Portal Pickups: 10 Transfer Winners this April
Our Portal Pickups series will update each month with who is coming out ahead and who is losing ground in college basketball's new free agency.
College Football has 247Sports, On3, Rivals and ESPN. Every day of every week of every month of every offseason, you are in the know about what player is moving where and how that all grades out. While friend of the Stack Talia Goodman of The Next has done a remarkable job keeping everyone up to date on the portal comings and goings (check out their handy transfer tracker here), we are here to help contextualize it all at the end of each month and how it will impact the season ahead.
10 Winners
USC
Additions: Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) , Talia Von Oelhoffen (Oregon State)
Losses: Taylor Bigby (TCU) , Koi Love (UT Arlington)
Takeaway: Lindsay Gottlieb pulled a stunner at the end of the month. While it was widely believed that Kiki Iriafen would likely end up at one of the southern California schools, a scheduled visit to South Carolina gave fans across the country pause: is Dawn Staley about to load up again? But before the Gamecocks even got a chance to make a pitch, Iriafen and then Talia Von Oelhoffen committed to the Women of Troy. It’s hard to overstate the magnitude of Iriafen’s move specifically. She is essentially an upgraded version of Kaitlyn Davis who can impact the game on both ends of the floor and is a high end mid-range scorer. JuJu Watkins not only gets a running mate in the starting five but Von Oelhoffen can play off her or come in to run the offense in staggered minutes. I won’t make the same mistake of underestimating South Carolina but if anyone has beefed up their roster to challenge them, it’s USC.
Maryland
Additions: Saylor Poffenbarger (Arkansas) , Kaylene Smikle (Rutgers) , Sarah Te-Biasu (VCU), Amari DeBerry (UConn)
Losses: Faith Masonius (Seton Hall), Riley Nelson (Duke), Hawa Doumbouya (Virginia)
Takeaway: Turns out rumors of Brenda Frese’s demise were greatly exaggerated. After an off year in the Big Ten and with the arrival of four former Pac-12 teams, Frese went to work and completely overhauled her roster this month. Most importantly, the Terps replenished their frontcourt with immediate contributors like DeBerry and Poffenbarger. DeBerry’s health will be key but I love the Poffenbarger pickup. She can score, rebound and stretch the floor as a tall guard that has the potential to also play the wing. Add in Kaylene Smikle, who was a consistent scorer for Rutgers and Te-Biasu, the reigning A-10 Player of the Year, and something is cooking in College Park.
TCU
Additions: Maddie Scherr (Kentucky) , Hailey Van Lith (LSU) , Taylor Bigby (USC)
Losses: Sydney Harris (Iowa State) , Jade Clack (Tulsa)
Takeaway: The former Oregon connections continue to pay off for Mark Campbell and his staff. Maddie Scherr and Taylor Bigby were both players for this group in Eugene, while Van Lith was a top recruiting target at Oregon before she committed to Louisville. In Campbell’s system, don’t be surprised if Van Lith suddenly awakens as one of the premier guards in the country. An HVL/Sedona Prince pick-n-roll combo has the potential to be one of the most lethal in America next season. Scherr is a defensive stopper and can take another step offensively in this offense. The question moving into the spring is the frontcourt. Prince anchors the action down low but while the Frogs are loaded at the guard spot, I wonder what happens when they end up against some of the bigger teams in the Big 12 and nationally.
LSU
Additions: Kailyn Gilbert (Arizona) , Shayeann Day-Wilson (Miami) , Mjracle Sheppard (Mississippi State), Jersey Wolfenbarger (Arkansas)
Losses: Hailey Van Lith (TCU) , Janae Kent (Texas A&M)
Takeaway: Say this for Kim Mulkey and top recruiter Gary Redus: they will make sure they get who they need in the portal. With the loss of a few backcourt bench options, the Tigers leveled up in a variety of ways getting a veteran presence in Day-Wilson, a consistent bench option in Sheppard and a sparkplug scorer in Gilbert. I’m curious how the latter falls in given the reports out of Arizona, where she and Adia Barnes allegedly clashed over Gilbert’s offensive role. Arkansas’ Jersey Wolfenbarger is another interesting pickup. At 6’5 and listed as a guard/forward, the former McDonald’s All-American could find new life in Baton Rouge.
Clemson
Additions: Summah Evans (Mercer) , Tessa Miller (Belmont) , Loyal McQueen (Alabama) , Hannah Kohn (Chattanooga) , Anya Poole (North Carolina)
Losses: Ruby Whitehorn , Makayla Elmore (Pittsburgh)
Takeaway: Shawn Poppie has pulled off a nice little roster overhaul in year zero at Clemson. He got Maddie Cluse to withdraw from the portal and even though Ruby Whitehorn appears to be intent on leaving, the Tigers new head coach managed to grab a group of talented mid-major players to beef up the roster. Summah Evans and Tessa Miller were top scorers for Mercer and Belmont, respectively. Loyal McQueen led Alabama in assists and was second in the SEC in free throw percentage. Hannah Kohn comes with Poppie from Chattanooga. It’ll be a hard road for a program that hasn’t had much of a pulse since the 1990’s but Poppie has pulled off builds as Kenny Brooks’ top assistant at Virginia Tech and then again with the Mocs. These additions feel like a good foundation before you start to swing for bigger fences.
Colorado State
Additions: Emma Ronsiek (Creighton) , Hannah Simental (Northern Colorado)
Losses: Cali Clark (San Diego State)
Takeaway: Ryun Williams had a red hot start to his tenure in Fort Collins but lately it feels like the Rams have been stuck in the mud. With UNLV surging under Lindy La Rocque, it was gonna take a big swing to compete and Williams did just that. Emma Ronsiek comes from Creighton to play with her sister Hannah, who is a junior at CSU, and is arguably one of the biggest value adds in the portal this year. She’s been the Blue Jays best player, has taken them to an Elite Eight, beaten Caitlin Clark in the NCAA Tournament and been in the Tournament three of the last four years. Add in Hannah Simental, a key scorer for Big Sky neighbor Northern Colorado, and Colorado State has some pieces to contend in the MWC. Look for Ronsiek to be an early season favorite for conference player of the year.
South Carolina
Major Additions: None
Major Losses: Sahnya Jah (Arizona)
Takeaway: Sometimes the best thing you can do in the portal is not make any moves. You don’t gain anything but you certainly don’t lose. It’s a testament to the program and culture that Dawn Staley has built when you’re 12 players deep of McDonald’s All-Americans and you only really lose one player per offseason. All of these players want to play for Staley, for South Carolina and for each other. That in itself is a huge win in the middle of an era defined by player mobility and NIL promises. Sahnya Jah will be transferring to Arizona but she wasn’t a part of the team past February after being suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. In the meantime, word on the street is South Carolina can still be in the mix for former Texas A&M forward Janiah Barker. In short, the Death Star is just as powerful as its’ ever been. Every other team is playing catch-up.
Michigan State
Major Additions: Emma Shumate (Ohio State) , Jaddan Simmons (Arizona State) , Grace VanSlooten (Oregon) , Nyla Hampton (Ball State)
Major Losses: Lauren Ross (Purdue FW) , Deedee Hagemann (Ole Miss)
Takeaway: Robyn Fralick started off her first full offseason in Lansing with some good adds in the portal. Grace VanSlooten may not have been the portal name she may have been last year, but she deserves to be talked about in the same breath as an Iriafen. The sophomore, who just left Oregon, is one of the most talented and versatile players in the country and will be fascinating to watch in an MSU uniform. Jaddan Simmons was a fun part of an otherwise rough Arizona State watch this season and can fill the role left by Deedee Hagemann. Nyla Hampton is a fun bench piece, the 2022 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, and played for Fralick at Bowling Green.
Alabama
Additions: Zaay Green (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) , Diana Collins (Ohio State), Aaliyah Nye (Withdrawn)
Losses: Loyal McQueen (Clemson) , Allie Craig Cruce (North Alabama) , Meg Newman (DePaul)
Takeaway: Much like South Carolina and Clemson, the biggest wins are sometimes players you don’t lose. What puts the Tide on this list are two players, one they acquired and one they retained. Keeping Aaliyah Nye is huge for the year ahead. The second team All-SEC selection and program single-season three-point record holder now gets a little help in what I think is the transfer win of the season. Zaay Green is a name that some folks may not know yet but is one of the most talented players in the country. A combination of injuries and bad NCAA waiver luck kept us from seeing what could have been the most dynamic duo in college basketball last year but, at the very least, Green gets a big stage to play on. Her running-mate-that-never-was at UAPB, Starr Jacobs, is headed to Ole Miss. With Green, Nye and Sarah Barker, Alabama has a good backcourt core in an SEC that will be an absolute bloodbath this year.
Ohio State
Additions: Ajae Petty (Kentucky) , Chance Gray (Oregon)
Losses: Emma Shumate (Michigan State) , Diana Collins (Alabama)
Takeaway: With only a couple roster spots to work with, Kevin McGuff prioritized quality over quantity and struck quick in the portal. Ajae Petty is a tenacious rebounder and low block scorer who will be able to help out Cotie McMahon. Chance Gray is another player that got buried under a bad year at Oregon and may shock some people the way Taylor Mikesell did when she returned to Columbus from Eugene a couple years ago. It was a disappointing postseason for the Buckeyes, who were one of the only —and surely the biggest—, upset in the Tournament this year. Petty and Gray both lift the floor and ceiling. But, of course, the biggest question is how far Bucky can go without Jacy Sheldon leading the way.