Southern California’s Kiki Iriafen can’t wait to play highlights with JuJu Watkins now that the former Pac-12 rivals are teammates in the Big Ten Conference.
Iriafen won the Katrina McClain Award as the top forward in women’s basketball last season, and her move from Stanford to USC was perhaps the most notable offseason development in the transfer portal. Iriafen and Watkins, who had a sensational freshman season, were two of five players selected to the Associated Press All-America team.
The combination gave USC a No. 3 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25, behind only defending champion South Carolina and UConn. Iriafen promised that USC would deliver a fast, energetic, ruthless style.
“We want people to come and see us and say, ‘Wow, this is an exciting team,’” Iriafen told reporters. “Just tapping into that Lakers Showtime. We are in LA”
Iriafen, who stands 6-foot-1, had 19.4 points and 11 rebounds per game last season while earning honorable mention on the AP All-America team. She had a 41-point performance against Iowa State and a 20-rebound game against Arizona State.
Now she plays alongside Watkins, who earned first-team All-America honors last year after averaging 27.1 points per game to rank second in Division I. Her 920 total points were the highest number ever for a first-year student.
“We’re both very selfless,” Iriafen said. “I feel like that’s why our dynamic can work so well. I think we’re both going to go out there and try to have fun and win.”
Here’s a look at some of the other top transfers in women’s basketball this season (former schools in brackets):
Georgia Amoore, Kentucky (Virginia Tech)
When Kentucky hired Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech, Amoore followed her coach from Blacksburg to Lexington. Amoore, who stands 6-foot-4, ranked fourth among all Division I players in assists per game (6.8) last season. She also averaged 18.8 points per game last year, after averaging 16.3 in 2022-2023. She was a third-team selection on the AP All-America team. She was an Atlantic Coast Conference first-team pick each of the past two years and is a Southeastern Conference first-team pick in the preseason.
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma (Oregon State)
Beers averaged 17.5 points and 10.3 rebounds last season as an AP All-America third-team selection while helping Oregon State reach a regional final. She also had 1.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. The 6-4 center was a preseason first-team pick for the entire SEC. She isn’t the only notable player to leave Oregon State during the implosion of the Pac-12. Timea Gardiner transferred to UCLA, Talia von Oelhoffen headed to Southern California and Donovyn Hunter went to TCU.
Liza Karlen (Marquette) and Liatu King (Pitt), Notre Dame
Karlen is a 6-2 forward who earned first-team honors in the Big East last season while averaging 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. King, a 6-foot-4 player, was selected as the ACC’s Most Improved Player and a first-team all-league pick last year. King had 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. The additions of Karlen and King should provide a boost to Notre Dame’s frontcourt, which won’t see Kylee Watson or Maddy Westbeld start the season. Watson is recovering from a torn cruciate ligament and Westbeld is struggling with a foot injury.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA (Washington State)
The 5-10 guard from New Zealand put up 16.6 points per game and totaled 1,743 points in four seasons at Washington State. She had 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game last season. She had two triple-doubles last season despite playing just 21 games before a knee injury knocked her out for the rest of the year.
Lucy Olsen, Iowa (Villanova)
Iowa will need a lot of people to pick up the slack now that NCAA career scoring leader Caitlin Clark has moved on to the WNBA. Adding Olsen should be helpful in that regard. The 5-10 guard scored 23.3 points per game last season, ranking third among all Division I players. She was a unanimous Big East first-team player and was also selected as the league’s Most Improved Player. Olsen was named an honorable mention to the AP All-America team.
Hailey Van Lith, TCU (LSU)
Van Lith is the only active Division I player with at least 1,900 career points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists. She was a two-time first-team all-ACC player at Louisville and spent last season at LSU. The 5-9 guard averaged 11.6 points and 3.6 assists at LSU. TCU would like to see Van Lith regain the productivity she had in Louisville. She was an AP All-America honorable mention last year at Louisville and had 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game that season.
