Top Transfer Portal Targets for Florida Women’s Basketball
It’s out with the old and in with the new for Florida women’s basketball. After wrapping up their season with an underwhelming win percentage of 54.5%, the Gators are ready to see some fresh faces.
Shortly after firing former coach Kelly Rae Finley, Florida lost nine of its players to the transfer portal, including standout guards Liv McGill and Laila Reynolds. McGill was highly ranked among the Gators, with the most steals and second-most rebounds last season. Reynolds trailed McGill with the second-most steals and was the third-highest in rebounds. McGill will be an incoming junior, while Reynolds enters her fourth and final year of women’s college basketball.
On March 23, Florida announced Tammi Reiss as the new head coach for women’s basketball. Reiss was formerly the head coach of Rhode Island, which finished last season with a win percentage of 84.8% under her coaching.
“I want people that want to be here,” Reiss said at her introductory press conference. “It’s a tough culture. Do you want to be a part of that?”
The women’s basketball transfer portal opened Monday. Here are a few players who have the potential to reshape Florida’s roster.
Talaysia Cooper
Talaysia Cooper, an incoming redshirt senior, announced her entry into the transfer portal last week. She was a guard at the University of Tennessee for three seasons.
Following McGill and Reynolds’s departures, Cooper would fit right into Florida’s roster as a new guard. She concluded last season with 137 rebounds, 104 assists and 78 steals. Cooper led the Lady Volunteers in the latter two categories last season.
Tennessee fell to NC State in the first round of March Madness. Cooper is only one of many players leaving Tennessee — every returning player has entered the transfer portal, leaving head coach Kim Caldwell with no choice but to completely rebuild the team.
Kymora Johnson
Kymora Johnson, an incoming senior guard, played her previous three seasons for the University of Virginia. Now, she stands in the transfer portal.
Johnson wrapped up last season with 154 rebounds, 201 assists and 71 steals. She had 6 more assists than McGill, who had the most assists for the Gators. Johnson was also a part of Virginia’s recent run in the Sweet 16, where it fell short to TCU, 79-69.
Johnson joins the entire Virginia women’s basketball team in the transfer portal, sans two players. Many players chose to enter the portal due to a toxic culture under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who was fired last Saturday. She was subject to an internal investigation and faces allegations of staff mistreatment.
Zamareya Jones
Zamareya Jones spent her last two seasons as an NC State guard. She announced her entry into the transfer portal March 25.
Jones ranked highly on her team with 101 rebounds and 119 assists. Over the span of her career at NC State, she ranked No. 9 in 3-point field goal percentage at .360 in the NC State record book.
Jones is an incoming junior with experience playing in March Madness. With two more years of eligibility, she could undoubtedly make an impact for the Gators under Reiss’s new leadership.
Audi Crooks
Florida doesn’t only need to look for new guards to fill the shoes of McGill and Reynolds. After losing the bulk of its roster, it needs new players to rebuild the team all-around.
Without question, Audi Crooks is the highest-scoring player in the transfer portal. Crooks is an incoming senior who played as a star center for Iowa State for the past three seasons.
Crooks finished this past season with a field goal percentage of 64.9% and a scoring average of 25.8 points, which were the highest of Iowa State’s team. Her high field goal percentage was No. 1 in the Big 12 as well.
Gift Ezekiel, an incoming senior who joined McGill and Reynolds in the transfer portal, led Florida’s player statistics with a field goal percentage of 59.6%. McGill had the highest scoring average at 22.5 points.
Iowa State was knocked out of March Madness in the first round. With Crooks in the transfer portal, Florida has the chance to go big or go home.
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, Women's College Basketball
