It’s 10am eastern time on Tuesday. We currently have 1,129 players in the transfer portal. Every year there are a high number of players in the transfer portal but this year we have some high level players looking for a new home. We already saw Georgia Amoore commit to Kentucky after her coach took the job. With the season officially over, big names have been dropping into the portal each and every day. Players will begin committing to their new school this week and next. Some players may still be waiting to see how the coaching carousel pans out. Either way, some big time players will be playing for a new program next year and I’m super excited to see where they land. These are the spots where I think these transfers should land. I have no information what so ever so these are spots that I think are good fits and would be fun to see.

Hailey Van Lith- Transferring from LSU

Notre Dame would be a great spot for HVL. The playing PG experiment didn’t work at LSU. She is a scorer. Notre Dame brings all their main players back and adding HVL would make them a National Champion contender. Would she be the #1 option? No, but her game would fit a lot better here than it did in Baton Rouge.

Mississippi State is an interesting spot because of one thing. In high school HVL obviously committed to Louisville before transferring to LSU. The assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Louisville when HVL made her decision? Current Miss St head coach Sam Purcell. Starkville loves their women’s basketball and HVL could get a lot of love and a lot of stardom there next season.

Lucy Olsen – Transferring from Villanova

The nation’s #3 leader in points per game is going to be a big time get for someone. A Philly kid going to Villanova is not something new, but having such a prolific scorer in the portal is something that is going to excite almost every program in the country. A dynamic scorer like Olsen really should align herself with a program that is going to allow her to do similar things. Penn state loses some scoring and she can step right in and continue with what she has been doing. Replacing Makenna Marisa, playing in an up pace offense. I am sure Penn State is reaching out.

UNC is a landing spot that makes sense. The Tar Heels lose one of their leading scorers, Deja Kelly to the portal. Courtney Banghart was previously at Princeton and although there is nothing to indicate that she recruited her then, there is a definitely a region relationship between the two. Olsen could play beside Lexi Donarski, who I believe has 1 year left. Coach Banghart will have to build her roster for next season and Lucy Olsen would be a great way to start.

KK Bransford- Transferring from Notre Dame

Originally from Cincinnati the highly touted high school recruit could make her way back home. Louisville will have to make some moves after losing their opening round game to Middle Tennessee State. Louisville was one of KK’s top schools when ultimately making the decision to attend Notre Dame. Coming off the bench for ND this season it is clear that KK is looking for a bigger role.

After an up and down season Adia Barnes is going to have to bring in some players to fill out her roster only returning 6 players. 4 incoming freshman and an already landed transfer in Paulina Paris, I think Arizona will have to be a big player in the portal with their move to the Big 12 next season. KK can give them a piece that is ready to contribute right away. Add size to their guard group. KK took an official visit to Arizona in her recruiting process. I expect her to be taking another if she hasn’t already decided to just go back home.

Timea Gardiner- Transferring from Oregon State

Conference alligment is another reason for transfer portal activity. Oregon State will be moving to the West Coast Conference next season. Going from the Pac 12 to the WCC is definitely a downgrade if you are a highly touted recruit. Gardiner’s final 3 schools were OSU, Stanford and UCLA. Both those schools have solidified forwards on their roster and both will be traveling to ACC and BIG 10 games next season. I already said Arizona needs to be a big player and with their move to the BIG 12, Gardiner can play closer to her Utah home.

Now I am not too confident with this pick but if I stay true to my theory, Gardiner can still find herself playing in the BIG 12 and definitely closer to home in her home state of Utah. Utah is a relatively young team that’s status has grown since Gardiner was in high school. She could step in and take Pill’s role as a post player who can stretch the defense and shoot it from 3.

Deja Kelly – Transferring from UNC

The UNC guard has had a great career as a Tar Heel. She was the 10th overall ranked recruit in the 2020 class. She was originally committed to the University of Texas before signing with UNC. She committed to Karen Aston though and not Vic Schaefer. The San Antonio native could head back home and compete for a national championship. For a student-athlete who is interesting in broadcasting, Texas could be a nice landing spot as they have their own TV Channel. Longhorn Network.

In high school Deja Kelly’s final 5 was UNC, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Texas A&M and Duke. Kara Lawson was not the head coach during that time but Kara Lawson is one of the most aggressive coaches in the transfer portal. Transferring down the block to Duke after playing in Chapel Hill would be strange and almost a sin in itself but Duke is a contender if they add a few players. NIL money and a prestigious school like Duke could be a strange, but legit landing spot for Kelly.