Winners (LSU) and losers (Notre Dame) of women’s basketball’s transfer portal

Some teams had losses and gains in the transfer portal that even out to a push, like South Carolina and UCLA. Meanwhile, there are others who are clear winners and losers, such as Maryland and Georgia Tech.

The transfer portal has closed for women’s college basketball. While there’s still a handful of impactful players in it — like USC’s Kayleigh Heckel — who have yet to find a new home, the dust has mostly settled on the sport’s substitute for free agency.

Losses for some teams were gains for others. Some squads completely revamped their rosters while others just added a few key pieces. Some teams have to nearly start from scratch because of defections.

Gaining players through the transfer portal doesn’t always equal success, and losing them doesn’t always bring doom. But consider that every team that made the Final Four this past season started at least one transfer. The reigning national champs, UConn, just added a big-time transfer in Wisconsin’s Serah Williams to boost their chances of repeating.

And notable transfers from last season’s cycle helped power their new teams to massive heights — like Hailey Van Lift lifting TCU to its first-ever Elite Eight, or Georgia Amoore leading Kentucky to hosting privileges during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

With that, let’s break down the biggest winners and losers of the portal.

Winner: LSU

While Kim Mulkey’s Tigers lost a starter in Sa’Myah Smith and some key rotation players like Last-Tear Poa, Mjracle Sheppard and Jersey Wolfenbarger, they gained some of the most talented players on the market this spring, including perhaps the most exciting player in South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley. In addition to the electric former Gamecock, LSU gained Notre Dame’s Kate Koval and East Carolina’s Amiya Joyner. Koval figures to be the starting center for the Tigers, while Joyner — who averaged 15 points and 9.2 rebounds per game for the Pirates this past season — could be an incredible off-the-bench luxury.

Loser: Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish will bring back just one starter from its team that enjoyed a 19-game winning streak and made the Sweet 16. And while Hannah Hidalgo, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, is an awesome talent, Notre Dame’s roster looks very thin heading into next season. It’s not just that the Irish lost All-American guard Olivia Miles, but they also lost a promising post player in Koval and a steady presence in Kylee Watson who had started 64 consecutive games before her injury at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Push: South Carolina

Seeing Fulwiley depart for an in-conference rival is a big loss for the Gamecocks, but they softened that blow by adding the nation’s leading scorer in Ta’Niya Latson from Florida State, and a player who averaged a near-double-double in the SEC last season in Mississippi State’s Madina Okot. Dawn Staley’s team will be just fine next season and has all the talent to contend for another trip to the Final Four.

Winner: Maryland

Brenda Frese has proven her mastery of the transfer portal time and time again. The Terps will once again bring in an impressive transfer class that includes the ACC Tournament MVP in Oluchi Okananwa, and a pair of All-Big Ten talents in Indiana’s Yarden Garzon and Penn State’s Gracie Merkle. With these additions, Maryland picks up a dynamic guard, a versatile 3-and-D wing, and a formidable post presence. They’ll enter the season looking like one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

Loser: Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets lost seven players to the transfer portal and six of them ended up at Power 4 programs. That group includes two three-year starters in Kara Dunn and Tonie Morgan, ACC Sixth Player of the Year Dani Carnegie, and other talented young players like Rusne Augustinaite and Chit-Chat Wright. Following Nell Fortner’s retirement, new head coach Karen Blair inherits a big rebuilding project in Atlanta.

Push: UCLA

Off their first trip ever to the Final Four, the Bruins lost six players to the transfer portal, including a starter in Londynn Jones and key off-the-bench players in Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo. However, UCLA gained perhaps the best 3-point shooter via the portal in Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens, who is coming off a near 50-40-90 season. Adding Kneepkens to a starting lineup that already includes Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice will keep this team contending.

Winner: Ole Miss

Again, Yolett McPhee-McCuin flexed her muscles in the transfer portal by adding seven players. The Rebels knew they had holes to fill after a run to the Sweet 16 with five players exhausting their eligibility and Coach Yo found pieces that will fit. The transfer class is led by an All-Big Ten player in Cotie McMahon, but it also includes one of the nation’s top scorers in UCF’s Kaitlin Peterson, a strong post player in Latasha Lattimore, and a versatile guard with SEC experience in Mississippi State’s Denim DeShields.

Loser: Boston College

The Eagles lost 11 players to the transfer portal. There’s not much else that needs to be said. It’ll be another offseason where Joanna Bernabei-McNamee has to rebuild with limited resources.

Push: USC

Lindsay Gottlieb’s side lost four players to the portal, including standout freshmen in Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel. Additionally, former McDonald’s All-American Aaliyah Gayles departed the program, as did Dominique Darius. However, USC made up for those losses by adding two players with starting experience at Power 4 programs in UCLA’s Londynn Jones and Georgia Tech’s Kara Dunn. Next season could be a tough one for the Trojans if JuJu Watkins is sidelined with her knee injury, but players like Jones and Dunn should help them stay competitive.

Winner: USF

Jose Fernandez did some strong work in the portal this spring. The Bulls added IU Indy’s Katie Davidson who was one of the top 3-point shooters available, the nation’s 15th-best scorer in Jacksonville’s Edyn Battle, a versatile guard in FAU’s Stefanie Ingram, and the former MAC Freshman of the Year in Kristen Lewis-Williams from Buffalo. In the American Athletic Conference, the path to the NCAA Tournament will continue to run through Tampa.

Winner: Clemson

After a promising first season on the job that included a bump in attendance, a few marquee wins and a strong finish, Shawn Poppie went to work in the transfer portal to bolster the Tigers ahead of next season. Among his additions was Rachael Rose from Wofford, who was third in the nation in scoring in the 2023-24 season. Poppie also picked up a pair of ACC standouts in Georgia Tech’s Rusne Augustinaite and Wake Forest’s Demeara Hinds, while Taylor Johnson-Matthews of DePaul, Tulsa’s Hadley Periman and Marist’s Morgan Lee round out a strong portal class.

Push: Cal

Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019, Charmin Smith’s Golden Bears lost five players to the portal, but just one significant contributor in starter Marta Suarez. Cal reloaded by adding a pair of SEC veterans in LSU’s Mjracle Sheppard and South Carolina’s Sakima Walker, while also picking up Morgan State’s Naya Ojukwu, who averaged 17.1 points per game and was fourth nationally in offensive rebounding.

Winner: TCU

Mark Campbell reloaded quickly following the Horned Frogs’ best-ever run in the NCAA Tournament, which saw the core of Hailey Van Lith, Madison Conner and Sedona Prince exit after a loss in the Elite Eight. TCU’s strong class is headlined by Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles, but it also includes a Cal’s Marta Suarez and Arizona State’s Kennedy Basham — two players who started at Power 4 programs — a center with a high potential in Kentucky’s Clara Silva, Taliyah Parker of Texas A&M and Veronica Sheffey from San Diego State. On-paper, TCU looks pretty good again.