Hailey Van Lith led the TCU women’s basketball team to its first-ever Sweet Sixteen appearance Sunday afternoon, just hours before the portal opened. USC’s Kiki Iriafen dropped 36 points against Mississippi State, helping to fill the void left by her teammate JuJu Watkins’s knee injury. Raegan Beers paced Oklahoma in points and rebounding in the regular season, and her Sooners are still dancing, too.
A key correlation between the three? Each of these players donned a different jersey a season ago: Van Lith, still in purple but meshed with the gold of LSU, Iriafen for former Pac-12 rival Stanford and Beers for an ascending Oregon State Beavers program.
While the NCAA Tournament rolls on, the transfer portal opened Tuesday morning and just under 1,000 women’s players have entered. Hoops HQ is partnered with The Portal Report to bring you comprehensive coverage of all the news happening with respect to the portal.
So, here are the top 10 women’s hoopers to enter the portal thus far.
1. Ta’Niya Latson, 5-foot-8 junior guard, Florida State
Latson shattered the Seminoles’ single-season scoring mark with 731 points in 2024-25. Her freshman season, she dropped an ACC first-year record 659.
The junior poured in 25.2 points per game this season, including over 30 points per contest in two NCAA Tournament games. Now, with her entry into the portal, the nation’s leading scorer is receiving interest from the premier programs in the sport.
Flau’Jae and Raven Johnson, stars at LSU and South Carolina, respectively, played alongside Latson for their AAU team, FBC United.
“I’d tell her let’s run it back,” said Raven in an interview with WACH’s Claire Foley.
Latson expressed immense respect for Flau’Jae prior to their second round matchup. She will likely hear from her former teammate and Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey about a potential reunion in Baton Rouge.
The Miami native narrowed her list down to Georgia, North Carolina State, Kentucky and Texas before ultimately landing with Florida State out of high school.
2. Cotie McMahon, 6-foot junior forward, Ohio State
The epitome of consistency for the Buckeyes, McMahon started 97 out of 97 games played during her time in Columbus.
McMahon committed to Ohio State as a four-star recruit out of Centerville High School and made an immediate impact, averaging over 15 points and five rebounds per game. That same season, she uncorked in the NCAA Tournament and helped the Buckeyes upset a traditional powerhouse in UConn with a 23-point Sweet Sixteen performance.
With the nation’s top programs expected to be in pursuit of the experienced forward, keep an eye on an unanticipated destination, Utah State.
Wesley Brooks, an assistant with the Buckeyes for McMahon’s first two years, accepted the head coaching position with the Aggies last offseason. Although McMahon appears unlikely to drop to the mid-major level, look for Brooks to at least take a shot at his former star.
3. Taliah Scott, 5-foot-9 sophomore guard, Auburn
Scott suffered what proved to be a season-ending wrist injury in a loss to California on Nov. 7. An Arkansas transfer, Scott poured in 26 and 28 points respectively in the Tigers’ opening games.
A former five-star recruit out of Orange Park, Fla., Scott averaged over 22 points per game during her freshman season with the Razorbacks. She unleashed 33 points in a late-season win over her future team, the Auburn Tigers, while cashing in six three-pointers.
Auburn dismissed head coach Johnnie Harris on March 6 and Scott entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag four days later.
Pauline Love, an assistant at Arkansas during Scott’s time in Fayetteville, joined Alabama as an assistant and recruiting coordinator this past offseason. Watch for the rival Tide as a possible landing spot.
4. Latasha Lattimore, 6-foot-4 senior forward, Virginia
A Toronto, Ontario native, Lattimore led the Cavaliers in points with 14.3, rebounds with 8.2 and blocks with 2.2 per game.
A three-time transfer, Lattimore began her career with a season at Texas before two seasons with the Hurricanes in Coral Gables.
Lattimore flourished in a more significant role with Virginia this season and secured a career-high 30 points to go along with 11 rebounds in a Feb. 16 victory over Pittsburgh. Her dominance of the Panthers carried over to the opening round of the ACC tournament, a game in which Lattimore swatted a whopping six shots.
Former Longhorns’ assistant Calamity McEntire joined Illinois as an associate head coach in April of 2022. Expect McEntire to pursue Lattimore in the portal.
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5. Kiyomi McMiller, 5-foot-8 freshman guard, Rutgers
With handles that awe the sports’ biggest stars, McMiller mesmerized the nation during her freshman season at Rutgers.
Jamal Crawford, touted as an owner of one of the best crossover dribbles in NBA history, was left blown away by the young star, according to an article by Brandon Robinson.
“Of course, I saw it,” said Crawford on McMiller’s ankle-breaking move. “Did I see it, or did I just lose my mind when I saw it?”
The true freshman dropped 20 or more points in 10 of her 19 games started, including three performances that cleared 30.
McMiller will have suitors from many of the country’s top programs, but look for her hometown Maryland Terrapins to make a strong push coming off a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
6. Gabby Elliott, 5-foot-10 senior guard, Penn State
Elliott started her career as a Clemson Tiger, averaging 13.6 points per game her freshman season. After a transfer to Michigan State, then another to Penn State, Elliott entered the portal as a graduate transfer at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
The Detroit native provided a rare bright spot for a Penn State squad that finished the season 10-19 (1-17). Elliott produced at an efficient clip with 13.6 points per contest on a 47.4 field goal percentage and a 42.3 percent mark from beyond the arc. In a Feb. 27 matchup with Purdue, Elliott exploded for 32 points on 6-for-8 from three-point land, which tied a career–high set earlier this season.
With former Michigan State assistant Kristin Haynie taking the job at Central Michigan last offseason, keep an eye on the Chippewas as a surprise closer-to-home target for Elliott.
7. Breya Cunningham, 6-foot-4 sophomore forward, Arizona
A former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American, Cunningham immediately lived up to the hype upon arriving in Tucson, Ariz.
Cunningham blocked 1.8 shots per game during her freshman season, good for fifth in the conference. She added 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest and saw those numbers skyrocket to 11 and seven respectively this year.
Look for UCLA and USC, two perennial powerhouses just up the road from Cunningham’s hometown of Chula Vista, Calif., as potential destinations.
8. Ta’Mia Scott, 6-foot junior guard, Middle Tennessee
After recording zero starts in her freshman season with the Blue Raiders, Scott opened 70 of 70 games played for Middle Tennessee over the last two years.
Scott led the Conference USA regular-season champions in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Her Blue Raiders fell just shy of an NCAA Tournament bid after a conference-title game loss in which Scott scored 23 and added 11 boards.
Expect Lady Volunteers’ head coach Kim Caldwell to take a look at Scott as a potential in-state transfer.
9. Kaitlin Peterson, 5-foot-9 senior guard, University of Central Florida
Peterson started 54 of 55 games during her two seasons with the Knights after seeing game action in just 27 contests over two years at Indiana.
An Eufaula, Ala., native, Peterson averaged over 21 points a night at UCF. She finished with 30 points or more five times, including a career-high 39 against Texas Southern on Dec. 7.
Her 1,156 points during her tenure in Orlando ranked No. 5 in program history with Mississippi proving early suitors for the senior guard, according to Inside the Rebels.
10. Summer Davis, 5-foot-9 freshman guard, Georgia
The 2023-24 Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan, Davis entered the portal after one season in Athens alongside her twin sister, Indya.
Davis showed flashes in minimal playing time with the Bulldogs, averaging just under four points and two rebounds per game. The freshman guard exceeded double figures four times this season.
Keep an eye on Michigan and Michigan State as potential landing spots for the Davis sisters who attended high school just east of the state’s iconic universities in West Bloomfield, Mich.
