Potential Kentucky WBB targets in the transfer portal
Kentucky Women’s Basketball is in unknown territory. On March 25, Dre’una Edwards, Jazmine Massengill and Treasure Hunt announced they put their names in the transfer portal. Worse, the team is losing Kentucky legend Rhyne Howard to the WNBA Draft.
With the transfer portal burning the ‘Cats, Kentucky has to fight fire with fire. Luckily for them, there’s no shortage of players searching for a new home. As of March 27, nearly 750 NCAA Women’s Basketball players are in the transfer portal.
If Kentucky is lucky, they’ll add a few of them for the upcoming season. Ranging from large universities to small colleges, there’s a surplus of potential pickups just a few phone calls away.
Kentucky’s wish list
While there are hundreds of hoopers in the portal, there are only a few who have head coach Kyra Elzy’s attention. Perhaps one of these players is Aijha Blackwell. The Missouri transfer is one of the most sought-after prospects in the nation.
Blackwell averaged 15.4 points and 13.0 rebounds per game last season at Missouri. Although the Tigers didn’t play Kentucky this year, Elzy surely hasn’t forgotten Blackwell’s talents. The 6-foot guard dominated Kentucky as a sophomore, dropping 13 points and 19 rebounds. This performance alone should be enough to warrant some interest from UK.
Blackwell isn’t the only talent Elzy and co. may go after. Just a five-hour drive from Memorial Coliseum, a stud is looking for a new opportunity. West Virginia’s Kirsten “KK” Deans announced her intent to transfer on March 21.
Deans missed the latter half of West Virginia’s season after suffering a knee injury 18 games into her senior campaign. Nonetheless, Deans led the Mountaineers in scoring with 14.5 points per contest. Deans could be a perfect fit to fill the hole left by Howard and Massengill’s absence.
The last player Kentucky may want to look at is someone they know all too well: Abby Meyers. The Princeton guard recorded a career-high 29 points versus UK to knock the ‘Cats out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament this season.
In a turn of events, Meyers is now on the move. In her senior year, the 6-foot guard averaged 17.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while hauling in Ivy League Player of the Year. Meyers has done more than enough to prove her worth to Elzy. She’ll have one season of eligibility left after exhausting the four years that are allowed by the Ivy League.
Underrated prospects
Of course, if you want to catch the big fish, you have to compete against the best fishermen. Luckily for Elzy, several prospects are flying under the radar. One of these prospects is Savannah Wheeler.
In her junior season, the Marshall guard averaged 20.3 points and 4.4 boards per outing. Moreover, Wheeler was named to the First-Team All-Conference USA. Despite standing at 5-foot-6, Wheeler is a dynamic scorer. In three seasons at Marshall, one of which was cut short by COVID, Wheeler made her way to ninth on Marshall’s all-time scoring list.
However, I haven’t even mentioned the best part. Wheeler is from the bluegrass state. Raised in Catlettsburg, KY, Wheeler scored 3,621 points at Boyd County High School and won 2019 Miss Kentucky Basketball. If BBN is lucky, Wheeler will feel like coming home.
Nevertheless, Kentucky doesn’t have to look past their conference to find fantastic players up for grabs. Vanderbilt’s Brinae Alexander would be a tremendous addition for the ‘Cats. Alexander averaged 15.2 points per game this season while shooting 36% from beyond the arc.
Like many names on this list, Alexander has had success against Kentucky. On Jan. 26, Alexander torched UK for a season-high 26 points. Alexander’s hot hand would be excellent with point guard Jada Walker’s unstoppable slashing.
Alexander isn’t alone in the SEC transfer portal. Georgia’s Sarah Ashlee Barker would be a fantastic role player for the ‘Cats. The 6-foot sophomore averaged 7.7 points and four rebounds a night for the Bulldogs. Barker had eight points and seven rebounds against UK on Jan. 6. Further, Barker started every game for Georgia this season.
Admittedly, Barker and her fellow transfers may not be Howard or Edwards. But, they don’t need to be. Elzy isn’t attempting to recreate her squad from the past two seasons. She wants to make something new. If Kentucky can acquire a few of these transfers, Elzy will be one step closer to accomplishing this goal.
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