May was a busy month in women’s basketball with defending national champ Uconn reloading with a former McDonald’s All-American, Syracuse securing a high-level commitment and a pair of former top-100 prospects announcing commitments.
Thanks to a partnership between The Portal Report and Hoops HQ, here are the top transfer headlines from May, led by UConn, Ohio State and more.
UConn Reloads (Again) with Former Highly-Ranked Prospect
The 12-time National Champion Huskies are reloading through the portal this offseason and on June 3, announced the program’s second transfer addition. Following the signing of 6-foot-4 junior forward Serah Williams from Wisconsin, UConn is adding 5-foot-9 freshman guard Kayleigh Heckel, who played at USC last year.
Heckel is a former McDonald’s All-American and was a top-100 recruit in the class of 2024 according to espnW. During her lone season with the Trojans, she averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 34 appearances with seven starts.
Former All-SEC Selection Declares for Notre Dame
After falling short in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame has been active in the transfer portal and already announced four additions this offseason. As reports indicated on May 19, 5-foot-8 senior guard Iyana Moore was the latest to declare her commitment to Notre Dame and head coach Niele Ivey.
Moore missed the entire 2022-23 season with an injury but returned the next year and was crowned 2023-24 All-SEC Second Team after averaging 14.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. She officially entered the portal back in early April and reportedly received interest from the likes of Texas and Duke before announcing a move to join the Fighting Irish.
Former Top-100 Prospect Heading to Ohio State
Ohio State announced the signing of 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman wing Kylee Kitts on May 27, the Buckeyes’ second transfer addition of the offseason. She arrives from Florida where she committed as a member of the class of 2025 but ultimately reclassified and joined the Gators a year early.
Kitts, the sister of former South Carolina star and National Champion Chloe Kitts, was the No. 25 ranked recruit in the class of 2025 prior to her reclassification, according to espnW.
Former Texas Guard Mwenentanda Staying in the SEC, transferring to Vanderbilt
On May 29, it was reported that 6-foot-2 junior guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had committed to staying in the SEC with a transfer to Vanderbilt. The Sioux Falls native averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 46 percent over 38 appearances this past season.
Earlier this offseason, Mwenentanda was receiving interest from dozens of high major programs including Maryland, NC State, Notre Dame and more.
Former All-Big Ten First Teammer Commits to Syracuse
In early May, reports broke on a major transfer addition for Syracuse as 6-foot senior guard Laila Phelia supposedly announced her commitment to the Orange. The former top-100 prospect began her career at Michigan, where she earned a pair of All-Big Ten awards before transferring over to Texas.
Phelia battled injury in 2024-25 and made just nine appearances for the Longhorns before officially entering the portal once again. According to TPR’s rankings, the three-star transfer is Syracuse’s highest-rated transfer portal addition this offseason.
Big 12 All-Freshman Moving Up to Join Iowa
Amidst Central Florida’s significant struggles in 2024-25 with a 12th-place finish in the Big 12, 6-foot freshman wing Emely Rodriguez provided a rare bright spot. The Dominican Republic native averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on her way to being selected as a member of the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
However, Rodriguez indicated on April 17 that she planned to enter the transfer portal and just 12 days later had cut her potential list of programs to seven: Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Arizona, and Kansas State. Ultimately, Iowa won out as reports broke on May 19 claiming that she committed to the Hawkeyes ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Maryland Forward Heading South to Join Florida State
Allie Kubek, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, officially declared her commitment to Florida State back in early May after two seasons in her native Maryland with the Terrapins. She averaged 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and shot 58 percent from the floor across 33 appearances for Maryland this past season.
Kubek’s career began at Towson, where she was selected to the All-CAA Third Team in 2021-22 by averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game before transferring. She joins a Seminoles transfer class that includes Jasmine Shavers, Solè Williams, Emma Risch and Tatum Greene
Penn State Star Decommits; Officially Withdraws from the Portal
Redshirt Sophomore center Gracie Merkle entered the transfer portal back on March 25 and following visits to Indiana and Maryland, she committed to join the Terrapins just days later. However, on May 12, it was reported that the 6-foot-6 center officially decommitted from Maryland and withdrew her name from the transfer portal to return to Penn State for another year.
Merkle began her career at Bellarmine where she was selected as the 2022-23 ASUN Rookie of the Year before transferring over to Penn State in 2023. She made 26 starts in 28 appearances for the Nittany Lions during the 2024-25 season, managing 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
