Big Ten WBB Portal Rundown: Names to know

Get ready for the new look Big Ten.

Next season, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten, making it a full 18 team guantlet to traverse. This past season, nine teams from the new Big Ten made the NCAA Tournament, with four of them advancing to the Sweet 16 or further. The Trojans and Bruins are poised to be top ten teams next season, while some of the other top teams in the conference are looking to reset with players like Caitlin Clark, Jacy Sheldon, Mackenzie Holmes and Jaz Shelley moving on.

Although next season is still months away, the transfer portal is in full swing, with teams across the country making moves to build their roster for next season. Sometimes, the portal can be a lot to process, so I went ahead and looked at the top additions for Big Ten teams, while also touching on the biggest departures.

Biggest Additions

Iowa: PG Lucy Olsen (Villanova)

Maryland: F Saylor Poffenbarger (Arkansas), G Maye Toure (Rhode Island), PG Sarah Te-Biasu (VCU), G Kaylene Smikle (Rutgers)

Michigan State: F Grace VanSlooten (Oregon)

Minnesota: F Annika Stewart (Nebraska)

Northwestern: G Kyla Jones (Brown)

Ohio State: F Ajae Petty (Kentucky), G Chance Gray (Oregon)

Oregon: G Elisa Mevius (Siena), G Salimatou Kourouma (Arizona)

Penn State: C Gracie Merkle (Bellarmine)

Purdue: G Destini Lombard (Stephen F Austin)

Rutgers: G JoJo Lacey (Boston College)

Wisconsin: C Carter McCray (Northern Kentucky)

My Thoughts: There is a lot of unpack here, but it’s fair to say the first thing that needs to be talked about is the job that Brenda Frese has done to reload her roster around Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel. How about adding four players that averaged in double figures at their previous school?

Atlantic 10 Player of the Year VCU guard Sarah Te-Biasu (16.0 ppg, 3.9 ast, 2 stl) will give the Terps a true point guard, while Second Team All-A10 Rhode Island forward Maye Toure (12.5 ppg, 7.7 reb) is another big mid-major addition. Frese also added Arkansas forward Saylor Poffenbarger (10.2 ppg, 11.2 reb) and Rutgers guard Kaylene Smikle (16.1 ppg, 5.1 reb). Look out for Maryland next season if those additions work out together.

While no other team has done nearly as much work as the Terps, four of ESPN’s Top 25 players in the transfer portal are headed to other Big Ten schools. Lisa Bluder and the Iowa Hawkeyes landed one of the biggest transfers of this cycle in point guard Lucy Olsen. She will take over for Caitlin Clark after ranking third in the country in scoring (23.3 ppg) at Villanova last season. That addition raises the Hawkeyes ceiling for next season quite a bit.

Ohio State has made somes moves in the portal, adding Kentucky forward Ajae Petty (14.2 ppg, 10.6 reb) and Oregon guard Chance Gray (13.9 ppg, 3.0 ast). They ranked 16th and 22nd respectively in the ESPN portal rankings. Cotie McMahon will be the centerpiece for the Buckeyes, but with Jacy Sheldon, Celeste Taylor and Rebeka Mikulasikova moving on, these additions were a must for Kevin McGuff.

The other big addition was Oregon forward Grace VanSlooten announcing her move to Michigan State. An honorable mention All-Pac 12 honoree, VanSlooten averaged 15.0 ppg, 7.1 reb and 2.6 ast for the Ducks last season. She was rated as the 18th-best player in the portal per ESPN.

Biggest Departures

Maryland: F Faith Masonius

Michigan: G Laila Phelia, F Cameron Williams, F Chyra Evans

Michigan State: G DeeDee Hagemann

Oregon: G Chance Gray, F Grace VanSlooten

Penn State: G Shay Ciezki, G Leilani Kapinus, C Ali Brigham

Rutgers: G Kaylene Smikle

Wisconsin: G Sania Copeland

My Thoughts: There have been some notable departures from Big Ten teams in the portal, with Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Oregon suffering the biggest hits. With six total players entering the portal, including leading scorer Laila Phelia, the Wolverines top scoring heading next season is Boston College transfer Ally VanTimmeren (5.7 ppg). That’s not great.

The other Big Ten school in the Great Lakes State, Michigan State, saw their starting point guard DeeDee Hagemann head off to the SEC, where she will play for Ole Miss. Losing a Second Team All-Big Ten player that could change the game with her play making ability will hurt.

Meanwhile, Oregon lost their top two scorers to teams they will be playing against next season. Had VanSlooten and Gray stayed, they may have had something going with center Phillipina Kyei. Instead, they have added a couple of new players in the portal which helps, but the blow of losing two players to Ohio State and Michigan State is tough.

Then there’s Penn State. The Lady Lions nearly made the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the WBIT semifinals, but lost a couple of key pieces that may keep them from building on this season’s success. Talented sophomore shooting guard Shay Ciezki and two-way guard Leilani Kapinus have entered the portal, as has center Ali Brigham.

The Big Ten in 2024-25

The Big Ten is going through a change this offseason. Veterans Caitlin Clark, Jacy Sheldon and Mackenzie Holmes are no longer the face of the league. Instead, it looks like JuJu Watkins, Cotie McMahon and Lucy Olsen are the stars that will lead the charge. Just because some of the familiar faces will be gone, doesn’t mean the Big Ten won’t be full of good teams.

The newcomers, USC and UCLA, figure to both be preseason top ten teams and will be the favorites to finish atop the conference in their first season. Outside of that, there will be a lot of teams jockeying for position. Nebraska, Ohio State and Illinois all made the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25, while the transfer portal additions by Iowa and Maryland make them candidates to be included in the next version of the rankings.