Portal Pickups: 10 Transfer Winners this May
With most players in the transfer portal committed to their next school, what programs put themselves in position to win next season? We break it down for you.
April brought some of the biggest transfer moves of the offseason but there were plenty of teams that bided their team and were able to secure a star, keep a player at home or turn over their roster this May. Each team listed in our Ten Winners group will have all of their transfer adds and losses listed. Some players may have joined up in April (you can find our April winners at the link to your left) but we decided to rank teams that made value adds specifically in May.
Ten Winners
Oregon
Additions : Deja Kelly (UNC) , Ari Long (Washington) , Nani Falatea (BYU) , Alexis Whitfield (UC Santa Barbara) , Elisa Mevius (Siena) , Amina Muhammad (Texas) , Salimatou Kourouma (Arizona)
Losses: Chance Gray (Ohio State) , Grace VanSlooten (Michigan State) , Kennedy Basham (Arizona State) , Priscilla Williams (Jacksonville)
After another season in which Oregon lost some of their elite high school recruits, Kelly Graves decided to finally lean into the transfer portal after mostly eschewing it throughout his post-Sabrina Ionescu career. Whether it was a renewed sense of work or the NIL machine coming to life in Eugene, the Ducks — perhaps surprisingly to some — had one of the most productive portal runs of the month.
Deja Kelly is obviously the biggest get here. A player that was recruited out of high school heavily by the Ducks now comes to an Oregon program in desperate need of a sparkplug point guard. She’ll be working in the backcourt with former BYU guard Nani Falatea, who was one of the more underrated players in the portal. Speaking of underrated, watch out for Alexis Whitfield. Initially a Washington Husky turned UC Santa Barbara Gaucho, the 6’2 wing was a first team All-Big-West selection averaging 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
I thought last year was going to be the final one for KG but word in Eugene is there’s a lot of patience given the program he built from the ground up. It feels like a bit of a last stand but the roster construction is a positive step forward. But then, of course, we gotta play basketball too.
Clemson
Additions: Anya Poole (UNC) , Loyal McQueen (Alabama) , Mia Moore (UAB) , Tessa Miller (Belmont) , Addie Porter (Chattanooga) , Hannah Kohn (Chattanooga), Raven Thompson (Chattanooga) , Summah Evans (Mercer), Madi Ott (Entered Portal, Withdrew) , Maddi Cluse (Entered Portal, Withdrew)
Losses: Ruby Whitehorn (Tennessee), Makayla Elmore (Pittsburgh) , Nya Valentine (UL Monroe)
Shawn Poppie’s Tigers made their way onto the April list as well. It started with pulling Loyal McQueen out of Alabama, Miller out of Belmont and Evans from Mercer. Now you add in Raven Thompson, a key contributor from his NCAA Tournament Chattanooga team this year along with Addie Porter and Hannah Kohn. Mia Moore impressed at UAB this season alongside Denim DeShields and while she is a smaller guard (listed at 5’6) she’s an elite scorer and an excellent foul shooter.
In an ACC that is already extremely deep, I love what Poppie is doing to build up a team in his first offseason. You’d love to keep Ruby Whitehorn but it’s become relatively standard to see top players hit the portal when their head coach departs a program. Poppie’s coaching bonafides as a head coach and assistant are there so, with a good roster build in the spring, I’m putting Clemson down as a potential fun team to watch this year.
Tennessee
Additions : Ruby Whitehorn (Clemson) , Lazaria Spearman (Miami) , Alyssa Latham (Syracuse) , Samara Spencer (Arkansas)
Losses: Karoline Striplin (Indiana)
Kim Caldwell came into one of the tougher situations in college hoops. It’s clear that there is a history and standard with Lady Vols basketball and that Sweet 16’s and buzzer beater losses to South Carolina won’t cut it. Much like Shawn Poppie at Clemson, Caldwell’s adds aren’t splashy and set a certain expectation but they’re really good building blocks for a team that can be competitive in a new look SEC.
Most importantly, Caldwell hung on to some of her best players while augmenting the roster with some really good portal players. I especially like her guard pickups in Ruby Whitehorn and Samara Spencer. Whitehorn was a McDonald’s All-American and one of the lone bright spots on Clemson’s team last year, scoring in double figures 21 times. Spencer was the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year and the Razorbacks second leading scorer as a junior.
Competing with expectations may be hard but Caldwell hasn’t come in promising a return to the glory days. That she' isn’t a part of the Pat Summitt tree shows that the administration is trying to do something different and through a combination of her play style and portal adds the Lady Vols might be a fun watch next year.
Colorado
Additions : Nyamier Diew (Iowa State) , Lior Garzon (Oklahoma State) , Jojo Nworie (Texas Tech) , Ayianna Johnson (Minnesota) , Johanna Teder (Washington State) , Jade Masogayo (Missouri State)
Losses: Ruthie Loomis-Goltl (South Dakota) , Lele Tanuvasa (USC Upstate) , Shelomi Sanders (Alabama A&M) , Brianna McLeod (SMU) , Mikayla Johnson (Pittsburgh) , Aaronette Vonleh (Baylor) , Tameiya Sadler (Ole Miss)
Arguably one of the biggest roster turnovers (especially without a coaching change) in women’s college basketball, I really like the moves made by JR Payne. The biggest loss on the roster is Aaronette Vonleh, by a wide margin. Losing her to Baylor, now a conference opponent, is a particularly brutal blow but there’s plenty of players that can make that back up in the aggregate.
Jade Masogayo is the big win here. Missouri State has proven itself to be an incubator for great coaches and players and the 6’3 forward was the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year. Oklahoma State transfer Lior Garzon is a spread-the-floor big much like her sister Yarden while Jojo Nworie is the most interesting Buffs commit. A 6’5 center who suffered consecutive season ending injuries at Texas Tech but an NJCAA All-American honorable mention at Southern Idaho who averaged 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds.
How the whole roster gels especially with the departure of star guard Jaylyn Sherrod is going to be the big question. But Payne has clearly built Colorado into a program capable of reloading. The floor seems high. The ceiling is the question.
FGCU
Additions : Skyler Gill (Kansas) , Anna Mortag (Butler) , Karina Gordon (East Carolina) , Khamari Mitchell-Steen (Northern Kentucky)
Losses: Ashley Baez (Troy)
Looks like Karl Smesko will continue his run as the world’s scariest annual 12 seed with some new additions. Skylar Gill is the one to watch here. Initially she transferred to Oregon from North Alabama. The two-time ASUN Defensive Player of the Year was supposed to help the Ducks lock down their backcourt but transferred to Kansas before the year started. She mostly played a bench role so at FGCU there’s plenty of room to rediscover her form as an elite guard and defender.
Butler transfer Anna Mortag is the exact type of player we’ve been accustomed to see succeed with the Eagles. She ranked second in the Big East in three point percentage and can also attack the rim. Lauryn Taylor of Frances Marion (shoutout Pearl Moore!) is another player in that same mold. Cool stat for Taylor: she broke the NCAA record for most rebounds in a game this season with 43.
Overall, without losing too much talent, FGCU managed to reload with solid value along the talent lines of their conference. We will once again see them in March, where they will inevitably crush the dreams of some poor five seed. It’s tradition.
Mississippi State
Additions : Chandler Prater (Oklahoma State) , Eniya Russell (Kentucky) , Denim DeShields (UAB) , Kayla Thomas (Georgia Southern) , Terren Ward (Georgia Southern)
Losses: Nyanongah Gony (UTSA) , Mjracle Sheppard (LSU) , Darrione Rogers (Miami)
Mississippi State wins the “most fun portal backcourt” award for the month of May. I am a huge fan of Terren Ward’s game and was always hoping that she’d find her way onto a team — be that Georgia Southern or somewhere else — that allowed her to showcase her ability on a big stage. Now, the two-time Sun Belt First teamer is joining one of No Cap Space’s favorite coaches, Sam ‘The Twerkalator’ Purcell (this joke is made out of love. Sam’s a highly underrated gif). In addition to Ward, the Bulldogs also add Denim DeShields (sister of WNBA star Diamond DeShields), an All-AAC Third Teamer who averaged 13.4 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Having strong veteran guards alongside Jerkaila Jordan will also help early in the year while the Bulldogs front line learns and matures on the fly. They’ve got ridiculous size up front — three players are listed over 6’6 — but there’s a lot of green among that group. While I’d be really all in if they managed to steal a blue chip big in the portal, I love this backcourt. After a few games, I think you will too.
Stanford
Additions : Mary Ashley Stevenson (Purdue) , Tess Heal (Santa Clara)
Losses: Kiki Iriafen (USC)
Are Mary Ashley Stevenson and Tess Heal the best players in the portal? No. But are they two of the most impactful? Yes. Why? It all has to with the school they’re going to. Stanford, famously up to this point, doesn’t do transfers. To get into their graduate school is harder than getting into their undergrad and there’s all sorts of hurdles to get past if you want to transfer in. But, perhaps spurred on by football and their desire to stay competitive, we’ve seen a slight easing of those rules up in Palo Alto.
It’s really perfect timing for Kate Paye. With Tara Vanderveer finally hanging it up, the roster is in dire need of some new blood especially with Kiki Iriafen headed to USC. The one place that the Cardinal have struggled since their national title run in 2021 was in the backcourt and Paye struck gold in that exact position of need. Tess Heal was the 2023 WCC Newcomer of the Year and a two-time All-WCC First team selection. A proven scorer, though not a volume shooter from three point range, she can finish at the rim and isn’t scared of getting to the line (191-219 from the free throw line last year). Her season high came in a 40 point, 7 assist effort last March. There hasn’t been a backcourt scorer that prolific in Maples since Kiana Williams.
Couple that with Mary Ashley Stevenson, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year who was also a Big Ten Honorable Mention and there’s some good value there even if it doesn’t have the sheer quantity that other schools may have. But the fact that both Stevenson and Heal can get onto Stanford’s campus in the first place is huge. It keeps the Cardinal semi-competitive. Now Paye’s challenge is developing her pieces, as developmental stagnancy has become a bit of a concern at Stanford over the last few years.
Purdue
Additions : Mahri Petree (UTEP) , Reagan Bass (Akron) , Destini Lombard (Stephen F. Austin)
Losses: Emily Monson (MTSU) , Mary Ashley Stevenson (Stanford)
Katie Gearlds has made Purdue into a decent power program that can hover along that NCAA First Four line. Are these adds enough in a crowded Big Ten? They definitely don’t hurt! The Boilermakers lost Mary Ashley Stevenson and while they probably would’ve wanted the player with multiple years of eligibility, Reagan Bass isn’t a bad consolation. A multi time All-MAC selection, Bass averaged 15.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while being efficient and getting to the line. She’s one of 10 players to make 135 or more free throws and she did that two straight seasons.
Mahri Petree and Destini Lombard are one year rentals, one a sixth year and the other a grad transfer. But the experience and familiarity with the program matters. Petree’s older sister Lasha led the Boilermakers to an NCAA Tournament while Lombard was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year. The latter was the top ranked guard in RAM, which is an overall performance metric. And I’m someone who is higher on the WAC than most and SFA is another program that plays high level basketball late in the year. For a defense that was among the worst in the Big Ten in several metrics, Coach Gearlds managed to dip into the portal to address that need. It’s gonna be needed in a new look Big Ten that is bringing loads of firepower.
UCLA
Additions : Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State) , Timea Gardiner (Oregon State) , Janiah Barker (Texas A&M)
Losses: Christeen Iwuala (Ole Miss)
Cue the Bernie Sanders meme. Cori Close, I am once again asking you to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament with a roster that looks like it could win a national title. All kidding aside, this feels like the year where we find out if Cori is capable of winning a title or not as a head coach. It feels a little absolute but this roster is stacked as much as any other in the country. On sheer talent alone, I’m probably putting UCLA in the same tier as South Carolina, USC and UConn. Especially after the addition of Janiah Barker.
Pac-12 folks will know Timea Gardiner and what a massive win that was for the Bruins. Gardiner played a very specific role at Oregon State and was often referred to as a sixth starter by Scott Rueck. She’s a three-level scorer and has the size and mobility to be an upgrade to Angela Dugalic. Then you add in some backcourt experience in Charlisse Leger-Walker, a streaky high-volume scorer who should succeed now that she isn’t being asked to carry such a significant weight like she was at Washington State.
Janiah Barker is clearly the x factor player of this portal class. At her best, she’s a 6’4 force multiplier that you can interchange with Gardiner and stick next to Lauren Betts as a rim protector. But as good as she was at Texas A&M (12.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG), many felt like there was some meat on the bone with her game. That there was a dominance that existed but wasn’t consistently tapped into. If Cori Close can find that on a semi-regular basis…watch out. A starting five of Leger-Walker, Kiki Rice, Gardiner, Barker and Betts? SHEESH.
Alabama A&M
Additions : Shelomi Sanders (Colorado) , Tia Harvey (Little Rock) , Jaiyah Harris-Smith (Little Rock) , Crystianna Whitehead (UAPB) , Kourtney Rittenberry (UAPB) , Kaila Walker (UAPB) , Coriah Beck (UAPB) , Mailyn Wilkerson (Arkansas State), Lauryn Pendleton (Arkansas State) , Aniya Palmer (Georgia State) , Kamaria Gipson (South Alabama) , Alisha Wilson (Entered Portal, Withdrew)
Losses: Victoria Dixon (Houston Christian) , Kayla Turner (Temple) , Amiah Simmons (San Jose State)
Dawn Thornton left Arkansas-Pine Bluff for Alabama A&M and wasted no time transforming this roster. And with Tomekia Reed leaving Jackson State for Charlotte, Thornton might have a chance to make Huntsville the center of SWAC basketball. It felt like her Arkansas Pine-Bluff team had the roster to do that but Starr Jacobs’ lack of eligibility last year stymied what felt like a real on-paper challenge to Jackson State’s dominance.
With Zaay Green headed to Alabama and Jacobs on the way to Ole Miss, Thornton essentially took the remainder of UAPB’s contributers, from Coriah Beck to Crystianna Whitehead with her to Alabama A&M. From there, she managed to hang on to Alisha Wilson, pulled a starting five guard in Lauryn Pendleton and filled out the roster with good depth pieces from Conference USA and the Sun Belt.
The SWAC really is wide open into next year and Hunstville feels like the kind of market and area that can get behind a talented women’s basketball team. I won’t crown Thornton’s Bulldogs just yet but it’s one heck of a roster transformation in such a short amount of time.