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The portal is open. The exoduses have begun. Let the madness continue.Within the first day of the portal’s opening, more than 1,000 Division I players had entered — that’s roughly an NCAA Tournament’s worth of rosters looking for a new home. Here’s a look at the players expected to be the most coveted in this recruitment period.
Notes: Players are only included if they’ve actually already entered the portal, not if they announced they intend to do so. Years in school are listed as current years ahead of transfer.
1. Audi Crooks
Iowa State junior center
25.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 APG
An impressive part of Crooks’ game this season is her increased efficiency despite Cyclones teammate Addy Brown spending a good chunk of time on the bench, allowing teams to home in on Crooks even more. Crooks was the nation’s second-leading scorer this season and a dominant inside force on offense, opening up outside opportunities for teammates. (Iowa State averaged eight 3-pointers a game this year.)
It’ll be interesting to see where she lands and if she skews toward a pacing and style like Iowa State, or if she opts for something different. This situation seems similar to Raegan Beers’ transfer portal recruitment — the 6-foot-4 center played in a slower, drain-the-clock system at Oregon State before transferring to Oklahoma, the fastest team in the country (literally no team played more possessions a game the last two seasons than the Sooners). So just because there seems like an obvious style fit for Crooks doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where she’ll end up.
Potential fits: Minnesota, UNC, Texas
2. Liv McGill
Florida sophomore guard
22.5 PPG, 6.3 APG, 6.1 RPG, 2.6 steals per game
After being spotted at Tammi Reiss’ introductory press conference at Florida, many assumed McGill might stay put. Not so fast. McGill is in the portal and ready to find a new home. She’s a 5-9 facilitator and creator who has no problem finding her own shot in the paint. She shot 50 percent on 2s this season and scored 57 percent of her points off pick-and-rolls, per Synergy. She’s not much of a 3-point shooter (26 percent this season), but with her ability to create, score inside and defend on the perimeter, she’s an excellent pick up for a team seeking an instant spark.
Potential fits: Texas, LSU
3. Kymora Johnson
Virginia junior guard
19.5 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 spg
Johnson is the full package — she’s an excellent 3-point shooter (36 percent on high volume this season) with deep range, and she has good finishing ability at the rim. At 5-7, she’s not the tallest guard, but she’s sturdy, and her motor is off the charts. (She played every minute of the Cavaliers’ double-overtime upset of Iowa in the second round.) Johnson grew up in Charlottesville, Va., and UVA was her dream school — she was a UVA ball girl as a kid — so it’ll be fascinating to see where she decides to go for her final season when it feels like this is her opportunity to get on a roster that could compete for a national title and put some film together for a future pro career.
Potential fits: UCLA, TCU, Kentucky
4. Dani Carnegie
Georgia sophomore guard
17.8 PPG, 3.2 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG
Carnegie will be on her third school in three years, but that’s not necessarily that wild in this day of college sports. She’s a two-way guard who shot 35 percent on 3-pointers this year (while taking seven attempts a game). She rebounds and defends well and, already as a junior, has experience in the ACC and SEC. It’ll be interesting to see if the New York native decides to head closer to home after spending her first two seasons in the state of Georgia. As Gary Redus, the former LSU assistant, rebuilds as the new head coach at Rutgers, could he convince Carnegie — who dropped 24 points on the Tigers this season — to come back to the Northeast?
Potential fits: Rutgers, UCLA, TCU
5. Jada Williams
Iowa State junior guard
15.3 PPG, 7.7 APG, 3.5 RPG
Williams was initially committed to UCLA before signing with Arizona before her freshman year and then transferring to Iowa State. So, could she be headed back to the L.A. area? (She attended high school in San Diego.) Williams is an elite facilitator who was third in assists among power conference players this season, and she can also get her own bucket. She might not be the most consistent 3-point shooter, but inside the arc she’s dangerous, and that’s where she’s able to best create for teammates, too.
Potential fits: UCLA, USC, Texas
6. Addy Brown
Iowa State junior forward
11.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 5.3 APG
Brown is a unique player in the portal. There simply aren’t many 6-2 forwards like her who can handle physicality and contact on the inside as well as have the vision to make the passes she can. Her 3-point shooting percentage was a career low this season, but over the past three seasons, she has knocked down nearly 37 percent of her shots from behind the arc. She’s a dynamic threat with 89 career starts. Brown would be an asset on any roster.
Potential fits: Louisville, UCLA
7. Sa’Myah Smith
Virginia redshirt junior forward
7.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Smith has had a long journey in college hoops. She spent three seasons at LSU, where she won a national championship and then rehabbed after an ACL/MCL/meniscus tear. Then, this past season at Virginia, she had another small knee surgery. She has one season of college hoops left and has a chance to be an impactful interior presence, which is a need for a lot of top programs out there.
Potential fits: USC, TCU, Michigan, Notre Dame
8. Talaysia Cooper
Tennessee junior guard
16.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.7 SPG
Cooper is a big guard who showed her versatility in Tennessee’s unique system the past two seasons. Her 16 points, five rebounds and four assists came while playing just 26 minutes a game. She’s a disruptive defender who can get out in transition, but her ability to make those plays without fouling is highly impressive. Only 31 guards in power conferences this season averaged two-plus steals a game while averaging three or fewer fouls a game — Cooper was one of them.
Potential fits: LSU, TCU
9. Zam Jones
NC State sophomore guard
14.9 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG
Jones is a three-level scorer who started 30 games for the Wolfpack this season. She showed nice improvement from her freshman to sophomore seasons in field goal percentage, 3-point shooting and free throw percentage, so a continued jump into her junior season is expected. She’s undersized, so there are probably quite a few power conference rosters that might not be too high on her, but she’s an impactful player nonetheless. Would the North Carolina native want to stay in her home state or head elsewhere?
Potential fits: ASU, Maryland
10. Lanie Grant
North Carolina sophomore guard
10.8 PPG, 2.3 APG, 1.9 RPG
One of the best 3-point shooters available in the portal, Grant could be an easy addition to plenty of rosters. She shot 45 percent on spot-up 3-pointers this season and 42 percent overall from behind the arc (while attempting five triples a game). Plenty of teams are looking to refill their outside shooting needs, but UConn and Iowa seem like teams that could use a floor spacer.
Potential fits: UConn, Iowa, Vanderbilt
11. Tilda Trygger
NC State sophomore center
10.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Trygger’s growth from Year 1 to Year 2 at NC State should create optimism for her continued development over the next two years, and at the end of the day, you can’t teach height, and there aren’t that many 6-6 players in the portal. Offensively, she does most of her damage in the paint, but she’s a threat in the midrange, and she hit a handful of above-the-break and baseline 3-pointers this season, so she could continue to grow there. Defensively, she’s a great shot blocker and rim protector, and she doesn’t get into too much foul trouble (1.7 fouls per game). Like last season, bigs are going to be at a premium this offseason, so Trygger’s decision will be intriguing.
Potential fits: Michigan, Minnesota, Louisville
12. Carys Baker
Virginia Tech junior forward
14.3PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.1 BPG
Baker is a three-level scoring forward who has shot 39 percent from beyond the arc during her three-year career. She has good length and versatility on defense and can make defensive plays without fouling. The Horned Frogs have plenty of needs to fill, and Baker seems like a great fit there. But could a delayed reunion with Kenny Brooks at Kentucky be in the future?
Potential fits: Kentucky, TCU
13. Nunu Agara
Stanford junior forward
15.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG
An efficient scorer inside the arc, a threat on the glass and a low-turnover forward make Agara one of the most intriguing transfer prospects. She committed to Stanford under Tara VanDerveer when the Cardinal were a perennial national power, but times have changed. However, Agara’s skill level, ceiling and ability to contribute immediately mean she can be on a national title-contending roster very soon. Agara graduated from Stanford in three years, which would make her addition to Notre Dame’s roster a possibility. (Its credit transferring system makes it tough for non-grad transfers to join the Irish).
Potential fits: Notre Dame, UCLA
14. Kaylene Smikle
Maryland redshirt junior guard
13.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
Smikle missed the majority of last season after undergoing a season-ending knee surgery, so the question of her health will be the biggest point of pause for anything related to her transfer. But assuming she’s fully healthy and ready to go, she’s an automatic bucket getter for rosters that need a big guard to do so. She’s very good in transition and an excellent spot up shooter, and before getting injured last season, she had really cut down on turnovers and upped her free-throw shooting percentage.
Potential fit: Duke, TCU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss
15. Madison St. Rose
Princeton senior guard
15.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.1 SPG
Ivy League transfers have made the jump easily to power-conference rosters — Abby Meyers at Maryland, Kaitlyn Chen at UConn, McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla at USC — so it’s no surprise to see all those programs as potential landing spots for St. Rose. She’s a big guard with a great ability to score in transition and in the pick-and-roll. She rebounds and defends well, and her main drawback is that she’s not much of a 3-point shooter. But in the right system and surrounded by the right players, that’s not a deal breaker.
Potential fit: UConn, USC, Notre Dame, Northwestern
16. Donovyn Hunter
TCU junior guard
10.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 SPG
Hunter is a big guard, a two-way player and someone who can score and facilitate in transition. She has played in multiple systems effectively, at Oregon State for a season and then TCU for two, so her versatility should be appealing to a range of coaches. She has also played in three consecutive Elite Eights, so she has that going for her, too.
Potential fits: Duke, UCLA
17. Taryn Barbot
Charleston junior guard
20.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 SPG
Barbot is the best mid-major player in the portal. You might remember her as the player who dropped 36 points on Duke in a first-round game. She started 98 games for Charleston the past three seasons and will definitely get some looks. Brooks has room on Kentucky’s roster and has taken transfers from outside of the power conference ranks with success (Jordan Obi, Penn; Asia Boone, Liberty), so that could be a good fit, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see Barbot follow her coach to Pitt and play on Robin Harmony’s first ACC roster.
Potential fits: Pitt, Kentucky
Other names to watch: Kiyomi McMiller (Penn State), Essence Cody (Alabama), Solé Williams (FSU), Achol Akot (Oklahoma State), Addie Deal (Iowa), McKenzie Mathurin (Michigan), Inés Sotelo (Michigan State), Jessica Petrie (Nebraska), Hannah Wickstrom (UC Riverside), Mia Pauldo (Tennessee).
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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