Athletes

Women’s Hoops Transfer Portal Delivers Early Fireworks

Women’s March Madness ended Sunday, but there’s no break in the women’s basketball calendar with the transfer portal open and the WNBA draft Monday.

By Colin Salao

Apr 09, 2025 | 05:14 pm

The Daily Advertiser

South Carolina did not take long before bolstering its roster following a blowout loss to UConn in Sunday’s women’s national championship game.

Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, the leading scorer in NCAA Division I last season, announced Tuesday that she is transferring to the Gamecocks. The incoming senior, who was ranked as the No. 1 transfer by 247Sports and ESPN, is reuniting with high school teammate Raven Johnson, a Gamecocks guard.

Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, the No. 2–rated transfer, also announced her commitment to TCU. She was the projected No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, but just days after the Fighting Irish were eliminated by the Horned Frogs in the Sweet 16, reports surfaced that Miles had chosen to forego the WNBA draft to enter the transfer portal.

Miles will serve as the backcourt replacement for Hailey Van Lith, who is a potential first-round pick in the WNBA draft.

WNBA Draft Looms

The commitments from the high-profile transfers so soon after March Madness highlight the nonstop women’s basketball calendar. The transfer portal opened March 24, in the middle of the tournament, and it closes April 22.

“There will always be continued evaluation [of the transfer portal] to determine if adjustments need to be made,” NCAA VP for women’s basketball Lynn Holzman told Front Office Sports last week. “I expect it will continue to be a topic of discussion for both men’s and women’s basketball.”

What separates the men’s and women’s game, however, is that the WNBA draft comes just eight days after the end of the tournament. UConn’s Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao are two of the stars from the Final Four who have to make the quick turnaround between the tournament and the draft.

Texas guard Rori Harmon, who lost to Paopao and the Gamecocks in the Final Four, announced Wednesday that she will return to the Longhorns next season. The senior had another year of eligibility after her 2023–2024 season was cut short because of a torn ACL.