After officially opening the day after the national championship game, Monday, April 6, the transfer portal doors shut two weeks later, closing Monday, April 20 at midnight.
While players will no longer be permitted to enter the portal, those who already are in can still take time to make their decision. Per On3’s Talia Goodman latest accounting, over 1,500 players have entered the portal, with less than 400 having announced their commitment.
However, among those commitments are some of the stars most likely to shape the 2026-27 women’s college basketball season. These five transfer portal superlatives capture some of of the most significant moves so far.
For South Carolina, laiming the commitment of Jordan Lee, a rising junior guard who is one of the nation’s most well-rounded players, is transfer portal coup in and of itself.
Signing Lee away from your biggest in-conference rival? That’s a consequential coup! Texas head coach Vic Schaefer’s loss is a huge win for South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.
Feeling Cocky 😏😏#committed pic.twitter.com/lN7ddmFM6X
When assessing the 2026-27 outlook for Texas and South Carolina after their losses in the Final Four and national championship game, respectively, I posited that Texas had more promising national title prospects, while a lack of shooting could prove to sink South Carolina.
The Longhorns, reeling not only from the departure of Lee but also the exits of Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Crump, now look less formidable, while Lee pairs with Tessa Johnson to form one of the best shooting duos in the nation.
Critically, Lee, like Johnson, isn’t just a shooter, even if she is elite from long range. Lee has become increasingly adept at finding shots for herself off the dribble, in addition to refining her savvy cutting skills. And, she’ll have no problem fullfilling Staley’s defensive prerequisites.
Jordan Lee already bumped her points up from 5.8 as a freshman to 13.2 as a sophomore, but she still has plenty more room to goShe’s flashed some serious upside, especially as a shot-creatorExpect another big leap as she joins South Carolina in ‘26-27 pic.twitter.com/YVOa4h2IIK https://t.co/FhcUnRZCUy
— Point Made Joshua (@pointmadejosh) April 17, 2026
A starting-caliber primary ball handler still stands as a potential weak point for South Carolina. Yet, the arrival of Lee, on top of the returns of Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, plus another heralded recruiting class, inspires confidence in the Gamecocks’ chances of, yet again, being great a title bet.
There is no one way to build a winning program in women’s college basketball, especially in a landscape that is still shifting and settling in the NIL era.
At Ole Miss, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has established her niche: She has the portal paved to Oxford.
Let’s gooooooooooooooo‼️‼️‼️‼️❤️💙 THE SIP pic.twitter.com/pmhYx5XCft
Often not in contention for top recruits that tend to flock to SEC foes, Coach Yo is there when they decided to find a second (or third) home.
Last season, Cotie McMahon moved from Ohio State to Ole Miss. This year, Coach Yo’s biggest gets came from within the SEC, as she secured the commitments of Talaysia Cooper and Jaida Civil from Tennessee and Jada Richard from LSU. That trio headlines a transfer class that currently includes eight players.
Cooper, who will be a fifth-year senior, is the headliner, suited to fill the star-level role vacated by McMahon. More empowered outside of Tennessee’s egalitarian system, Cooper should have the opportunity to show off the full extent of her self-created scoring package. Richard, a rising junior, is ready to assume starting point guard duties, having run The Show for head coach Kim Mulkey and LSU. Civil, however, might really thrive for the Rebels. As a freshman at Tennessee, her elite athleticism popped, as she eagerly applied her physical advantages to play with the kind of defensive intensity demanded by Coach Yo.
Welcome to the family, Jaida‼️#HottyToddy x #NoCeilings pic.twitter.com/n5SRBklxtt
— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) April 15, 2026