And I assume that this means our great seniors won't be entering the portal--- AND will ball with GW next year.

Great news!  

Last edited by xAC (3/23/2023 11:02 am)

There's been minimal activity, and surely more to come, but so far, no apparently high impact transfers (besides DeWolfe), and now Mia Jacobs, the third of 3 Jacobs sisters at La Salle and a member of this year's all A10 Rookie team. The Perth, Australia native is taking her talent to Fresno State. No clue about what her sisters are thinking.

Ber’Nyah Mayo of UMASS has entered the portal. Mayo was a 2nd Team All A10 selection this year. With Breen and Philoxy graduating, and Syndey Taylor's announced intention to follow Coach Verdi, to Pitt, it appears that the Minutewomen's top four players from last year's A10 co-champions will not be suiting up in Amherst next season.

With activity at a lull, a good time for a snapshot of portal activity and their effects to date. Several teams have seen significant activity:

UMASS: 2022-2023 A10 co-champion UMASS is undergoing a “mass” exodus, following the departure of Coach Verdi to Pitt. In addition to the graduation of two top players in Breen and Philoxy, the three other starters and top bench performer (Ber’Nyah Mayo, Sydney Taylor, Angelique Ngalakulondi, Makennah White) are in the portal. With the hire of assistant Leflar as the new head coach, some of these players could return next season.

Fordham: Another school with a coaching change caused a dash to the portal, led by all-league guard Anna DeWolfe. Kate Deutsch, Sarah Karpell, Ashley O’Connor and Sonia Sabino have joined her. Karpell started all 32 games for Fordham last year, while the others came off the bench. With Ashley Dingle out of eligibility, big challenges await Coach Mitchell at Rose Hill.

Chicago Loyola: Not sure what the story is here, but top scorer Maya Chandler is bound for SMU and fellow starter Anna Brown has selected Drake. Whitney Dunn (to Alabama State) and Trinity Clinton have also opted out. Ali Berg (IUPUI) is transferring in to help offset the potential losses.

St. Louis: 6’5” Nafatoumata Haidara from Chicago State will replace Brooke Flowers (also 6’5”) on the Billikens roster. Kiley Bess, Sarah Lazar, and Abby Liber (Youngstown State) are in the portal.

Campuses with minimal activity:

Dayton: The Flyers have secured the services of PG Ivy Wolf of Miami (OH).

Duquesne: Liv Westphal, a rarely used sub, is transferring to Easter Michigan.

George Mason: Graduate transfer Tamia Lawhorne and Trey Kennedy are in the portal. Carmen Williams, a 5’11” forward from Radford, is transferring in.

LaSalle: The Explorers are losing Mia Jacobs to Fresno State, but have gained Gabby Turco from DII St. Anslem.

Rhode Island: The Rams’ Dolly Cairns entered the portal. Dee Dee Davis (Manhattan) who was the Jaspers’ top scorer and rebounder is transferring in.

Richmond: Three players who came off the bench in 2022-2023 have entered the portal. They are Sydney Boone (headed to Delaware), Angel Burgos, and Cayla Williams.

St. Bonaventure: Dani Haskell (Canisius), a 5’7” combo guard is transferring in.

Schools with no current activity:

Davidson, GWU, St. Joe’s, and VCU.

Last edited by xAC (5/05/2023 7:18 pm)

Ber'Nyah Mayo transferring from UMass to St John's (23 - 9, second round NCAA.).  St John's is also getting Amber Brown from Pitt and Tara Daye (limited minutes in first year at DePaul.)

Last edited by WMC (4/18/2023 5:51 pm)

A couple more defections at Fordham, where seldom played Faith Pappas and Lexie Tarul are leaving. That makes 7 players from this past year's squad going out the door for the Rams.

More significantly, I'yanna Lops, St. Bonaventure's best post player has entered the portal.

Sydney Taylor to Louisville.  She'll get to play against her former coach.  That's 2 down, 7 to go for UMass in the transfer portal.

Angelique Ngalakulondi  is transferring from UMass to Missouri.  She and Sydney Taylor both played 4 seasons for the Minutewomen.  Maybe none of the players in the transfer portal are going to follow Tory Verdi to Pitt.  The 3 regular starters besides Breen and Philoxy are headed to ACC, Big East and now SEC teams.

In another 5th year player decision, Suzi-Rose Deegan is returning to Davidson for her final year of eligibility. She was the second leading scorer at 13.9 ppg behind Elle Sutphin.

Piath Gabriel, a 6'5" Junior C/F at UMass is in the portal. She did not play a lot of minutes, but she was originally recruited and played two seasons for UConn before transferring to UMass. She was highly recruited out of high school, so it's unclear why she logged so few minutes playing time so far in her college career.

Loyola Chicago added transfer Aaliyah Moore, 6', from St Francis - PA.  Another front court player to go with previously announced 6'1" Ali Berg.

UMass adding graduate transfer Bre Bellamy, 6', from William and Mary out of Freehold NJ.  Played abut 25 minutes a game, averaging 7.6 ppg and 6 rebounds.

This gives UMass 9 players one their active roster - including 3 transfers and 3 commits.  No one withdrew their commitment after Verdi left.  (Although. there is no active roster for 2023-24 o n their website.)

The 3 returning Minutewomen are Stefanie Kulesza, who earned the role of second sub off the bench part way into the season, Kristin Williams, who played a bit as a substitute guard, and Lilly Ferguson, who played very little.  Besides the 3 with new known destinations; two others, Makennah White and Piath Gabriel are listed as being in the transfer portal on "wbbblog."  Four others, including Laila Fair and Alexzeya Brooks, are assumed to be looking elsewhere.