Other B1G team notes 2025-26

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Kylee Kitts commits to Ohio State women’s basketball

Reports out of Florida have the No. 25 recruit of the 2025 class heading to Columbus

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The transfer portal closed for NCAA women’s basketball players on April 23 and it's been quiet for Ohio State women’s basketball since April 15, when Boston College guard T’Yana Todd committed to the Buckeyes. On Tuesday, that changed when On3 sports reported that redshirt freshman guard/forward Kylee Kitts chose the Buckeyes.

Originally the No. 25 prospect in the 2025 class, Kitts reclassified as a member of the 2024 class. Kitts is the younger sister of South Carolina Gamecocks post player Chloe Kitts, who won a national championship with head coach Dawn Staley in 2024.

Ohio State’s new forward brings needed height to the program at 6-foot-4, helping fill the void left by graduates Taylor Thierry, Ajae Petty and now Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon. Like Thierry, Kitts is a hybrid guard/forward who can play both inside and out. The only question surrounding Kitts is how she will adjust to the full court press style of head coach Kevin McGuff’s system

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

MSN

For a while, UCLA looked like one of the big losers of women’s college basketball’s transfer portal season.

After making the Final Four for the first time ever, the Bruins saw several key players depart Los Angeles via the portal, including starting guard Londynn Jones and crucial off-the-bench contributors in Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo. Jones went to UCLA’s rival, USC, while Barker landed at Tennessee and Aarnisalo ended up at North Carolina. Young players like Avary Cain (Oregon), Kendall Dudley (Michigan) and Zania Socka-Nguemen (Indiana) left too and ended up at fellow Big Ten programs. Suddenly, UCLA’s highly touted 2024 signing class was gone

The exodus warranted some cause for concern for Cori Close’s side, but the Bruins are still bringing back four starters, including All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts. They’ll also have Charlisse Leger-Walker finally healthy — the Washington State transfer missed this past season with a knee injury — and the Bruins’ incoming freshmen class includes Betts’ 6-foot-4 younger sister, Sienna, the second-best-ranked recruit in 2025.

For the glass-half-full crowd of UCLA fans, more good news came Friday. For the glass-half-empty folks, some worries were washed away.

The Bruins landed a commitment from arguably the best 3-point shooter in the transfer portal in Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens.

A fifth-year wing from Duluth, Minnesota, Kneepkens ranked ninth nationally in 3-pointers made per game this past season with 3.1. Among the players who attempted at least five 3s per game, Kneepkens had the ninth best shooting percentage from deep range, knocking down 44.8 percent of her attempts from the behind the arc

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

MSN

The UCLA Bruins team saw several key players leave through women’s college basketball’s transfer portal season. Some of the big names the team lost were starting guard Londynn Jones, Janiah Barker, and Elina Aarnisalo, who were crucial off-the-bench stars.

Meanwhile, the team has also received its home and away opponents for the 2025-26 Big Ten Conference season. While the upcoming season will be UCLA’s second year competing in the Big Ten Conference, curiosity regarding which players will step forward to contribute to the team this season has risen

Gianna Kneepkens – Guard​

Giania Kneepkens was one of the most efficient scorers in the nation last season. The 22-year-old recorded 19.3 points per game on average, which was the 29th-best in the country. In addition to this, the three-time first-team all-conference guard also shot 44.8% from 3-point range and 89% at the free-throw line.