Five years ago Olivia Miles was a top high-school player, fielding offers from countless college programs. Mark Campbell was an assistant coach at Oregon, deep in the weeds of recruiting, with his eyes on Miles to be the Ducks’ new point guard. Miles ended up committing to Notre Dame and Campbell took his first head coaching job at Sacramento State before heading to TCU two years later. But their paths would cross once again.
When Miles entered the transfer portal this April, Campbell came calling again and she quickly landed at TCU, thanks to the relationship she and Campbell had forged years ago.
Campbell has become known for his ability to land big-name players in the portal over the last two seasons – Hailey Van Lith last year, and now Miles – but according to Campbell, the work starts way before a player decides to transfer. “It just shows how important it is to recruit those high school kids and build great relationships,” Campbell says. “At least half of our players who transferred in have come because of that.”
Campbell says he doesn’t have a sales pitch for portal players. He leans on relationship building and previous results. Last season, the latter was more of a challenge, given that the Horned Frogs hadn’t really done anything yet. But now they have.
After making it to the Elite Eight for the first time, Campbell has proven to prospective players that his teams can win. He’s also shown the ability to get individual results as well. Van Lith came in after a difficult year at LSU in which she averaged 11.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 37.8 percent from the field – all career lows. In her lone season at TCU, Van Lith improved her point-guard skills and averaged career highs in assists (5.4 per game) and shooting percentage (45.2 percent), while also scoring 17.9 points per game.
Prior to transferring to TCU, Van Lith had fallen off draft boards, but her play as a Horned Frog led to the 5-foot-9 guard being drafted 11th overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Now, Van Lith serves as the blueprint for Campbell. “Success attracts players,” Campbell says. “Success attracts talent. Hailey’s journey brought a huge spotlight to our program, because of who she is, and then we had a really special year that was well-documented. That opened the door to high-school recruiting and then a new crop of portal kids.”
Miles is the headliner. After three successful seasons at Notre Dame and the opportunity to go pro as a top pick, the 5-foot-10 guard instead decided to play her final season of college basketball in Fort Worth.
At Notre Dame, Miles averaged 14.2 points, 6 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Her flashy passes and elite court vision became staples of the Notre Dame offense, something that Campbell is looking forward to incorporating into the TCU attack. “Every day in practice is like a show, man,” Campbell says with a laugh. “The things she can do on the court are amazing.”
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Miles is the biggest name, but not the only impactful portal addition. The Horned Frogs also signed six other transfers, including three bigs in 6-foot-3 graduate student Marta Suarez (Cal), 6-foot-7 senior Kennedy Basham (Arizona State) and 6-foot-7 sophomore Clara Silva (Kentucky). Campbell also signed two more guards, 5-foot-9 senior Veronica Sheffey (San Diego State) and 6-foot-1 sophomore Taliyah Parker (Texas A&M). Maddie Scherr (Kentucky), a 5-foot-10 graduate senior guard who missed last season with a back injury, will also make her TCU debut.
Add in three freshmen and you have a TCU squad with just three returners who saw significant time last season – 6-foot junior guard Donovyn Hunter, 6-foot-1 senior Taylor Bigby and 6-foot-2 senior forward Aaliyah Roberson.
Signing experienced players like Miles, Suarez and Basham gives TCU the opportunity to elevate its play instantly, but it also presents a unique coaching challenge. “With one-year players you have to be able to plug and play,” Campbell says. “You get about six or seven months with these kids and in that time they have to learn an entirely new system, new teammates, new coaching staff and find a way to flourish. That is really hard to do.” That makes fit extremely important for both TCU and prospective transfer players. Despite the high number of additions through the portal, Campbell is picky. More than 1,500 women’s basketball players entered the portal last season, with many making quick decisions on their new landing spots. Portal season, which starts during the NCAA Tournament, is pure chaos, but it’s also a necessity.
“You are constantly evaluating players and trying to identify the ones that fit your system, fit your style of play,” Campbell says. “That’s not a huge group. We know what we want to do. We want kids that can play pick and roll and we want to spread the court with high-level shooters.”
TCU’s success last season allowed Campbell to secure something his team didn’t have in his first two years at the helm: depth. It’s hard for him to believe that the Horned Frogs had to hold open tryouts during the 2023-24 season because injuries fully depleted the roster. Now, he has high-level guards and multiple 6-foot-7 posts to work with.
And he’s got Miles, thanks to all that work done on the recruiting trail years ago.
“There is no question this is the deepest and most talented roster we’ve had at TCU,” Campbell says. “But there is a long process between now and April. We can’t skip any of those steps. But if we get it right, I think we are going to have another special journey.”
