The Big 12 Conference continues to do its work in the women’s basketball transfer portal to try and keep the league at the top of the game.
Every team has taken in at least one transfer to this point, and some have pulled some of the top players in the country out of the portal. Other teams have pulled some intriguing under the radar players.
Based on who has committed and signed, here are five intriguing Big 12 women’s basketball transfers coming into the league.
Note: I’m not counting Big 12 players transferring from one school to another. The player must be new to the league this year. And, yes, I expect Amber Whiting to make a big impact at Oklahoma State. But she was at BYU last season.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. There will be many more transfers to touch on this summer.
Olivia Miles, G, TCU (from Notre Dame)
Miles is going to top just about every transfer list out there, and for good reason. Had she opted for the WNBA Draft, she would have been a Top 5 pick easily. Now she’ll be one of the Top 5 to 10 players in women’s college basketball.
The dynamic 5-foot-10 guard averaged 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. She fits snugly into Hailey Van Lith’s spot in the offense but can also move to off-guard. Remember — Maddie Scherr missed last season due to injury and is expected back. The pair could be the most formidable backcourt in the conference.
Kierra Wheeler, F, West Virginia (from Norfolk State)
The Mountaineers have had functional size under coach Mark Kellogg. But Wheeler looks like something far more impressive. With Norfolk State, she averaged 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game on her way to All-MEAC first team and defensive honors.
At 6-foot-1, it should be interesting to see how she handles the jump from mid-major size to high-major size. Knowing Kellogg’s system, there should be a lot of run-the-floor in Wheeler’s game.
Lara Rohkohl, F, BYU (from College of Charleston)
With Emma Calvert out the door, the Cougars needed size. New head coach Lee Cummard pulled Rohkohl, who averaged 10.1 points and 9.2 rebounds last season.
Calvert could stretch defenses by shooting from outside. That doesn’t appear to be Rohkohl’s forte. But that’s OK — BYU has weapons to stretch defenses. The Cougars are likely to need Rohkohl’s rebounding more in Cummard’s first season.
Mickayla Perdue, G, Arizona (from Cleveland State)
The classic mid-major graduation that we’re seeing a lot in the transfer portal, she’s one of the first big gets of the Becky Burke era. Perdue helped the Vikings to the WNIT semifinals and averaged 20 points per game. She’s averaged more than 18 points over the past two years and can approach 38% from the 3-point line.
Burke knows her well, too. Perdue and Cleveland State lost to Burke’s Buffalo Bulls in the NIT semis. She knows firsthand the damage Perdue can do.
Taliah Scott, G, Baylor (from Auburn)
If you were wondering how the Bears were going to replace the scoring of Sarah Andrews and Yaya Felder, well, here you go. Scott averaged a whopping 22.1 points with Arkansas two seasons ago. She transferred to Auburn and averaged 20.3 points in three games last year before a season-ending injury.
A coaching change at Auburn put her back in the portal again, and she’ll join the Bears. Assuming it’s all systems go, her career average is nearly as much as Andrews and Felder combined for last season. Putting her in the same lineup with Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs should be a lot of fun.
When she went into the portal she had the “do not contact” tag. She knew where she wanted to go.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
