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Women’s basketball transfer winners and losers: Where did USC, Iowa and UConn land?

Women’s basketball transfer winners and losers: Where did USC, Iowa and UConn land?
NCAA Womens Basketball

Women’s basketball transfer winners and losers: Where did USC, Iowa and UConn land?

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The transfer portal officially closed on Wednesday. Players who are already in it face no deadline for making their final decisions, and with final exams upon us, expect a lull in announcements as some players and programs pause visits. Pending scholarship space and program preference, players also can return to their current programs. Entering the portal doesn’t necessitate a departure.

Even with so many players still in the portal, many have already made decisions, which changes the way we’re thinking about teams heading into the 2024-25 season.

That means it’s time to examine the impact of the last six weeks. Because of who they’ve gained or who they’ve lost, teams have come out of the 2024 transfer portal as winners or losers. There’s still time for players to make decisions. Janiah Barker’s commitment could move a team into the “winners” category, but this is how it’s shaking out now.

Winners

USC

In: Kiki Iriafen (Stanford), Talia von Oelfhoffen (Oregon State)

Out: Taylor Bigby (TCU), Kayla Williams (TBD)

The Trojans are the big winners in the unofficial transfer portal championship. Not only did they snag Iriafen, the best player in the portal, but they managed to fill vital holes on a team that was already playing at an Elite Eight-level last season. Don’t get me wrong, losing a sixth woman like Bigby is tough, but with Iriafen and von Oelhoffen in the fold (and eyeing an impressive potential starting five), USC now looks like South Carolina’s biggest threat to repeating as champs. With Rayah Marshall and Iriafen, coach Lindsay Gottlieb has a scary post tandem that can go toe-to-toe with the best, and von Oelhoffen bolsters a backcourt that lost its second- and third-leading assist-makers. It’s less “JuJu and The Nerds” this season and more “Holy Smokes USC has a stacked starting core.”

UConn

In: Kaitlyn Chen (Princeton)

Out: Inês Bettencourt (Gonzaga), Amari DeBerry (Maryland)

UConn’s health has been the main obstacle to fulfilling its potential the last three seasons. But Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards threw the Huskies on their backs and carried six healthy players to the 2024 Final Four. So, let’s put that argument to rest and consider what the Huskies have coming in a few months. Let’s specifically appreciate the backcourt coup that Geno Auriemma got with Chen’s commitment to UConn. Chen was considered arguably the best point guard in the portal, and USC, UCLA and Stanford also were rumored to have interest in her. She bolsters the Huskies, who already had the talent to return to the Final Four. Even in a program that suffered depth and health issues the past few seasons, Bettencourt and DeBerry never broke into the rotation. DeBerry battled injuries through her three-year career, too. Chen eases the post-Nika Mühl transition and allows Bueckers, KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade to get into more positions to receive passes from another elite court general who’s only made more dangerous by her own ability to get a bucket. (Chen averaged 14 points per game during three seasons in the Ivy League.)

Maryland

In: Saylor Poffenbarger (Arkansas), Amari DeBerry (UConn), Kaylene Smikle (Rutgers), Sarah Te-Biasu (VCU), Christina Dalce (Villanova)

Out: Faith Masonius (Seton Hall), Riley Nelson (Duke), Summer Bostock (TBD), Hawa Doumbouya (Virginia)

With the Big Ten adding two top-10 teams out of Los Angeles, the Terrapins needed to reload this offseason, and reload they did. Poffenbarger could lead the Big Ten in rebounding next season. Smikle and Te-Biasu offer two scoring options around Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel to ensure Maryland has offensive threats at all five positions. Dalce’s addition in the post adds another rebounder alongside Poffenbarger, and she was the reigning co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2.3 blocks per game). Brenda Frese’s team will feature a lot of new faces on the floor, but after going .500 in league play last season, that might be a good thing.

In: Taliah Scott (Arkansas), DeYona Gaston (Texas)

Out: Sydney Shaw (West Virginia), McKenna Eddings (Georgia Southern), Kionna Gaines (TBD)

In three seasons at Auburn, Johnnie Harris already has more than doubled the Tigers’ win total, going from 10-18 in the 2021-22 season to 22-12 last season. Even with that growth, the program still finished in the middle of the SEC, but it was good enough for Auburn’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The Tigers lost their two best players to graduation and Shaw to the portal, so there were minutes and production to replace, but Harris had some big wins by reeling in Scott and Gaston. Scott averaged 22.1 points per game last season at Arkansas and dropped 33 on Auburn in February. With three years of eligibility remaining, Scott looks like the future of the program. Gaston, a graduate transfer, steps in as a steady veteran presence to help bring along a younger core that Harris is developing. She was an All-Big 12 first-team member as a junior and the Big 12’s Sixth Player of the Year in 2022-23, so she should be a consistent double-digit scorer and stout defender for Auburn.

Iowa

In: Lucy Olsen (Villanova)

Out: None

This is not a team that will be better than it was last season, but with the right addition — a proven scorer and primary ballhandler — the Hawkeyes have a chance to figure into the top third of the Big Ten and continue as an offensive juggernaut. Olsen will slot in next to Sydney Affolter, who showed up when her number was called late in the year, and Hannah Stuelke, who should have the opportunity to move back into her power forward position with the addition of 6-foot-4 freshman Ava Heiden. At Villanova last season, Olsen averaged 23.3 points and 3.8 assists per game. Her 3-point shooting percentage was the lowest of her career, but she was also garnering more defensive attention as Nova’s primary threat. With more scorers across the board at Iowa, she should have extra spacing to at least get back to her sophomore 3-point shooting level of 36 percent.

Losers

Oregon State

In: Lucia Navarro (Florida State)

Out: Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), Talia von Oelhoffen (USC), Timea Gardiner (TBD), Donovyn Hunter (TBD), Lily Hansford (TBD), Dominika Paurová (TBD), Adlee Blacklock (TBD), Martha Pietsch (TBD)

It physically pains me to put Oregon State in the losers category, because — as I’ve stated before in my long-documented history of West Coast appreciation — we’re all losers for losing the Pac-12 Conference. But we can’t just ignore the fact that this Elite Eight squad, like its conference, was completely dismantled. I will never fault players for making moves that make sense for them, and staying in a power conference makes sense for players, especially those who want to play professionally. But we will miss America’s Team as it scatters across the country. Long live the Pac-12 (she says as she silently weeps and curls up with a bottle of wine).

Arkansas

In: Izzy Higginbottom (Arkansas State)

Out: Taliah Scott (Auburn), Saylor Poffenbarger (Maryland), Maryam Dauda (TBD), Samara Spencer (TBD), Jersey Wolfenbarger (LSU)

The Razorbacks lost four starters to the transfer portal, including their leading scorer (Scott, 22.1 points per game), leading rebounder (Poffenbarger, 11.2 rebounds per game) and leading passer (Spencer, 3.5 assists per game). Worse yet, Scott, Poffenbarger, Dauda and Wolfenbarger each had two-plus years of eligibility remaining. So it’s not just that next year’s production is gone, a lot of Arkansas’ plans for its future are also gone. Higginbottom keeps some of that production within reach — she averaged 22.2 points and 3.7 assists per game last season at Arkansas State — and with two years of eligibility remaining, she’s not just a stop-gap player for coach Mike Neighbors. But as the SEC deepens with the inclusion of Texas and Oklahoma next season, it would’ve been helpful for the Razorbacks to keep a bit more continuity heading into 2024-25.

Michigan

In: Ally VanTimmeren (Boston College)

Out: Laila Phelia (Texas), Chyra Evans (Utah), Cameron Williams (TBD), Taylor Williams (Northwestern), Taylor Woodson (Minnesota), Elise Stuck (Ball State)

Losing Phelia is significant. She led the Wolverines in scoring last season (16.8 PPG) and figured to be the face of Michigan athletics (not just women’s basketball) again this season. Adding Evans and Cameron Williams into the departures list as well means that the Wolverines are without three of their expected top four returners, leaving just Jordan Hobbs as the foundational piece in Ann Arbor. VanTimmermen, a Michigan native, can contribute next season but she doesn’t jump off the page as the obvious leading scorer or rebounder for the Wolverines next season. At Boston College last season, she averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Colorado

In: Nyamer Diew (Iowa State), Lior Garzon (Oklahoma State)

Out: Aaronette Vonleh (Baylor), six freshmen and sophomores

Vonleh is the big individual loss here. The junior averaged 14 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 stocks (blocks and steals combined) last season, and with the departures of Jaylyn Sherrod, Quay Miller and Maddie Nolan (all exhausted their eligibility or went pro), the Buffaloes’ future seemed to be orbiting around Vonleh. Not anymore. Beyond Vonleh, six Colorado freshmen and sophomores entered the portal, eliminating players who might have stepped in for more reps this season. J.R. Payne still has options (3-point shooting should remain solid with Frida Formann and Garzon), but Colorado will have nearly an entirely new roster for its first season in the Big 12.

Stanford

In: None

Out: Kiki Iriafen (USC)

Since 2019, only one player has transferred to Stanford so it’s not super surprising that no one committed to the Cardinal so far this offseason. But to lose Iriafen to the portal and Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump to graduation in the same offseason while not replenishing the roster with players other than incoming recruits is tough. First-year coach Kate Paye will have to navigate many changes as Stanford searches for new go-to players in a brand new conference with demanding cross-country travel. Even one veteran transfer could’ve helped ease that adjustment, but thus far, that doesn’t look to be the route for Stanford.

Verdict is still out

Oklahoma

In: Raegan Beers (Oregon State)

Out: Kayla Cooper (TBD), Kelbie Washington (TBD)

Adding a physical post presence like Beers as the Sooners enter the SEC is a smart move. With her, Oklahoma can match up defensively on the inside with the South Carolinas and Texases of the world. But I’m still trying to figure out the fit offensively. The Beavers played a controlled, slower style with fewer than 68 possessions per game. At Oklahoma, coach Jennie Baranczyk likes to go fast, and the Sooners played more than 77 possessions a game, putting them among the top three percent nationally in pace. That’s significant. It’ll be interesting to see Beers in a different system, and no doubt it’ll give WNBA scouts a different look at the 6-4 forward.

(Photos of Kiki Iriafen, Raegan Beers and Laila Phelia: Steph Chambers / Getty Images, Ali Gradischer / Getty Images, Andy Lyons / Getty Images)



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