The dawn of a college season carries a level of squinting and furrowed brows. While we’re deep into the era of immediate transfers, it can still be difficult to track the established faces in new places.
MiLayshia Fulwiley as a Tiger? That SEC rival clash with South Carolina, where she won a national title, is all the more interesting. An entire set of incoming faces is becoming the norm in Fort Worth for the TCU Horned Frogs. And Maryland is again implementing a veteran class to ascend the loaded Big Ten.
Advertisement
By the time March rolls around, this list could look different. With zero real games in the rearview, here are the top 10 transfers who could impact their new teams the most this season.
1.Ta’Niya Latson: South Carolina from Florida State
Latson led the nation in scoring a year ago, averaging 25.2 points per game for the Seminoles to earn her first All-American honors. The 5-foot-8 senior guard adds a potent scoring threat for a backcourt-heavy Gamecocks squad. It’s a different look than Dawn Staley’s previous rosters, built around frontcourt talents and even scoring production. Latson, who set career highs with 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game, will have a green light for the Associated Press’ No. 2-ranked squad.
2. Olivia Miles: TCU from Notre Dame
Miles, a 5-10 redshirt senior point guard, bypassed becoming a potential lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Instead, she opted to transfer to No. 17-ranked TCU, the team that upset her Fighting Irish in the Sweet 16. She’ll use the opportunity to prepare for the pros in head coach Mark Campbell’s pick-and-roll offense. Campbell brought in another large transfer class, and Miles, the active Division I leader in assists, will be most active among them.
Instead of entering the WNBA Draft, Olivia Miles transferred to TCU, the team that beat her Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the NCAA tournament last season. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
3. Serah Williams: Connecticut from Wisconsin
Williams, a 6-foot-4 senior center, was one of the most coveted frontcourt additions in the portal and adds size to a UConn roster that lacked it a year ago. It gives 12-time champion head coach Geno Auriemma additional options, and shores up the defensive side of the ball for the No. 1-ranked reigning champs. Williams is a two-time All-Big Ten First Teamer and won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024.
Advertisement
4. Janiah Barker: Tennessee from UCLA
Barker, the reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, is a strong fit for . The 6-4 senior forward can crash the boards (6.5 rebounds per game) and shoot from the perimeter (she attempted fewer than one per game at UCLA, but was 36% in two seasons at Texas A&M). Barker and Caldwell spoke at SEC Tipoff last month about playing free and creating chaos, two keywords to Caldwell’s system. The Lady Vols enter the year ranked eighth by AP in a loaded SEC.
5. Gianna Kneepkens: UCLA from Utah
Kneepkens was a key cog in Utah’s four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, marking only the second time in program history it strung together that many berths. Her sharp-shooting on the wing will bolster a Bruins team, ranked third, that could use the outside boost around center Lauren Betts. The 6-foot graduate student averaged a ninth-best three 3-pointers per game last year in Utah, and is a career 43.2% shooter from the perimeter. She made her first Team USA appearance at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup this summer.
Advertisement
6. MiLayshia Fulwiley: LSU from South Carolina
Fulwiley is a case of tremendous upside, low floor. At her best, she’s one of the most jaw-dropping players in the game, a wily 5-10 guard The junior started only three games at South Carolina, instead playing a reserve role for her hometown team. The national title winner can’t take plays off or come out with cooled-off jets, while . She could end up being the most impactful transfer of the class alongside backcourt mates Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams for No. 5 LSU.
7. Oluchi Okananwa: Maryland from Duke
Terps head coach Brenda Frese is becoming a master of the portal. Okananwa and Yarden Garzon, an honorable mention on this list from Indiana, will be asked to replace the backcourt production of Shyanne Sellers (WNBA). Okananwa including 13 in the second quarter, to lead the No. 10 Terps’ exhibition win over NC State on Sunday. The 5-10 junior guard is fresh off ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, averaging 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and shooting 10-of-11 from 3 in the three-game title-winning run.
Advertisement
8. Cotie McMahon: Ole Miss from Ohio State
McMahon leads a large Ole Miss transfer class that will fill the void of departed seniors who put head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s program on the March map. MaMahon, a 6-foot senior forward, played a tough, physical style at Ohio State and will fit in nicely with the defensive tenacity of the No. 12 Rebels. She’ll also provide consistent offense as a three-time All-Big Ten selection.
9. Clara Silva: TCU from Kentucky
The No. 17 Horned Frogs are rich in size with four players listed at or above 6-foot-7, including the 6-7 Silva. Freshmen Emily Hunter (6-7, enrolled in January) and Sarah Portlock (6-8), and senior Kennedy Basham (6-7, transfer from Arizona State) completed the group.
Advertisement
They’ll thrive with Miles in the pick-and-roll as replacements for former transfers Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince in those roles. Silva drew high praise from Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks in a reserve role, and was named the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup Best Defensive Player while competing for Portugal.
10. Kara Dunn: USC from Georgia Tech
With JuJu Watkins out for the season and Kiki Iriafen now in the WNBA, No. 18 USC is in need of veteran leadership. Lindsay Gottlieb’s team is young. Londynn Jones, who transferred from UCLA, is her only other senior. Dunn was the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer last season with 15.5 points per game and was named All-ACC first team. The spotlight will be on the Trojans to see how they can handle life without JuJu, and Dunn can help pick up the slack. — Maggie Hendricks
