When ESPN last projected the women’s college basketball top 25 for the 2025-26 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks were atop the rankings. Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer, had announced her transfer to Columbia, where Chloe Kitts, Raven Johnson, Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson were set to return.
Then the transfer portal struck a few more times. Most notably, Serah Williams, one of the Big Ten’s best players at Wisconsin, enrolled at UConn, giving the reigning national champion Huskies their final piece to move past the Gamecocks as this season’s early favorite in the title race.
The portal took a little and gave a little to UCLA and Texas, and when the dust cleared, last season’s Final Four participants emerged as front-runners to be among the last teams standing in Phoenix, which hosts the national semifinals and championship game on April 3 and 5.
Winning and losing in the transfer portal has become more directly reflective of wins and losses on the court. And it’s why teams such as Maryland, NC State and TCU have moved up in our top 25, and why Vanderbilt and Baylor moved down.
So as we unveil ESPN’s preseason Top 25 rankings, we look at the transfer who will make the most impact for each team.
Serah Williams (Wisconsin): From the moment Williams entered the transfer portal she seemed a good fit for the defending champion Huskies. Pairing with Sarah Strong could give UConn the most productive frontcourt duo in the country. Third in the Big Ten in scoring (19.2 PPG) and rebounding (9.8 (RPG) last season, Williams put up big numbers throughout her three-year career in Madison, but she never played on a winning team. That changes with the move to Storrs.
Ta’Niya Latson (Florida State): In 17 years at South Carolina, Dawn Staley has never had a scoring guard of Latson’s caliber, and it will be interesting to see how that impacts the Gamecocks’ offense. The nation’s leading scorer at 25.2 points per game last season, Latson likes to have the ball in her hands but is nearly unstoppable in transition. She’s a threat to score anywhere on the floor.
Gianna Kneepkens (Utah): When Cori Close lost six players in the portal, including three rotation regulars, she needed to make a splash herself. Few come bigger than Kneepkens, who should fit in seamlessly with the veteran Bruins. Kneepkens, who ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 19.3 points per game, is a career 43.9% shooter from 3-point range and is the eighth senior or graduate student on UCLA’s roster.
Breya Cunningham (Arizona): A talented shot blocker and rebounder, Cunningham’s defensive acumen should fit in well in Vic Schaefer’s system. The 6-foot-4 junior was fourth in the Big 12 in blocks (1.75 BPG) and pulled down 7.0 boards per game with the Wildcats. Cunningham also helps offset the Longhorns’ lost size with the graduation of Taylor Jones and the transfer of Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (Vanderbilt).
MiLaysia Fulwiley (South Carolina): One of the college game’s most electrifying talents in her two years with the Gamecocks, Fulwiley’s consistency never matched her dazzling play. Now she travels across the SEC to play for South Carolina’s chief conference rival, where she will have to find her place alongside Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams.
This is the exception on the list: Jennie Baranczyk had the rarest of offseasons for the modern-day college basketball coach and didn’t hit the portal. Instead, she did her work recruiting one of the top incoming freshmen in the country in point guard Aaliyah Chavez. The two-time Texas player of the year should make a Sooners team that already thrives in transition even faster.
Janiah Barker (UCLA): Back in the SEC after a season in Los Angeles, Barker was once the chief building block in Joni Taylor’s remaking of the Texas A&M program. She became an effective role player with the Bruins and now could be a key presence in the deep rotation in Knoxville.
Khamil Pierre (Vanderbilt): One of the last high-profile transfers to find a new home, Pierre changes the outlook for the Wolfpack considerably. Pierre brings 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to NC State, which needed to replace the production of Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, who started a combined 33 games in the WNBA this season. If Pierre partners with Zoe Brooks the way she did with Mikayla Blakes last season at Vanderbilt, the Wolfpack could compete for a Final Four appearance.
Riley Nelson (Maryland): Nelson left College Park for Durham a year ago but sat out the season to rehab a torn ACL suffered as a freshman in January 2024. A former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American, Nelson — along with Ashlon Jackson and freshman Emilee Skinner — could give coach Kara Lawson the kind of scoring backcourt she hasn’t had yet at Duke.
Yarden Garzon (Indiana): The most glaring flaw in Garzon’s game is that she might be too unselfish. In her three seasons with the Hoosiers, Garzon’s first priority as a 6-foot-3 point guard was to find teammates, but she can also score and is a 42.9% career 3-point shooter. With 17.9 points-per-game scorer Kaylene Smikle, Saylor Poffenbarger and Duke transfer Oluchi Okananwa also in the lineup, Garzon (14.4 PPG last season) will have plenty options for her passes, but coach Brenda Frese might ask her to take on more scoring responsibilities.
Elina Aarnisalo (UCLA): The Bruins’ point guard of the future decided against playing behind Kiki Rice and Charlisse Leger-Walker and instead moved east. Along with sophomore Lanie Grant, Aarnisalo will have the opportunity to replace the departed Lexi Donarski in the Tar Heels’ backcourt. Aarnisalo averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 assists last season but showed her promise with a 13-point game against South Carolina and 11-assist performance against Arkansas.
Cotie McMahon: Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin loaded up in the portal, adding eight new players. McMahon is the best of the bunch. One of the most consistently productive players in the country during her three seasons at Ohio State, McMahon averaged 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in Columbus.
Jada Williams (Arizona): After five years of Emily Ryan at the point, coach Bill Fennelly is going in a different direction with Williams. The speedy junior is more of shoot-first point guard who can get the Cyclones some easy baskets in transition. She led the Wildcats with 12.7 points per game.
Malaya Cowles (Wake Forest): Coach Niele Ivey lost more in the portal (Olivia Miles, Kate Koval, Kylee Watson) than the Irish added, but Cowles gives her a player who can score and defend inside. Cowles had been at ACC rival Wake Forest since the 2020-21 season and is coming off her best year: 8.8 points per game on 55.8% shooting.
Ashley Sofilkanich (Bucknell): The Wolverines are loaded with talented young guards, such as sophomores Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway. Size is what they needed to add this offseason, and the 6-3 Sofilkanich provides that. How she adapts to the upgrade in competition will be the big question, but Sofilkanich dominated the Patriot League with 19.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Laura Ziegler (Saint Joseph’s): A productive player from the day she arrived at Saint Joseph’s, Ziegler is now taking her power game to the ACC. A double-figure scorer in all three seasons with the Hawks, she hit career highs of 17.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game last season. She also ranked fifth in the country in double-doubles and third in defensive rebounds.
Kara Dunn (Georgia Tech): With JuJu Watkins out for the season and the depth of last season’s freshmen class depleted by transfers, Dunn gives coach Lindsay Gottlieb a veteran who can lead talented underclassmen Kennedy Smith and Jazzy Davidson. Dunn was consistent and dependable in her three years at Georgia Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets last season in scoring (15.5 PPG) and to their most wins (22) since 2017.
Taliah Scott (Auburn): Injuries have derailed the career of a player who could be one of the best scorers in the country. Scott has averaged 21.2 points in stops at Arkansas and Auburn, but in that time she played in only 23 games. If she stays healthy, Scott will add a new dimension to the Bears’ offense, which could have its go-to scorer for the next three years.
Tierra Simon (St. Louis): While playing against Richmond in February, Simon scored 19 points and helped force Spiders star Maggie Doogan into one of her worst games of the season. Instead of risking that happening again, Richmond coach Aaron Roussell added Simon to his roster. She joins seniors Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom to form the core for the overwhelming favorites in the Atlantic 10.
Chazadi Wright (Georgia Tech): One of seven Georgia Tech defectors after the retirement of coach Nell Fortner, Wright gives the Hawkeyes more quickness at point guard to pair with the perimeter shooting of Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe. Wright, who ranked second on the Yellow Jackets in assists as a freshman (2.6 per game), gives Iowa another dependable shooter (32.6% on 3-pointers).
Olivia Miles: One of the best players in the portal, Miles has a chance to make the Horned Frogs even better than their 34-win, Elite Eight team in 2024-25. In her first season back at Notre Dame coming off knee surgery, Miles averaged a career-high 15.4 points and improved her 3-point shooting accuracy from 24.6% in her first three seasons to 40.6%.
Haleigh Timmer (South Dakota State): After scoring 11 points to help South Dakota State knock the Cowgirls out of the NCAA tournament in the first round, Timmer is joining Oklahoma State for her final season. She missed 2023-24 because of a knee injury but returned to average a career-best 12.5 points per game and 40% 3-point shooting. She was an honorable mention all-Summit League pick.
Jalyn Brown (Arizona State): After struggling to get minutes in her freshmen season at Louisville, Brown flourished in two years with the Sun Devils, averaging 17.7 points per game. She should add some punch to a Spartans backcourt that must replace second-leading scorer Julia Ayrault. Brown has been an all-conference honorable mention pick in the Pac-12 and Big 12 and is a strong candidate to add a third major conference honor to her résumé.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (Texas): Mwenentanda brings quickness and length and is the kind of player who typically fits perfectly in Vic Schaefer’s system. She scored 29 points in the Longhorns’ first two NCAA tournament games but consistent minutes eluded her all season. Now Mwenentanda has the potential to give coach Shea Ralph the defensive stopper on the wing she didn’t have a year ago.
Avery Howell (USC): A year ago, the Huskies ranked in the top 15 nationally in 3-point shooting and now add Howell, who led the Trojans at 39.9% last season. Howell, who scored 7.5 points per game, is more than just a shooter. She’s an intense perimeter defender and should help the Huskies on the glass, where she averaged 3.0 rebounds. The No. 16 recruit in the 2024 class, Howell left USC after one season.
Also considered: Princeton Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Kentucky Wildcats