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NCAA basketball: Winners and losers of the 2023 transfer portal

Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith makes LSU the clear favorite to repeat as NCAA champions in 2024. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Whether coaches like it or not, the NCAA transfer portal has become a crucial part of roster-building in the offseason. In addition to high school recruiting, programs now have to worry about losing players to the portal and filling gaps with transfers. Some teams are thriving in the new landscape, while others are struggling.

Here are the winners and losers of the hyper-active 2023 transfer portal season.

Winners

LSU

The additions of Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow elevate LSU as the clear winners of the transfer portal. The defending champions needed a point guard after Alexis Morris departed for the WNBA, and they got the best available in Van Lith. Her midrange game and playmaking ability will complement Final Four Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese, and she also gives the Tigers another scoring option. Meanwhile, Morrow adds another offensive threat to the frontcourt and brings even more rebounding to the Tigers’ lineup. Reese and Morrow each averaged a double-double last year and should clean up on the glass once more.

North Carolina

The Tar Heels have managed to stay under the radar during the chaos of the transfer portal, but Courtney Banghart is building a contender in the ACC. The Tar Heels lost Kennedy Todd-Williams to Ole Miss and Destiny Adams to Rutgers, but still came out on the winning side of transfer season after securing Lexi Donarski (Iowa State), Indiya Nivar (Stanford) and Maria Gakdeng (Boston College). With Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby already on the roster, the Tar Heels now have capable scorers at every position. Donarski and Gakdeng also bolster the team’s defense, with Donarski as an on-ball defender and Gakdeng as a rim protector.

UCLA

While teams like LSU and North Carolina added several new players, UCLA added one and made it count. They needed a post presence and they got one in the 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts from Stanford. Not to mention they retained the rest of their talented roster, a difficult feat in today’s transfer era. Betts, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2022, joins No. 2 player Kiki Rice and two other top rising sophomores in Gabriela Jaquez and Londynn Jones. Add in Charisma Osborne, who chose to skip the WNBA draft in favor of playing one more season with UCLA, and the Bruins are a team that can contend for a title.

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UCLA added 2022 No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts this offseason. (John Todd/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Ohio State

The Buckeyes lost Taylor Mikesell to the WNBA but gained defensive stopper Celeste Taylor out of Duke and Taiyier Parks, who returns home to Ohio after four years at Michigan State. Taylor, in particular, is a player to get Ohio State fans excited. The Buckeyes’ identity is tied to their defensive prowess, particularly their press. Taylor, a 2023 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist, fits perfectly into Ohio State’s system, joining former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Jacy Sheldon to create a dynamic backcourt that will spearhead the press.

Colorado

A big reason for Colorado winning the transfer portal is that they didn’t lose any major players. The Buffs are a Power 5 program without a storied basketball history, making them the kind of team players might transfer from after a strong season. But Colorado’s core, including four starters, is returning from last season’s Sweet 16 run. One thing that was missing for the Buffs in 2022-23? Aside from Frida Formann, Colorado didn’t have any reliable 3-point shooters. That changed thanks to the addition of Maddie Nolan in the portal. The former Michigan player also gives Colorado another ball-handler to play alongside Jaylyn Sherrod.

South Carolina

Iowa exposed a weakness in South Carolina in the Final Four, and Dawn Staley remedied it by bringing in Oregon point guard Te-Hina PaoPao. The Gamecocks lost Aliyah Boston, Brea Beal, Zia Cooke, Leticia Amihere and Victaria Saxon to graduation, but with Kamilla Cardoso, Raven Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins returning, and three top-25 recruits coming in, those players won’t be as hard to replace as you might think. The Gamecocks already had starter-caliber players coming off the bench, but they didn’t have enough shooting. PaoPao provides experience and an outside threat. She made 2.3 3-pointers a game last season on 42.4 percent shooting from deep.

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Te-Hina Paopao helps South Carolina replace the talent they lost after their Final Four run. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard/USA TODAY Sports)

TCU

The Horned Frogs haven’t had much success in recent years, winning just eight games last season, but first-year coach Mark Campbell is guiding the program in the right direction. TCU signed former Oregon player Sedona Prince, who stepped away last season with an injury and a plan to turn pro before returning to college, and former 4-star recruit Madison Connor out of Arizona. The Horned Frogs also added former Stanford guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu, who showed potential in limited minutes over three years, and Una Jovanovi, who averaged 14.6 points and 3.8 assists at Cal State Fullerton last season.

Losers

Duke

Two seasons ago, Kara Lawson made waves by bringing in eight transfers, including Celeste Taylor. This time around, the portal wasn’t so kind to the Blue Devils, who lost five players including Taylor to Ohio State and Shayeann Day-Wilson to Miami. With Elizabeth Balogun graduating, Duke’s top three scorers are gone. They signed All-ACC Freshman guard Taina Mair out of Boston College, but overall the Blue Devils lost more than they gained.

Iowa State

Iowa State’s last few seasons have centered on 2023 WNBA draft pick Ashley Joens, so the Cyclones were bound for a rebuild of some kind this season no matter what. Now, they also have to deal with the loss of Donarski, a solid defender who contributed 12.1 points per game last season, and four other players. They will also feel the absence of Denae Fritz, who averaged 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game before transferring to Baylor.

Oregon

Oregon has talented young players like Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray to build around, but the departure of PaoPao marks the final piece of a worrying trend. Paopao was the last remaining player from Oregon’s 2020 recruiting class. The Ducks brought in five 5-star recruits that season, and all of them ended up transferring.

DePaul

Losing Morrow to LSU is enough to put DePaul in the losers category, but the Blue Demons also parted with six other players. The departures of Morrow and guard Darrione Rogers — who averaged 16.8 points, 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last season — marks the end of an era where the Blue Demons failed to capitalize on star power. In Morrow’s two seasons, they made the NCAA Tournament once and lost in the first four games.

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All-American Aneesah Morrow was one of seven players DePaul lost this offseason. (David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports)

Arizona

Head coach Adia Barnes is a renowned recruiter, but the Wildcats roster took a major blow this portal season. Arizona lost Lauren Ware, a major contributor as a freshman during the team’s run to the 2021 national championship, and Paris Clark, the No. 5 guard in the Class of 2022. The Wildcats also lost three other players. Currently, there are just five players listed on Arizona’s official roster for next season.

NC State

Last year, NC State picked up former No. 3 recruit Saniya Rivers in the transfer portal. This year, things aren’t going as well for the Wolfpack, with five players on the way out. That includes three starters in Jakia Brown-Turner, Camille Hobby and leading scorer Diamond Johnson. Brown-Turner signed with Maryland, Hobby is heading to Illinois, and Johnson has yet to make a decision.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes didn’t lose or gain anyone in the portal, and that’s the problem. Iowa retains Cailtin Clark, Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin from its starting lineup, and Hannah Stuelke will be more experienced and ready to step into a major role in the paint. Outside of that, the NCAA runners-up don’t have obvious replacements for McKenna Warnock or Monika Czinano. Iowa would have benefitted from finding a post in the transfer portal who could complement Clark’s playmaking and add depth alongside the developing Stuelke.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

First-time LPGA Tour Champion Yealimi Noh Wins Founders Cup

US golfer Yealimi Noh poses with her 2025 Founders Cup trophy.
Yealimi Noh earned her first LPGA win at the Founders Cup on Sunday. (James Gilbert/Getty Image)

After four days of stiff competition, the 2025 Founders Cup yielded a first-time LPGA Tour winner on Sunday as US golfer Yealimi Noh surged to victory on strong back-nine play in Bradenton, Florida.

The world No. 32-ranked Noh kicked off her sixth season with the LPGA by lifting her first trophy in her 111th start.

In just two holes on Sunday, the 23-year-old flipped a one-shot deficit into a three-shot lead, eventually claiming the $300,000 championship check with an overall 21-under-par performance.

"I always knew it would happen and it was a matter of time," Noh told reporters after her win. "To really get it done, and especially in the first tournament of the year, is really nice."

Noh, who earned a captain's nod in the 2021 Solheim Cup, is officially on an upswing. After less successful 2022 and 2023 seasons, she made 21 cuts across her 25 LPGA starts in 2024, helping fuel last weekend's blockbuster 2025 debut.

"Having a lot of better results and getting my confidence back and contending a few times last season really helped me carry that out through the winter and just really prepare for this week," she explained. "[I] just felt really ready — this was going to be my year and week."

South Korea's Jin Young Ko plays a shot during the 2025 Founders Cup's final round.
Jin Young Ko made bogeys on Sunday's 13th and the 14th hole to finish the Founders Cup in second place. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Founders Cup sees additional standout performances

Just behind Noh on last weekend's leaderboard is No. 7 Jin Young Ko. The South Korean star's narrow lead fell when she made her first bogeys of the competition, logging two back-to-back on Sunday.

The 15-time LPGA title-winner capped her tournament four strokes back from Noh, with US golfer and world No. 17 Megan Khang one stroke behind Ko in third place.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda finished tied for seventh place after capping her Founders Cup outing nine shots behind Noh.

The US star will next take a seven-week break, opting to sit out the upcoming trio of LPGA Tour stops in Asia. Korda will instead continue to search for her first victory of 2025 at the end of March, when she tees off at the Ford Championship in Chandler, Arizona.

Unrivaled Cancels Game, Shortens 1v1 Tournament Due to Player Injuries

Rose BC's Angel Reese and Mist BC's Aaliyah Edwards stand on the Unrivaled court during a 3x3 game.
Injuries forced Unrivaled to shorten this week's 1v1 tournament. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball hit an injury wall this weekend, forcing the inaugural offseason league to cancel one regular-season game and truncate this week's 1v1 tournament.

With multiple Laces players sidelined, the league called off the team's Saturday night matchup against Vinyl BC.

Similarly, after seven participants had to pull out of Unrivaled's hotly anticipated 30-player 1v1 tournament, the league responded by shortening the contest's first round.

With all teams camped together on Unrivaled's Miami campus, specific details concerning player availability as well as injury type and severity have been tough to come by.

Laces stars Alyssa Thomas (knee) and Tiffany Hayes (concussion) both exited the 1v1 tournament after suffering injuries in previous Unrivaled matchups, putting their fitness statuses in question as the 2025 WNBA season looms.

Fellow Laces standouts Kayla McBride and Kate Martin, plus Rose BC's Brittney Sykes and Phantom stars Natasha Cloud and Marina Mabrey, will not participate. The withdrawal is "due to lingering injuries and to prioritize player wellbeing for regular-season games," per Unrivaled.

Injuries shrink Unrivaled 1v1 tournament's first round

Instead of a planned 14 games split across an afternoon session and an evening set on Monday, the now eight-game opening round of the league's 1v1 contest will occur in a single night of competition.

In an effort to maintain the original bracket as much as possible, Unrivaled decided against making any changes to its first-round matchups.

Because of this, five additional athletes will join the previously announced Jewell Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale in snagging first-round byes, with Courtney Williams, DiJonai Carrington, Satou Sabally, Rae Burrell, and Azurá Stevens now also set to tip off their 1v1 journeys during Tuesday's second round.

Unrivaled's reliance on short, elite rosters has spelled heated competition on a star-stacked court, but the strategy is now revealing its shortcomings. Such slim margins leave the league scrambling whenever one of their players — all of whom plan to return to the WNBA in mid-May — needs a break to prioritize rest and recovery.

Mist BC's DiJonai Carrington dribbles the ball during an Unrivaled 3x3 game.
DiJonai Carrington is one of five players who now have 1v1 tournament byes because of league injuries. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

How to watch Unrivaled's 1v1 tournament

The three-day competition tips off its eight-game first round at 7 PM ET on Monday. Both the second round and quarterfinals are set to begin at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with the semifinals and finals slated for Friday at 7:30 PM ET.

All games will air live on truTV, with TNT also broadcasting Monday's and Friday's sessions.

Texas Snaps South Carolina’s SEC Streak in NCAA Weekend Action

South Carolina's Joyce Edwards tried to defend a shot from Texas guard Madison Booker on Sunday.
Texas handed South Carolina their first SEC loss since 2021. (Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No. 4 Texas basketball claimed their revenge over No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday, taking down the reigning NCAA champs 66-62 to even the pair's regular-season series at 1-1.

In the process, the Longhorns snapped South Carolina's 57-game regular-season SEC winning streak — a victory chain dating back to December 2021.

Texas star sophomore Madison Booker led all scorers with 20 points and 11 rebounds, prompting South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley to levy high praise by calling her "a beast on the boards" after the game.

Texas basketball players celebrate their victory over South Carolina on Sunday.
Texas could claim the SEC's top spot outright by defeating LSU on Sunday. (Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)

Strength of SEC sets up fight for NCAA tournament positioning

This weekend's results ultimately bottlenecked Texas, South Carolina, and LSU into a three-way regular-season tie for first-place in the SEC — one of the NCAA's toughest leagues.

The No. 6 Tigers earned their own marquee win on Sunday, downing No. 19 Tennessee 82-77.

With that result, all three teams now have 10-1 conference records, though LSU and Texas could break from the line during their possible winner-take-all date this Sunday.

All in all, the Southeast's depth is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, the conference's elite teams are gearing up to take March Madness by storm: Each of the SEC's top trio is likely to finish the season as an AP Top-10 team, ultimately earning a strong seeding throughout the postseason.

Other strong squads, however, must grapple with under-seeding due to disappointing conference records suffered in the gauntlet of the SEC.

For example, despite last week's big win over No. 5 UConn, Tennessee's string of slim conference losses have them sitting 4-6 in SEC play. This means that the Vols will likely face an uphill battle to claim beneficial seeding in March's NCAA tournament, giving them a disproportionately difficult road to the Final Four.

Lauren Betts isn't done with the NCAA

Already looking beyond the 2024/25 NCAA postseason, star center Lauren Betts will return to UCLA next season and forego the 2025 WNBA Draft, the National Player of the Year candidate confirmed on Friday.

Ranked No. 1 out of high school, the 6-foot-7 junior transferred to the Bruins from Stanford after her freshman year, making the 21-year-old eligible to pass up her senior season and instead turn pro this spring.

"College is the best years of your life, and so I don't think I'd ever give that up," Betts told ESPN. "Why not be spoiled for a whole another year?"

"The way the coaches take care of us in this program, like, how comfortable I am here, and I think that the friendships I've created -- I'd want to do that for another year," she added.

She also cited the opportunity to play with her sister, incoming UCLA freshman forward Sienna Betts, as a factor in her decision to remain in the NCAA.

"I think that I would be crazy if I gave up the opportunity to play with my sister, so obviously, I'm going to come back next year," Betts said.

NCAA basketball UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) pose for pictures with UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma honoring 1,000 career point prior to the women's college basketball game between Louisville Cardinals and UConn Huskies.
UConn star Paige Bueckers is expected to go pro this year. (BM. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

WNBA teams eye draft-eligible college athletes

Betts isn't the only top college player weighing her options. A number of factors are impacting the decision NCAA standouts currently face in deciding when to turn pro, from NIL money to the new CBA expected to reshape the WNBA in 2026.

Lottery locks like UConn's Paige Bueckers and Notre Dame's Olivia Miles could technically also opt to stay in school for another year. However, neither has indicated any plans to do so.

Accordingly, WNBA franchises eyeing the upcoming draft have noted that the volatility of the market is affecting first-round pick trades. Teams would be unwise to place their bets on every top NCAA prospect making the leap this April.

UEFA Draw Sets Champions League Quarterfinals

The UEFA Champions League trophy sits on display before the 2024/25 quarterfinals draw.
Eight teams' paths to May's Champions League final in Lisbon were determined in Friday's draw. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals are officially set, with UEFA drawing the remaining eight teams into the field early Friday morning.

The annual season-long competition pits Europe's top leagues against each other. This season, 72 clubs across 50 different leagues qualified for the contest. From the UK to Ukraine, all teams have been vying for the continent's top-dog status amidst a cutthroat atmosphere and a growing sense of parity in the sport.

Two qualifying rounds narrowed the initial teams down to the 16 contending in the tournament's official group stage. Each played six group-stage matches from October through December to determine the eight clubs that advanced to Friday's final draw.

A screen shows the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal pairings at Friday's draw.
Four previous champions made the 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The road to Champions League glory in Lisbon

All remaining clubs are now eyeing the May 24th final in Lisbon, Portugal, and Friday's draw mapped each team's path to that championship match. The 2024/25 quarterfinals will feature four former champions and four seeking a first-ever trophy, with both familiar fights and rarely tested toss-ups on deck.

Both the March quarterfinals and April semifinals employ a two-leg format, offering teams who suffer narrow first losses a shot at second-match redemption.

Friday's draw determined that WSL contenders Arsenal will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals against Real Madrid on March 18th, with Germany's Bayern Munich taking on France's 2024 UWCL runners-up Olympique Lyonnais shortly afterwards.

The following day, Bayern's Frauen-Bundesliga foes Wolfsburg will face Spain's 2024 UWCL champs FC Barcelona. Closing out the initial tilts is a WSL standoff between Manchester City and the UK league's undefeated titans Chelsea FC.

Lyon's Michele Kang, president of the winningest Champions League team in history, speaks to the media after Friday's UEFA draw.
Backed by club president Michele Kang, Lyon will seek its record ninth UWCL title this year. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Increased global parity to test UWCL dynasties

With eight of the tournament's 23 titles under their belts, Lyon is the winningest team in UWCL history. Meanwhile, current back-to-back champions Barcelona claimed three of the last four trophies.

Despite the recent two-team domination, capturing this season's title will be a challenge. Hoping to spoil Lyon's and Barcelona's dynastic runs is four first-time title-hunters, plus two-time winners Wolfsburg and early champion Arsenal — who won the trophy in 2007, when the tournament was called the UEFA Women's Cup.

All in all, the European crown has never been tougher to claim, with leagues across the continent increasingly stocking up on standout — and potentially game-changing — players from beyond their borders.

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