The transfer portal is still hopping as players find their new homes for next season.
Just Women’s Sports will be keeping track of the top players who have entered the portal and those who have chosen their teams.
Former NC State star Diamond Johnson is transferring to Norfolk State, she announced Tuesday.
The historically Black university proved a draw for Johnson in more ways than one as she seeks to “be the best version” of herself.
“A lot of people think you always have to go to Power Five schools to get to your (dream), going to the WNBA, going pro,” Johnson told Lauren Dreher in her announcement video. “But I don’t think it always has to be like that. You can go to HBCUs, mid-majors. I think you can develop there and still chase your dreams.”
Norfolk State is coming off its second NCAA tournament appearance in program history and first since 2002. The Spartans won the MEAC tournament, beating Howard in the title game, then lost to No. 1 seed South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“I’m going to say it today so we can prep for next year: Norfolk State is not a 16 seed. Just want you to know that. They’re not. Very well-coached. Very disciplined,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said after the game.
The former ACC Sixth Player of the Year as a sophomore, Johnson will provide an immediate boost to Norfolk State, having led NC State in scoring this past season with 12.3 points per game. She did miss some time with an ankle injury, playing just 22 games.
After narrowing down her list to LSU, USC, and South Carolina, DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow announced that she will attend LSU. The reigning national champions now have two top transfers in Morrow and Louisville transfer Hailey van Lith.
“I want to win championships and build a dynasty,” Morrow said in a video announcement sponsored by Caktus AI. “Where is the best place for me to achieve my goals?”
Read the full story here.
Wake Forest transfer Jewel Spear will attend the University of Tennessee.
Spear, a two-time all-ACC honoree, helped Wake Forest reach the NCAA tournament in 2021, the Demon Deacons’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 1988.
“I felt like it was time to spread my wings, go to a bigger stage and compete on a bigger stage, while also getting great academics and being able to contend for a national championship,” Spear told ESPN.
Junior college player of the year Sakima Walker is joining the South Carolina Gamecocks. Walker played at Rutgers for two seasons before transferring to Northwest Florida State College, where she led the team to the 2023 junior college national title and was named NJCAA Division I women’s player of the year.
Walker is South Carolina’s second transfer of 2023, joining Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao.
Georgetown star Kennedy Fauntleroy is joining Oklahoma State. In one season with the Hoyas, she averaged 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, enough to make her the unanimous pick for Big East Freshman of the Year.
“Last year she proved to be one of the best point guards in the country as a freshman and we can’t wait to help her prove herself again,” Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt said in a statement.
Taiyer Parks is on the move as well, flipping from Michigan State to Big Ten rival Ohio State as a graduate transfer. She averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds across four seasons with the Spartans.
One of the top players in the transfer portal, Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists with Louisville last season.
With Alexis Morris’ departure to the WNBA after the Tigers’ NCAA championship run, the Tigers had an opening at point guard that Van Lith will fill in 2023-24.
South Carolina scored a big portal pickup Monday with the addition of Paopao. The former Oregon point guard has two years of eligibility remaining and averaged 12.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds through three seasons with the Ducks.
“blessed & excited for the journey ahead,” Paopao wrote in her social media post. “go gamecocks !”
The No. 7 transfer prospect according to ESPN, she was also ranked 11th in the class of 2020 recruit rankings.
Paopao was also one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last season shooting 42.4 percent, which will help the Gamecocks who hit just 31 percent of their 3s over the last two seasons.
blessed & excited for the journey ahead ‼️go gamecocks ! ❤️“Do not remember the former things I am gonna do a NEW and GREAT THING .” Isaiah 43:18 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Fcg8p5xafN— 👑🇦🇸🇹🇰 (@tehinapaopao12) April 25, 2023
blessed & excited for the journey ahead ‼️go gamecocks ! ❤️“Do not remember the former things I am gonna do a NEW and GREAT THING .” Isaiah 43:18 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Fcg8p5xafN
Former Iowa State guard Donarski also announced her next school Monday: North Carolina.
With two years of eligibility remaining, the three-year starter averaged 12.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in the 2022-23 season as a member of the Big 12 tournament championship team.
She also helped the Cyclones to the NCAA Sweet 16 and was named Big 12 defensive player of the year. She was ranked as the third-best transfer by ESPN.
Mississippi State has picked up an impact player in Park-Laine. As a senior for Seton Hall in the 2022-23 season, the guard averaging 20.8 points and 6.3 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Day-Wilson is headed to Miami, she announced via social media.She averaged 10.2 points, 3.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds in two seasons at Duke.
And Gustin has entered the transfer portal after three seasons at BYU. She had a career-best season in 2022-23, averaging 16.1 points and 16.7 rebounds per game. Quietly, she put together one of the best campaigns in the NCAA, finishing with the second-most double-doubles. She finished with 27 in 33 games played, second only to LSU’s Angel Reese.
The DePaul transfer has narrowed her list to three schools, she announced via social media: LSU, South Carolina and USC. Morrow previously said she was contacted by 33 schools after putting her name in the transfer portal.
Taylor is transferring from Duke to Ohio State due to “unforeseen circumstances,” she announced Thursday. She had announced that she would return to Duke for a fifth year but later entered the transfer portal.
“The relationships that I have been able to build with everyone will be unforgettable,” she wrote. “I can’t thank Duke enough for the unwavering support.”
Hey Buckeye Nation ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/ov4XGuKs48— Celeste Taylor (@_celeste620) April 20, 2023
Hey Buckeye Nation ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/ov4XGuKs48
A native of New York, Taylor was named ACC defensive player of the year and was a member of the all-ACC first team. She was also named a finalist for Naismith defensive player of the year.
Throughout her career, Taylor has averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
Lexy Keys, who played three seasons at Oklahoma State, is set to join the rival Sooners with two years of eligibility remaining. She averaged 9.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season for Oklahoma State.
The 5-5 junior guard is on the hunt for another new team.
Johnson transferred to NC State after spending her freshman season at Rutgers. After two years at NC State, she is again in the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
As a junior, she averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Wolfpack, though she also missed 10 games with an ankle injury.
NC State teammates Camille Hobby and Jakia Brown-Turner also entered the transfer portal, with Brown-Turner headed to Maryland.
Arizona is another school with a number of players in the portal, but at least one has reversed course. Rising sophomore guard Kailyn Gilbert has decided to exit the portal and return to the Wildcats.
Also on Monday, James Madison star Kiki Jefferson committed to Louisville. She averaged 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her senior season with James Madison.
The 6-2 sophomore forward averaged 13.8 points and 7.9 rebounds for Minnesota this season, but she entered the transfer portal after the resignation of Golden Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen.
The former DePaul star has been contacted by 33 different schools, she told ESPN on Wednesday. Among them are 2023 national champion LSU, 2022 national champion South Carolina, Notre Dame, Iowa, Maryland, USC and Ole Miss.
Morrow has been among the top scorers in the country in each of the past two seasons. She plans to narrow her list to her top three destinations in the coming days, she revealed on Twitter.
Several other transfers have announced their destinations, including Jordyn Oliver, who is leaving Duke for Vanderbilt, and Kyndall Hunter, who is departing Texas for Texas A&M.
Duke’s leading scorer has entered the transfer portal, joining teammate Shayeann Day-Wilson.
One of four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, Taylor averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals for the Blue Devils this season. Wherever she lands will become Taylor’s third school after she transferred to Duke from Texas, where she played her first two seasons of basketball.
Taylor has one year of eligibility remaining.
Oregon’s Prince is “coming home,” they announced via Instagram. The Texas native is headed to TCU.
She will reunite with new TCU head coach Mark Campbell, who spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon before leaving in 2021 to become the head coach at Sacramento State.
Stanford’s Betts has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Betts, the No. 1 recruit in 2022, played one season for the Cardinal. She finished the 2022-23 season averaging 5.9 points and playing 9.6 minutes per game.
Betts isn’t the only Stanford player in the portal. Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Indya Nivar are also looking to make moves.
Van Lith made huge news on Saturday morning when Louisville confirmed that the junior guard had entered the NCAA transfer portal. While Van Lith just finished her junior season at Louisville, she will receive her undergraduate degree in May and she enters the transfer portal as a graduate student. (You can read more here.)
After four years at NC State, the Oxon Hill, Maryland, native is headed back to her home state to play for the Terrapins, she announced Thursday via social media.
“Home sweet home,” she wrote in her Instagram caption, alongside photos of herself in a Maryland uniform.
Brown-Turner averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds across her four seasons at NC State, and she has shot 34.4% from 3-point range for her career. The 6-0 forward was a two-time All-ACC selection with the Wolfpack.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jakia Brown-Turner❤️🔥 (@just.jakia)
A post shared by Jakia Brown-Turner❤️🔥 (@just.jakia)
The sophomore forward averaged 25.7 points (fourth in Division I) and 12.2 rebounds (seventh in Division I) this season, which puts her in elite company.
While she stayed in her hometown of Chicago in choosing DePaul, her talent could take her farther from home as she immediately becomes the top transfer on the market.
The former Maryland standout spent the last season at Virginia Tech, but she found herself confined to the bench for the entire postseason.
The 6-0 senior guard appeared in 17 games total, averaging 5.1 points in 15.1 minutes per game. She has one year of COVID-19 eligibility remaining.
The 5-6 guard led the Pac-12 in scoring with 18.6 points per game in the 2021-22 season, then averaged 15.5 points per game as a sophomore.
Louisville picks up a two-time Pac-12 all-conference selection to strengthen a lineup that made a run to the Elite Eight.
“I’m just excited to be on that big stage … just trying to be that person who can come in there and help and impact them and take them a little farther, get to the Final Four again and hopefully win a national championship,” Curry told Bally Sports.
Also on Monday, Oregon guard Te-Hina Paopao entered the transfer portal, further draining the Pac-12 talent pool.
The third-year sophomore averaged 13.1 points and a career-high 4.2 rebounds per game for the Ducks.
Park-Lane is entering the transfer portal, the Seton Hall star revealed Friday on Twitter.
As a senior this year, Park-Lane averaging 20.8 points and 6.3 assists per game for the Pirates. A first-team All-Big East selection, she was also named to the Wooden Award watch list this season. Among her notable performances include a Seton Hall single-game scoring record 39 points in the team’s win over DePaul in February.
While Park-Lane could have opted to go to the WNBA draft, she did not declare and is looking to spend a fifth year in the NCAA.
Sciolla announced Thursday that she has entered the transfer portal, one day after fellow freshman Reynolds did the same. And hours after Reynolds’ announcement, younger sister Amiyah announced her decision to decommit from Maryland.
“I’ll be looking for a home and opportunity to leverage all I’ve learned over the last year,” Mila Reynolds wrote. “Somewhere I can use my gifts and abilities to help win games and make a community proud.”
Sciola also thanked Maryland and expressed her gratitude for “my experience and role in this year’s run to the Elite 8.” But she plans to move on from the Terrapins.
“However, I am moving on with the intention of joining a program where my skills, competitiveness, and basketball IQ can enhance and complement another successful culture,” she wrote.
NC State’s Jakia Brown-Turner also announced Thursday that she has entered into the portal. A key member of the Wolfpack, she averaged 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season.
In a statement, Brown-Turner called her NC State experience “amazing.”
“I have learned and grown in so many ways these past four years,” she wrote, noting that one of her goals was to win the ACC championship — something that the Wolfpack did three times during her career.
“I am so grateful for these moments.”
The former ACC Freshman of the Year announced Monday that she has entered her name into the transfer portal.
“The decision was not easy, but it was the best decision for me & my family,” the Duke sophomore wrote.
She may have alluded to her departure following the team’s March 20 loss to Colorado in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s not the typical end that you want, but I’m staying positive, keeping my head up,” Day-Wilson told The Duke Chronicle following the team’s season-ending loss. “To not make it the year before and to get to at least Round Two — I wouldn’t say I’m super happy with it, but I’m grateful. And, next year, looking forward to it, same way. And I’m just proud of my team, and I’m gonna miss all of them.”
Day-Wilson came to the Blue Devils as top-50 recruit in her class. She averaged 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists this season.
She joins Jordyn Oliver, who entered the portal on March 23, according to The Next’s Mitchell Northam. Oliver was a key piece of the Duke bench and averaged 3.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Donarski has entered the transfer portal, the Des Moines Register’s Tommy Birch reported. The three-time starter joins three other Iowa State players to enter to the portal: Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw, Maggie Vick and Morgan Kane.
Four Arizona players have entered the transfer portal after the Wildcats’ second-round exit from the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore guard Madi Conner, junior Lauren Ware and freshmen Lemyah Hylton and Paris Clark are in the portal, The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings reported.
Conner averaged 6.0 points and 14.7 minutes per game for the Wildcats this seasonn. While Ware missed the season recovering from knee surgery, she averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in the 2021-22 season and was expected to make a big impact upon her return.
Hobby is planning to use her fifth year of eligibility elsewhere, as she announced her decision to enter the transfer portal.
The forward averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds this season for the Wolfpack, while shooting 52% from the floor.
Kiki Jefferson is entering the transfer portal after averaging 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her senior season with James Madison. She was named the Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference for her senior season, and she has one year of COVID-19 eligibility remaining.
Seven players are leaving Pitt basketball after the program parted ways with coach Lance White at the end of the season.
Senior forward Amber Brown entered the transfer portal Tuesday, and she was followed by six more Panthers players: Emy Hayford, Destiny Strother, Taisha Exanor, Sandrine Clesca, Cynthia Ezeja and Dayshanette Harris.
Micheaux becomes the first player to enter the transfer portal since Lindsay Whalen resigned as the Golden Gophers coach earlier this month. The sophomore averaged 13.8 points and 7.9 rebounds for Minnesota this season.
“The University of Minnesota will always have a special place in my heart… With that being said, I will be entering my name into the transfer portal, to further my academic and athletic career,” Micheaux wrote in a social media post.
Cal guard Jayda Curry is leaving the program, a Cal spokesperson confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Curry led the Pac-12 in scoring with 18.6 points per game in the 2021-22 season, which earned her the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award. She averaged 15.5 points per game as a sophomore this season, but the Bears finished with a 13-17 record.
As No. 4 seed Texas prepares for the NCAA Tournament, guard Kyndall Hunter has announced her intention to leave the program. Hunter has missed the entire season due to personal reasons, per coach Vic Schaefer.
“I will continue to move forward and find a university and coaching staff who believes in me and will nurture me as a basketball player on the court but even more, instill confidence in me off the court,” she wrote on social media.
Still, she expressed her support for the Longhorns before their first-round game against No. 13 seed East Carolina at 10 p.m. ET Saturday.
“I would like to wish my Texas teammates nothing but the best of luck in their pursuit (of) a national championship this season,” she wrote.
Just last year, Kentucky produced the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in Rhyne Howard. After a disappointing season for the Wildcats, though, two players already have announced their plans to leave the program.
Sophomore guard Jada Walker and freshman guard Kennedy Cambridge will both enter their names in the transfer portal, they announced this week. After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 12-19 record and tied for last in the SEC, the Wildcats will need to fill out their backcourt to compete next season.
Walker ranked second in scoring for Kentucky this season with 12.6 points per game, and she led the SEC with 2.6 steals per game. While she thanked coach Kyra Elzy for the opportunity to be part of last season’s SEC Tournament-winning team last season, she is ready to move on.
Cambridge averaged 2.7 points per game and likely would have assumed a bigger role next season.
Kentucky dealt with significant turnover last year, too, after losing three starters to the transfer portal. Former Wildcats forward Dre’Una Edwards called out Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy in January for refusing to sign an eligibility waiver that would allow Edwards to play at Baylor, her new school. Elzy defended Kentucky’s position in the conflict.
Thank You BBN💙. pic.twitter.com/7XFaCS34VT— Jada Walker (@jadawalkr11) March 9, 2023
Thank You BBN💙. pic.twitter.com/7XFaCS34VT