.

Due to the “do not contact” tag, Iriafen likely has her next destination picked out. Given that she is from Los Angeles, it’s possible she follows former teammate Betts down to Southern California, where both UCLA and USC could use her skill set at power forward. Iriafen also received offers from Baylor, UConn and Notre Dame during high school; each of those schools would be outstanding fits for the dominant paint scorer. The latter two of those programs also have strong track records of preparing players for the pros, which has to be on Iriafen’s mind in her final college season.

Stanford, meanwhile, appears resigned to a transition year in its first season in the ACC with a rookie head coach and no real star talent. The leading scorer returning from last season’s squad is Elena Bosgana, who averaged 6.7 points per game.

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(Photo: Tyler Schank / Getty Images)