The offseason storylines in women’s college basketball were dominated by the transfer portal. We speculated about who was going where, how a player would impact a team’s hopes and goals, and which players were the best fit in their new homes.
Some transfers dramatically altered the expectations we have for teams this year, while others solidified them. Take LSU for example: with Angel Reese returning, a lot of folks thought they would have a chance to repeat, but after adding Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, anything short of doing so would be a massive disappointment for the Tigers.
Here are the players were most excited about seeing in new uniforms this year:
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville to LSU
There’s no doubt that Van Lith is a high-impact playmaker, one with swagger, confidence and a knack for stepping up in big games. In 13 NCAA Tournament contests over three seasons at Louisville, Van Lith averaged 18.1 points, 2.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game as the Cardinals went to a pair of Elite Eights and played in a Final Four with Van Lith leading the way.
But there are questions about how Van Lith will fit in at LSU. She comes into a team that already has an established star in Angel Reese, and seems to be entering a role where she’ll be asked to fill the shoes of Alexis Morris at point guard. While Van Lith brought the ball up the court for Louisville and dished out her fair share of assists, she wasn’t often asked to be a true floor general; that job often went to Dana Evans, Kianna Smith or Mykasa Robinson. Moreover, Van Lith will be asked to knock down open 3-pointers that come her way as Reese and Aneesah Morrow draw defenders into the paint. Last season, Van Lith took a career-high 5.4 shots from behind the arc per game, but knocked down a career worst 29.3%.
If Van Lith can improve as a shooter and passer, and quickly gel with her new teammates, the sky is the limit for the Tigers.
Celeste Taylor, Duke to Ohio State
Defense was a big part of Ohio State’s run to the Elite Eight last season. In the offseason – on paper, anyways – they got a lot better in that department by adding Celeste Taylor, a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award last year.
At Duke last season, it was Taylor that made the Blue Devils’ defense go. She was sixth in the nation in defensive win shares (2.8) and 17th in defensive rating (71.9). Duke was first in points allowed per game (51.0) and Taylor was a big reason why. She’s a player who can do a bit of everything, and showed that in Duke’s overtime loss to Colorado in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by racking up a near-quadruple double with eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and 10 steals.
Expect Taylor to get the Caitlin Clark assignment when Ohio State meets Iowa in Big Ten play.
Lexi Donarski, Iowa State to North Carolina
Before we get into Donarski’s resume here, it’s worth noting that UNC was absolutely a winner in the portal because of some of the other players they brought in. Maria Gakdeng – who blocked 131 shots in 65 starts for Boston College over the past two seasons – gives the Tar Heels a legitimate rim protector and post scorer for the first time in the Courtney Banghart era. And Indya Nivar – a former five-star recruit – gives UNC an ultra-athletic and versatile wing off the bench.
Donarski is the most decorated of the three, having won Big 12 Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. She is a classic 3-and-D guard who knows her role and is pretty good and both playing defense and swishing 3-pointers, knocking down 36.4% of her attempts in 95 starts for the Cyclones over the past three seasons.
Should Donarski live up to her potential, she and Deja Kelly could make the argument for having the best backcourt in the ACC.
Te-Hina Paopao, Oregon to South Carolina
Aliyah Boston and her class of “Freshies” are gone. It’s a new era at South Carolina, and Paopao is expected to orchestrate this new look on offense for Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks. Her pairing in the backcourt with Raven Johnson should give South Carolina two versatile facilitators.
But Paopao also gives the Gamecocks a real 3-point shooting threat as she knocked down 42.4% from her looks from behind the arc last season. Moreover, Paopao’s skills as a defender and her instincts during fast breaks could make South Carolina lethal in the transition.
Lauren Betts, Stanford to UCLA
The best of the best recruits don’t transfer all that often. When Betts entered the portal this past spring, she was the first ESPN-ranked No. 1 recruit to transfer since Elena Delle Donne left UConn in 2008. And like Delle Donne did at Delaware, UCLA is expecting the 6-foot-7 Betts to have a big impact.
Betts didn’t get much of a chance to show off her skills at Stanford last season, averaging just 9.6 minutes per game. In brief moments, she was able to display her impact, like when she grabbed 13 rebounds in 16 minutes against Grambling State, or when she had 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists against Colorado.
At the very least, Betts will likely be an impactful starter for UCLA. But she could become a total game-changer.
Jewel Spear, Wake Forest to Tennessee
Tamari Key and Rickea Jackson are back for the Lady Vols and will dominate opponents inside the paint. But last season, 3-point shooting was a bit of a weakness for Tennessee as it made just 31.4% of its shots from distance. That’s a problem that Spear – a career 36.7% shooter from deep – should be able to solve.
A 5-foot-10 guard, Spear was a two-time All-ACC selection at Wake and led the league in scoring as a sophomore with 18.3 points per game. There’s no questioning her talent or abilities, but the thing that Spear will have to adjust to is playing with other all-conference-level players. At Wake, every defensive gameplan the Demon Deacons faced was designed to stop Spears. But with Tennessee armed with Jackson, Key and Belmont transfer Destinee Wells, Spear should get open looks that she never got at Wake Forest. She’ll need to knock those opportunities down, and when the defense does shift her way, she’ll have to improve on her career assists per game mark of 1.7.
