The transfer portal is here to stay in women's basketball. Keep track of everyone who enters and where they land.
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Some intriguing names already hitting the portal. Not certain the Lady Raiders' are in "need" of anything losing 2 starters. Albeit, CUSA POY Wheeler and Future MT HOF Courtney Whitson are big losses, but I'd feel good adding another stretch-4 and high volume scorer.
I'd anticipate redshirt-freshman Jada Harrison and Class of '24 signee Savannah Davis to pick up scoring duties at the guards and Jada Grannum will see an uptick in minutes at the 5 if/when Boldyreva and Grabovskaia get in foul trouble/need rest.
I think the ideal pick-up would either be a young 4/5 with a physical presence that compliments Boldyreva's, or a veteran scoring guard that seems to be the pick-up every two years, Wheeler and Saar being the most recent.
The portal season is still young and the Lady Raiders are still kicking it. This list will grow as the P5's begin to be eliminated. Without further banter, back to the topic at hand -- some names I like:
Gracie Merkle, 6'6" Redshirt-Freshman C (Hometown: Mt. Washington, KY) - Bellarmine
- Sat out '23-'24 season due to injury
- '23 Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year averaging 15.1 points/game (on 70% shooting), 11 rebounds/game, 2.3 blocks/game
- '22 Miss Kentucky Basketball and Gatorade POY for Kentucky her senior season at Bullitt East HS
- Large presence down low, very physical. Similar game to Boldyreva (minus 3-point shooting threat), is similar in body-type to Graboskaia
Carter McCray, 6'1" Freshman C (Hometown: Oberlin, OH) - Northern Kentucky
- Started in 22 games at NKU and averaged 17.1 points/game (on 59% shooting), 11.7 rebounds/game, 1.6 assists/game
- One of the best rebounders in the portal. 8th nationally in off. rebounds/game, 12th in total rebounds, 13th in rebounds/game, and 19th in double-doubles.
- '24 Horizon League Freshman of the Year
- Athletic Frame that lives down low. Not a deep ball threat (no attempts from 3).
- Scored 9 points, 11 rebounds against MT on 12/20
Laniah Randle, 5'11" Junior F (Hometown: Wichita, KS) - Southern Illinois
- Missouri Valley Conference First-Team, Most Improved Player
- Led the MVC with 4 30+ point games including a career-high 36 vs. Indiana State
- Averaged 18.7 points/game, 8.8 rebounds/game (Top 3 in MVC in both categories)
- Great scorer off the bounce, the Salukis ran their offense through her. It's tough to say how that style will transition to MT, but it worked for Wheeler from Marshall. Randle is not a threat from deep.
Izzy Higginbottom, 5'7" Junior G (Hometown: Batesville, AR) - Arkansas State
- '24 All-Sun Belt First Team after leading the SBC with 22.2 points/game (8th nationally) on 46.2% shooting
- Is the closest replacement you will find to Savannah Wheeler. Three-level scorer (37% 3-point shooting), gets to the free throw line (2nd nationally in FTM, 7th nationally in FTA), 7 30-point games.
- Has P5-landing written all over her, but proximity to Murfreesboro may help MT on the recruiting trail
Terren Ward, 5'11" Senior G (Jesup, GA) - Georgia Southern
- '24 All-Sun Belt First Team after ranking 10th nationally with 22.1 points/game (on 40% shooting) and led SBC with 9.1 rebounds/games.
- She shoots... ALOT... over 20 attempts/game... ALOT... I don't know how that would look in a balanced offense that Insell likes to run, but she is a lengthy guard that has similarities to Scott, and has the ability to guard the block (Top 10 in SBC in steals/game).
Ivy League Graduate transfers:
The Ivy League doesn't allow graduate players to play so these are some graduate transfers that are proven scorers that fit the rental/proven scorer archetype I alluded to earlier.
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Kyla Jones, 5’9 Senior G (Hometown: Chicago, IL) - Brown (17.1 points/game)
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Jordan Obi, 6'1" Senior F (Hometown: Hartford, CT) - Penn (14.8 points/game, 7.7 rebounds/game)
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Kaitlyn Chen, 5'9" Senior G (Hometown: San Marino, CA) - Princeton (15.1 points/game, 4.2 assists/game)
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