Stanford breakthrough Kiki Iriafen has chosen her new team. After two weeks in the transfer portal, Iriafen told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that she had chosen USC for the 2024-2025 NCAA season.
Just in: Former Stanford F Kiki Iriafen — the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft — has committed to the USC Trojans, she tells ESPN. Iriafen returns home to LA to team up with Juju Watkins in a national title bid for coach Lindsay Gottlieb. pic.twitter.com/MAnmUfyENY
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 28, 2024
Iriafen posted a link to Woj’s report on her Instagram Story, and she also edited the poster from the movie “Dreamgirls” into a USC team image, with the heads of Iriafen and USC standouts Juju Watkins and Rayah Marshall the movie stars.
Iriafen, a Los Angeles native, had a meteoric rise in women’s basketball this year. She was Stanford’s leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points, 11 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a junior this past season, shooting 54.6% from the field and a career-high 77.3% on free throws. She was named the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player, but “most improved” might undermine that. In her sophomore year, Iriafen averaged 6.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. In just one season, she doubled or tripled her core numbers.
That’s exactly the kind of help USC needs to get over the hump and win another national championship. The Trojans were the No. 1 seed for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and were stopped in the Elite Eight, losing 80-73 to No. 3 UConn.
Stanford went through a lot of changes this season. Cameron Brink, the team’s second-highest scorer, was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks. Longtime head coach Tara Van Der Veer retired and was replaced by assistant coach Kate Paye. With Iriafen potentially jumping into the WNBA draft in 2025 (where she could be the No. 1 pick), she has one more chance to win a national title. Working with Watkins, one of the most talented young players in the sport, has given her the best opportunity of her career.
