DWBB: Summer of 2025

dudog84 said:
Way-Too-Early top-25, Duke comes in at #5. The WBB universe has been restored, now it needs to be exceeded.

www.espn.com

UCLA hype, USC uncertainty, UConn's quest for a repeat: The women's basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25

As this season's title is won, we take a look at the women's college basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2025-26.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Others of interest:
#10 NCSU
#14 uNC
#15 Louisville
#17 ND

This will change significantly until the portal closes. I think ND is too high, it's a dumpster fire. uNC also too high.
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That’s funny. Like, it will probably be a safe bet that Hidalgo and a bunch of kids from the transfer portal will stay in the top 20, but it’s a bit weird to post it now before they’ve actually added the players.
 
ThirdDevil said:
That’s funny. Like, it will probably be a safe bet that Hidalgo and a bunch of kids from the transfer portal will stay in the top 20, but it’s a bit weird to post it now before they’ve actually added the players.
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I'm not so sure. Yes, I agree ND will get some talent, probably good to very good talent, but it doesn't appear Hidalgo is easy to play with.

Speaking of the portal, players entering usually do so within days of the end of their team's season. Looking good for Duke only losing Battiston.
 
ThirdDevil said:
That’s funny. Like, it will probably be a safe bet that Hidalgo and a bunch of kids from the transfer portal will stay in the top 20, but it’s a bit weird to post it now before they’ve actually added the players.
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This is what ESPN does. Last year Jeff Borzello started a Way-Too-Early top 25 for men's basketball right after the championship game, and then updated it every month in the summer as new content -- mildly interesting when the personnel changes, but I think by August/September he republished it even when he didn't change any of the 25 teams or their order.
 
dudog84 said:
Way-Too-Early top-25, Duke comes in at #5. The WBB universe has been restored, now it needs to be exceeded.

www.espn.com

UCLA hype, USC uncertainty, UConn's quest for a repeat: The women's basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25

As this season's title is won, we take a look at the women's college basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2025-26.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Others of interest:
#10 NCSU
#14 uNC
#15 Louisville
#17 ND

This will change significantly until the portal closes. I think ND is too high, it's a dumpster fire. uNC also too high.
Click to expand...
It's nice seeing some smaller programs getting listed, especially Richmond and Princeton. Kudos to what's happening at Vandy, too. Not that the SEC needs any more hype, but the Commodores have always seemed to be a kicking can outside of baseball. I was very happy that Oregon upset them in the first round; I was nervous about how we'd do against Mikayla and company.
 
brevity said:
Do you have a link? None of the online sources I check are saying that (yet).
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No link from me, but if anyone is looking for reasoning, it likely sits in expectations that never panned out. Here's a pre-season look at JC from the Chronicle.

Jenessa Cotton will be a much needed front-court addition to Duke women’s basketball this upcoming season. Listed at 6-foot-two, Cotton has played at the highest level of the youth women’s basketball circuit the last few years, facing some of the highest end competition in high school basketball during her time at Mater Dei. Last summer, the Orange, Calif., native excelled in the Nike EYBL league as her team won the championship. Needless to say, Cotton will be a major boost for the Blue Devils in the 2024-25 season.
Click to expand...

Nobody named Nostradamus wrote that one.

www.dukechronicle.com

Film room: Incoming freshman Jenessa Cotton should shine offensively for Duke women's basketball

As Duke basketball fans continue to wait for the upcoming season, the Blue Zone is here to break down film from the new additions to both the men’s and women’s teams. First up is talented forward Jenessa Cotton.
www.dukechronicle.com www.dukechronicle.com
 
Thank you, @Bluedvlfan1. This is as good a time as any for a compiled update...

Here is a list of all ACC activity in the 2025 transfer portal for women's basketball, both departures and arrivals. I've compiled this list with the help of On3, WBB Blog, team websites, and social media announcements from players and third-party sources. If you're going to "borrow" this list for another website, you can, but please link and credit this page on DBR.

April 7, 2025: 1,225 names in the On3 Portal Tracker.


Boston College WBB

OUT

Kaylah Ivey (to Rutgers)
Lili Krasovec
Kayla Lezama
Nene Ndiaye
Jakayla Thompson
T’yana Todd

IN

(none)


California WBB

OUT

Zahra King
Kamryn Mafua
Marta Suárez

IN

(none)


Clemson WBB

OUT

Bella Ranallo

IN

Rusne Augustinaite (from Georgia Tech)
Demeara Hinds (from Wake Forest)
Rachael Rose (from Wofford)


Duke WBB

OUT

Louann Battiston (link)
Jenessa Cotton (link)

IN

(none)


Florida State WBB

OUT

Ta'Niya Latson
Brianna Turnage
Mariana Valenzuela

IN

Solè Williams (from Texas A&M)


Georgia Tech WBB

OUT

Rusne Augustinaite (to Clemson)
Dani Carnegie
Kara Dunn
Gabbie Grooms (to Georgia State)
Tonie Morgan
Ariadna Termis
Tianna Thompson

IN

(none)


Louisville WBB

OUT

Izela Arenas
Nyla Harris (to North Carolina/UNC)
Eseosa Imafidon

IN

Skylar Jones (from Arizona)


Miami WBB

OUT

Aurora Almón
Leah Harmon
Lemyah Hylton (to Texas A&M)

IN

Vittoria Blasigh (from South Florida)
Mya Kone (from Florida International)
Gal Raviv (from Quinnipiac)


NC State WBB

OUT

Laci Steele (to Wisconsin)
Caitlin Weimar
Lizzy Williamson

IN

(none)


North Carolina/UNC WBB

OUT

Trayanna Crisp

IN

Nyla Harris (from Louisville)


Notre Dame WBB

OUT

Kate Koval
Olivia Miles
Emma Risch
Kylee Watson

IN

(none)


Pittsburgh WBB

OUT

Aaryn Battle
Aislin Malcolm (to Robert Morris)
Marley Washenitz
Kiara Williams

IN

Fatima Diakhaté (from Georgia)


SMU WBB

OUT

Ella Brow
Sandra Magolico
Kylie Marshall
Jessica Peterson
TK Pitts
Nicole Rodriguez

IN

Grace Hall (from Penn State)
Jzaniya Harriel (from Stanford)
Paulina Paris (from Arizona)
Mailien Rolf (from Arizona)


Stanford WBB

OUT

Jzaniya Harriel (to SMU)
Tess Heal

IN

(none)


Syracuse WBB

OUT

(none)

IN

(none)


Virginia WBB

OUT

Hawa Doumbouya
Payton Dunbar (to Providence)
Latasha Lattimore (to Ole Miss)
Edessa Noyan
Casey Valenti-Paea

IN

(none)


Virginia Tech WBB

OUT

Myah Hazelton
Lani White
Ramiya White

IN

Sophie Swanson (from Purdue)


Wake Forest WBB

OUT

Alyssa Andrews
Demeara Hinds (to Clemson)
Makaela Quimby
Rylie Theuerkauf (to Georgia)

IN

Raven Preston (from Elon)

 
Not even an hour later, and it's already time to edit the above list: 6-5 Notre Dame freshman center Kate Koval is transferring to LSU.

As with the MBB transfers, I should probably keep track of the ACC-to-SEC migration.

Lemyah Hylton: Miami to Texas A&M
Kate Koval: Notre Dame to LSU
Latasha Lattimore: Virginia to Ole Miss
Rylie Theuerkauf: Wake Forest to Georgia

And in reverse (SEC to ACC).

Solè Williams: Texas A&M to Florida State
Fatima Diakhaté: Georgia to Pittsburgh
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
No link from me, but if anyone is looking for reasoning, it likely sits in expectations that never panned out. Here's a pre-season look at JC from the Chronicle.

Nobody named Nostradamus wrote that one.

www.dukechronicle.com

Film room: Incoming freshman Jenessa Cotton should shine offensively for Duke women's basketball

As Duke basketball fans continue to wait for the upcoming season, the Blue Zone is here to break down film from the new additions to both the men’s and women’s teams. First up is talented forward Jenessa Cotton.
www.dukechronicle.com www.dukechronicle.com
Click to expand...

In fairness to the author, the article focused almost exclusively on Cotton's offense, but it also included this:
Of course, Lawson prides herself on having a strong defense, so Cotton must learn to hold her own on the other end of the court; she will not be allowed to just be a scorer.
Click to expand...
This was the main reason she saw very little floor time. The story went on to emphasize her ability to block shots, but the truth was that Cotton was too slow to hang with skilled college forwards, and was too short and lacked the hops to block the shots of college-level centers, so she was never able to really use her primary defensive skill. Meanwhile, she had trouble learning the schemes and positioning, a problem that affected her on the offensive end, as well. She was used to being a ball dominant scorer, and had trouble learning off-ball actions at the Kara-level of sophistication.

I still think Cotton is a skilled offensive player with excellent shooting touch, and assuming her injuries are behind her, I think she'll catch on somewhere and become a reliable scoring threat. I just don't think it will happen at the P4 level.
 
Just saw @brevity 's last post before the thread was locked about the current season and wanted to comment on the AMAZING fact that Duke WBB finished #7 in both AP and Coach's polls!! Really a great season, one to remember. ACC championship, hard fought Elite 8. And despite one naysayer here I think we would have given UConn a better game than what USC did last night. Go Duke, Kara forever!
 
King of Defense said:
Did we know about Richardson declaring for the draft?

https://www.instagram.com/dukeglobalzone/p/DH9q_CgPFTC/

It hadn't occurred to me that she could've had another year.

More likely to play in Europe, isn't she?
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Reigan Richardson has exhausted her eligibility: 4 full years of college, 1 at Georgia, 3 at Duke. So there's no early entry. This is from some Duke fan account that thinks it's reporting news, but it's like saying Kennedy Brown and Camilla Emsbo declared for the draft last year.

There were times (the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas last November) where Richardson stood out on a national level, and maybe someone could have predicted her to get drafted. Now I'd say it's fairly unlikely. There are only 38 picks available, and even for those who get chosen, it's almost impossible to make a roster. I think that only four rookies outside the 1st round made an opening day roster on a WNBA team last year.

I wish Richardson the best, but yes, Europe is probably her destination.

dudog84 said:
And you're bragging about this?

Further, what does it have to do with DWBB?
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AustinDevil said:
As an SMU fan in addition to Duke, I agree with dudog84 that this is both incredibly obnoxious and wildly off-topic.
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This is not strictly a Duke thread. I've made posts here about SMU's coaching change, Georgia Tech's coaching change, and the transfer portal as it affects the whole ACC. I agree that the SMU video was obnoxious, but for NIL purposes, it was kind of ON topic.
 
brevity said:
This is not strictly a Duke thread. I've made posts here about SMU's coaching change, Georgia Tech's coaching change, and the transfer portal as it affects the whole ACC. I agree that the SMU video was obnoxious, but for NIL purposes, it was kind of ON topic.
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Then we need a 2026 DWBB only thread, and you can have a WBB thread for this stuff.
 
brevity said:
Reigan Richardson has exhausted her eligibility: 4 full years of college, 1 at Georgia, 3 at Duke. So there's no early entry. This is from some Duke fan account that thinks it's reporting news, but it's like saying Kennedy Brown and Camilla Emsbo declared for the draft last year.
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Ah - I see.

In that case, I declare my eligibility for the 2025 NBA Draft. Plenty of teams could use a 6-0 center, right?
 
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