Since the dawn of the portal era in NCAA Division I college sports, transfers have swung national titles, including in women’s college basketball.
This year, there’s no indication that that will not continue
to be the case. Players that chose to take their talents to new programs are making impacts that seem certain to influence who is dancing into Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and beyond.
As conference play begins for some Power Four conferences and fast approaches for others, let’s check in on which transfers are making the most significant difference for their new teams, at least so far.
1. Madina Okot (Mississippi State to South Carolina)
Senior center Madina Okot did not enter the season as No. 3 South Carolina’s most anticipated transfer. That honor went to senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, who led the nation in scoring last season for Florida State. Fresh off a season-high 32 points, Latson is doing her job for the Gamecocks.
But, Okot has been a game-changer. With the arrival of Latson, there was reason to believe that this South Carolina team would have an identity organized around their backcourt, rather than, as has been the standard for Dawn Staley squads, their frontcourt.
Okot’s immediate acclimation has ensured that the core of South Carolina’s strengths and successes again emanates from their bigs. As Josh Felton recently detailed, South Carolina’s overall dominance is derived from their dominance of the inside, an area where Okot’s imprint is everywhere. She currently owns the best rebounding percentage in the SEC, grabbing 23.6 percent of available boards in her 25 minutes per game. The Gamecocks’ defense also is at its best, with a 65.4 defensive rating, in Okot’s minutes.
More than her 14.8 points and 11.1 points per game, it’s how Okot makes South Carolina the best version of themselves that makes her the most impactful transfer.
2. MiLaysia Fulwiley (South Carolina to LSU)
MiLaysia Fulwiley is an amplifier for No. 5 LSU. Plug her in and everything the Tigers do well becomes louder.
Just as was the case during her two seasons in Columbia, she is an off-the-bench booster in Baton Rouge, except even more so. In her 20 minutes per game, Fulwiley incessantly influences the action, scoring over 16 points, taking over four 3-pointers, getting to line for almost three free throws, grabbing three rebounds, dishing nearly 3.5 assists and collecting four steals.
Calculating her stats per 40 minutes underlines her absurd level of production. Over a full game, she would be putting up over 32 points, distributing almost seven assists and swiping eight steals. While Fulwiley likely could not maintain her high energy over that many minutes, her output would still probably be eye-popping. As further evidence of her impact, Fulwiley’s PER (player efficiency rating), a statistic that traditionally rewards bigs over guards, is 45.2, the best on LSU, the best in the SEC and the third-best nationally.
Without Fulwiley, LSU would be an elite team; with her, they might be unstoppable.
3. Olivia Miles (Notre Dame to TCU)
Olivia Miles is doing exactly what she was supposed to do for No. 9 TCU.
Following the best season in program history, the Horned Frogs were intent upon exceeding raised expectations, and Miles has arrived to serve as the engine of their success.
After a senior season at Notre Dame that had her projected as a top-three pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Miles has been even more productive as a super senior, averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game and matching her career bests with 7.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while getting to the line for a career-leading 4.5 free throws per game. Miles also is finishing 58.1 percent of her 2-point attempts, a career best. A decrease in her 3-point attempts and percentage, both of which reached new highs last season, are the only blemishes on her resume.
But with Miles at the controls, the Horned Frogs are feasting on triples overall, making almost 11 per game at 38.5 percent as a team. So, it’s no surprise that Miles leads TCU in offensive wins shares, with her offensive impact contributing an estimated 2.1 wins to the Frogs.
Any concerns about Miles, of course, have never been on the offensive side of the ball. Yet, she thus far has functioned as a competent cog in TCU’s nation-leading defense. In fact, the TCU defense has its stingiest rating in her minutes. While those marks might not be sustainable, Miles’ overall positive should continue.
4. Tonie Morgan (Georgia Tech to Kentucky)
For the first time in five seasons, head coach Kenny Brooks’ team is not run by Georgia Amoore, his point guard protégé who piloted the most successful seasons in Virginia Tech history before following Brooks to the Bluegrass State for her super senior season.
Brooks’ No. 15 Wildcats, however, haven’t missed a beat thanks to Tonie Morgan. A senior, Morgan has been optimized as a playmaking point guard, increasing her assists from 5.6 to 8.5 per game, the most in the SEC and the second-most in the nation. Although she is scoring less and less efficiently, her offensive impact is still significantly greater because of how she has both embraced and excelled in her playmaking role. The Wildcats’ offensive is the 12th-best in nation, and hums at team-high 123.4 points per 100 possessions with Morgan. She also leads UK with 1.9 offensive win shares.
Kentucky might not be able to compete with the top tier of SEC teams, but, in larger part due to Morgan approaching her upside as a point guard, the Wildcats look certain to exceed expectations.
5. Kara Dunn (Georgia Tech to USC)
Georgia Tech, after seeing head coach Nell Fortner retire before taking over the Canadian Senior National Team, has experienced the perils of the portal. If not for an injury that sidelined her for three games, sophomore guard Chit-Chat Wright, who moved from Tech to No. 11 Iowa, might have a strong case for making this list.
For now, senior wing Kara Dunn joins Morgan as former Yellow Jacket making a meaningful difference for her new team.
If not for Dunn, USC freshman guard Jazzy Davidson likely would be overburdened, experiencing a harsh adjustment to the college game. Yet, Dunn has emerged as a viable co-star for Davidson and the Trojans. Without Dunn, the USC offense would probably be ugly; instead, the Trojans can muster enough offensive juice to be competitive with all but the nation’s very best teams, as evidenced by their road win over now-unranked NC State, close road loss to No. 18 Notre Dame and not-so-close home loss to No. 3 South Carolina.
Dunn’s numbers are not outstanding. For instance, the likes of Cotie McMahon (Ohio State to Ole Miss), Janiah Barker (UCLA to Tennessee), Taliah Scott (Auburn to Baylor) and Haleigh Timmer (South Dakota State to Oklahoma State) have louder stats. However, Dunn’s ability to serve as solid source of versatile offense is more impactful, at least so far, for USC because of the Trojans’ greater need for reliable offensive contributors.
While shooting a career-best 39.4 percent from 3, Dunn is giving the Trojans 11.4 points per game, grabbing 5.4 boards and securing a career-high 1.6 steals. In this gap season for USC, Dunn has been the perfect gap filler.
