#HLWBB Top Impact Transfers for 2024-25

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Lauren Ross. Photo: Michigan State Athletics

Over the last few years, the transfer portal has become the primary source of player movement in college basketball. Each summer, across the country, star players find a bigger stage with more available NIL money, lightly-used reserves bet on themselves and look for opportunities for more playing time, and high-achieving students change addresses for specialized graduate programs and career-driven reasons.

All of it has certainly had a profound effect on the Horizon League. One needn’t look any further than the 2023-24 all-HL first team, which featured four players who began their collegiate careers outside of the circuit, including conference player of the year Colbi Maples. Or the second team, which included Brooke Quarles-Daniels and Carter McCray, both of whom have moved on to Big Ten schools.

So who’s next? It’s impossible to say for certain, but here’s an attempt at sorting through the noise of seemingly endless social media posts and school releases to figure it out.

One note: the words “top impact transfers for 2024-25,” though copied from Tristan Freeman’s excellent post on the men’s side of things, were still chosen deliberately: these are players who should have an effect on their teams and the conference as a whole this coming season, and the (admittedly subjective) ranking criteria prioritized that over incoming transfers who might have a high ceiling but, for one reason or another, are more likely to contribute further down the road.

Without further delay, here are the Horizon League’s top incoming transfers.

1. Lauren Ross ā€“ Purdue Fort Wayne (G)
Previous Schools: Michigan State (2023-24), Western Michigan (2020-23)

Ross was most recently at Michigan State, but was the eighth-leading scorer in the entire country while at Western Michigan in 2022-23, posting 22.1 points per contest until her season was cut short by injury in late January. She puts up a ton of shots (15.4 per game with the Broncos two years ago), makes an awful lot of them (46.2 percent overall, 33.7 percent from three), and gets to the line about as well as anyone in the nation. There are certainly things to pick at with Rossā€™ game, particularly on the defensive end, and when counting turnovers. Regardless, thereā€™s every reason to think that the former All-MAC selection will step into the Mastodonsā€™ lineup and immediately be one of the Horizon Leagueā€™s best players.

2. Nevaeh Foster ā€“ IU Indianapolis (G)
Previous School: Western Kentucky (2023-24)

Foster is a leading example of a common archetype on lists like this: a big-time recruit who went somewhere (Western Kentucky in this case), didnā€™t receive a ton of playing time, hit the portal with most of their eligibility intact, and ended up within range of programs that werenā€™t on the radar the first time around. Before she ended up as a Hilltopper, Foster was a first team all-state selection in Indiana, a presence on most national prospect lists, and recruited by the likes of Michigan, Purdue and West Virginia (as well as Cleveland State, which rounded out her one-time top five). The idea of a player like that only managing to see 67 minutes on the floor at WKU, freshman or not, certainly gives some reason for pause, but thereā€™s little doubt that the Jaguars have a potential centerpiece talent on their hands.

3. Sydney Freeman ā€“ Purdue Fort Wayne (G)
Previous Schools: Dayton (2023-24), Ball State (2019-22)

If Ross is an elite scorer, itā€™s only natural that Purdue Fort Wayne compliment her with an elite playmaker, right? Freeman was second in the Atlantic 10 with 5.2 assists per game as a Dayton Flyer last season, and it seems obvious that she will immediately fit in as a starting point guard on a team looking to replace Destinee Marshall and Shayla Sellers. Another thing Freeman brings to the table? Three-point shooting. In one season at Dayton and three at Ball State prior to that, she never shot fewer than 5.2 deep balls per game. A backcourt of Freeman and Audra Emmerson might seem a bit undersized at first glance, but Ross and Amellia Bromenschenkel offer good length on the wings and Jazzy Linbo remains one of the HLā€™s better post players.

4. Macey Fegan ā€“ Cleveland State (F)
Previous School: Toledo (2023-24)

Though Fegan saw extremely limited action at Toledo, thereā€™s plenty in her background to suggest that sheā€™s a star in waiting. As a senior at Standish-Sterling Central High School in 2022-23, she was a Michigan Miss Basketball finalist, thanks largely to her 28.0 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. The 12th leading scorer in Michigan scholastic history is an extremely-athletic wing capable of creating a mismatch regardless of who is thrown at her, and sheā€™s received rave reviews both on and off the court from just about everyone who has come into contact with 4.0 student. She even received an offer from Michigan as a high school freshman, following a second team all-state performance.

5. Kacee Baumhower ā€“ Milwaukee (G)
Previous Schools: Wright State (2022-24), St. Bonaventure (2021-22)

Itā€™s hard to do much better in the portal than signing a player whoā€™s already performed at (essentially) an award-winning level in your league, while taking the same away from someone else in the conference. But thatā€™s exactly what Kyle Rechlicz and Milwaukee accomplished in landing Baumhower, formerly of Wright State. The Toledoan is a grad transfer, attaining that status within just three years after beginning her career at St. Bonaventure and, of course, was a major factor in the Raidersā€™ recent rise through the standings as an every-game starter who averaged 12.5 points per outing last season. Baumhower is a versatile wing with a shot that demands respect, but also the ability to drive the ball and get to the free throw line.

6. Miah Monahan ā€“ Green Bay (G)
Previous School: Eastern Illinois (2021-24)

Green Bay is not a program that takes many false steps, and the Phoenix typically arenā€™t big wheels in the portal, so when they dipped in this year, it made perfect sense that theyā€™d pull two of their three transfer additions from Eastern Illinois which, until recently, was coached by Matt Bollant ā€“ Kayla Kariusā€™ head coach during her playing days. Monahan, in particular, feels like one of those players thatā€™s more or less tailor-made for Green Bay. Sheā€™s an high-end facilitator who was in the top 50 nationally for assists per game, and the Minnesotan added 11.2 points per game as well, on the way to All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. Monahan and Bailey Butler in the same backcourt? Terrifying.

7. Lexi Bugajski ā€“ Wright State (F)
Previous School: Appalachian State (2023-24)

Just under two years ago, Bugajski was among the best players in Wisconsin and holding offers from the likes of Cleveland State, Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Then, just prior to her senior year with a powerhouse New Berlin Eisenhower program, she instead committed to Appalachian State. Patience, however, proved virtuous in Kari Hoffmanā€™s case, as she and the Raiders were able to grab a still-early-in-her-career top talent after things didn’t work out with the Mountaineers. Long gone are the days when WSU ceded the paint to every single opponent; Bugajski is a great rebounder who can play with her back to the basket, while also offering stout defense and stretching the floor with her shot.

8. Amaria Fields ā€“ Detroit Mercy (G)
Previous School: Boston College (2021-22)

The Titans hope that Fields can become one of those classic cases of a player who benefits from a change of scenery, and thereā€™s more than a little to support that thinking. Back in 2021, she was a highly-ranked recruit (the 128th best player according to one list, and the number 44 guard on another) out of McKinney North High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Fields was then recruited to Boston College and simplyā€¦didnā€™t play, then left the team after a single season. Detroit is a city for second chances and comeback stories though, and Kate Achter might have the latest on her hands.

9. Mya Moore ā€“ Cleveland State (F)
Previous School: Seattle (2022-24)

Arguably, the most underrated component to Cleveland Stateā€™s recent run of success has been the Vikingsā€™ post rotations. Given the graduation of Brooklynn Fort-Davis, Moore figures to become the next CSU player to link up with the likes of Jordana Reisma and Paulina Hernandez in the middle of the floor. As a Redhawk last season, she was good for 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, including four games of 20 or more points and six double-doubles. Just as importantly, sheā€™s a strong defender who was second in the WAC in blocked shots, and can help the Vikings win wars of attrition against the several strong interiors around the conference.

10. Abby Wolterman ā€“ Northern Kentucky (F)
Previous School: IUPUI (2022-24)

Considering that Northern Kentucky has a new coach (not to mention the circumstances behind that change), the Norse had a surprisingly quiet offseason in terms of turnover. Top players McCray and Khamari Mitchell-Steen are gone of course, but Jeff Hans managed to strike back by grabbing proven Horizon League performer Wolterman away from the school formerly known as IUPUI. The West Chester, OH native is returning home after finishing among the conferenceā€™s top ten in field goal percentage (52.3 percent) and offering the Jaguars a versatile presence as someone who can provide a substantial presence in the paint while also threatening at the second level.

Abbie Riddle. Photo: Bowling Green Athletics

11. Abbie Riddle ā€“ Wright State (G)
Previous School: Bowling Green (2023-24)

Itā€™s hard to fully explain how effective Wright State has been in their ā€œsecond-chanceā€ recruiting efforts, but hereā€™s an attempt: the Raiders now have three of Prep Girls Hoopsā€™ top 14 2023-graduating prospects from Wisconsin, including Bugajski, Makenzie Drout and Ellie Magestro-Kennedy. They have two of the top eight 2023s from Ohio as well, Rylee Sagester and Riddle. Three of those five players spent their freshman seasons at different schools, while the remaining two were committed elsewhere until coaching changes. In Riddleā€™s case, that meant a brief spell at Bowling Green, after being an All-Ohio selection at Liberty Union High School. She was heavily-sought-after the first time around, including offers from the likes of Providence, Cincinnati, and Toledo.

12. Isys Grady ā€“ Robert Morris (G/F)
Previous School: UNC Greensboro (2021-24)

Chandler McCabe had a great first offseason in charge of the Colonials, retaining most of her better inherited players (Simone Morris, Danielle Vuletich and Naomi Barnwell among them), while strategically grabbing talent that should help RMU quickly move up the standings. Grady, in particular, reads as a sneaky good addition, thanks to her skillset and leadership qualities. The Floridian flirted with All-SoCon honors throughout her time at UNC Greensboro, including the all-rookie team, the all-tournament team and the preseason all-conference team. Grady is a wing who can score, rebound, and defend, and sheā€™s not afraid to be counted on to take shots ā€“ she took almost ten of them per game at UNCG.

13. Ellie Buzzelle ā€“ Green Bay (G)
Previous Schools: Eastern Illinois (2023-24), Grand Canyon (2022-23)

Last season, Buzzelle played with Monahan at Eastern Illinois, where she was one of the nationā€™s better three-point shooters and now becomes one of five Minnesotans on the Phoenix, part of a bold push by Karius to bring in players who might not be Packers fans. She knocked down 70 triples during 2023-24, connecting at a 36.5 percent rate (second best in the Ohio Valley Conference), and should fit in nicely with returning deep threats Cassie Schiltz, Maddy Schreiber and Callie Genke ā€“ particularly given that sheā€™s a left-handed shot who adds a different dimension to the GB arsenal.

14. Maddy Rendall ā€“ Oakland (G)
Previous School: Idaho State (2023-24)

Rendall didnā€™t play as a freshman at Idaho State last season, but coming out of high school in the Seattle area, she was renowned for her prolific three-point shooting in both the scholastic and club circuits. However, Rendall has the potential to be more than just a standard-issue deep-ball specialist, particularly since sheā€™s six feet tall with good length. Oakland is a team that thrives on tempo and ball pressure, so itā€™s easy to envision Rendall being extremely disruptive in the Grizzliesā€™ backcourt defense, then knocking down a momentum three after a turnover.

15. Dacia Lewandowski ā€“ Youngstown State (G)
Previous School: Akron (2023-24)

There are more than a couple outstanding questions surrounding what will decidedly be a new-look Penguins squad this season, but Melissa Jackson is sure of at least one thing: she really, really wants Lewandowski on her roster. Jackson recruited the western Pennsylvanian to Akron while she was still the Zipsā€™ head coach during the 2022-23 season and, one redshirt campaign later, was able to reunite with her at YSU. At North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Lewandowski was a stat sheet stuffer (including career per-game averages of 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals) and selected as first team all-state.

16. Olivia Brown ā€“ Wright State (G)
Previous School: Akron (2023-24)

Brown is yet another one of those players where Wright State was able to swoop in on a former highly-ranked recruit after her freshman year, one who, coincidentally, was Lewandowski’s teammate last season. The point guard played in ten games for the Zips in 2023-24, but prior to that pulled in all sorts of local, state and national honors at Hamilton Southeastern High School, where she averaged a staggering 8.3 assists and 4.5 steals per game over her career. All-state recognition in Indianaā€™s large school division isnā€™t something thatā€™s handed out lightly, but Brown nevertheless managed to catch the attention of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

17. Julianna Ouimette ā€“ Green Bay (G)
Previous School: Lehigh (2023-24)

Thereā€™s absolutely nothing in the Horizon League that compares to the hold Green Bay has on people from the northern half of Wisconsin, to the point where even the players who go to college elsewhere seem like they have roughly a 50-50 shot of ending up on the Phoenix before the end of their careers. Thatā€™s the case with Ouimette, who spent an abbreviated 2023-24 at Lehigh, but prior to that, was a superstar at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, WI. She was a three-time conference player of the year and a two-time first team all-state selection while bucketing over 2,000 career points, and the 5-9 combo guard has been billed as a physically strong player capable of creating her own space.

18. Danielle Grim ā€“ Oakland (G)
Previous Schools: Mercyhurst (DII) (2022-24), LIU (2021-22)

Though sheā€™s coming to Oakland most directly from Division II, following a pair of seasons at Mercyhurst, Grim did spend 2021-22 at LIU, where she was a member of the NEC All-Rookie Team. The 5-7 Columbus, OH product somehow managed to pull in 7.5 rebounds per game for the Lakers last season, a statistical oddity reminiscent of now-departed OU star Quarles-Daniels. Grim is also like Quarles-Daniels in that she isnā€™t much of an outside threat, but excels as a high-quality playmaker who has the athleticism to get the ball inside and mix it up when there.

Jada Patton. Photo: UIndy Athletics

19. Jada Patton ā€“ IU Indianapolis (F)
Previous School: Indianapolis (DII) (2022-24)

Though IU Indy lost players like Wolterman and Jazmyn Turner from last seasonā€™s team, Patton seems like an ideal candidate to help the Jaguarsā€™ frontcourt make a painless transition. Sheā€™s from Granger, IN (near South Bend, along the Michigan border) and played her first two seasons of college basketball at UIndy (IU Indyā€™s marketing and branding people are undoubtedly happy about this small measure of payback). Though her 10.0 points per game at the Division II level might not scream ā€œfuture DI superstar,ā€ her raw tools, including size, athleticism, and a high basketball IQ should make Patton a great fit for Kate Bruceā€™s system and an effective player for the Jags.

20. Hailey Unger ā€“ Robert Morris (G)
Previous School: USC Aiken (DII) (2022-24)

Ungerā€™s arrival in Hoop Township from the Division II ranks instantly offers the Colonials something theyā€™ve lacked in the recent past: a credible and explosive deep threat. At USC Aiken last season, the Dayton, OH product hit a third of her 6.3 three-point attempts per game and was leading the Pacers in scoring before injury truncated her year. It would be a mistake to pigeonhole her as purely a deep specialist however; she moves well without the ball and has a very good mid-range game, and sheā€™s a surprisingly strong on-ball defender who had three games of three steals or more.

21. Emaia O’Brien ā€“ Detroit Mercy (G)
Previous School: LIU (2021-24)

The move to the Titans represents a homecoming for Detroit native Oā€™Brien, yet another incoming player who falls into the category of ā€œdeep-ball sniper.ā€ Her staggering 42.5 percent rate from behind the arc led all NEC players last year, and she was also the conferenceā€™s player of the week on March 8th. The latter accolade followed an explosive performance in the Sharksā€™ regular season finale against Stonehill, which saw Oā€™Brien go off for five triples (in eight attempts) and 24 points overall in a decisive victory. She was remarkably consistent during her time at LIU, averaging between 8 and 10 points and between 1.2 and 1.8 made threes per game during all three of her seasons.

22. Faith Burch ā€“ Youngstown State (F)
Previous School: Cleveland State (2021-24)

After graduating from Cleveland State in three years, Burch followed Jackson (who spent last season as an assistant coach at CSU, of course) to Youngstown State, essentially a move home for the Warren, OH resident. Burchā€™s stats as a Viking (3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game in 2023-24) wonā€™t jump off the page for anyone, but thereā€™s certainly reason to believe that the extremely athletic and physical power forward hasnā€™t reached her full potential yet, and that playing home games in front of friends and family will offer her a significant boost. Independent of all of that, Burch is a tremendous locker room presence and will be a great asset in establishing YSUā€™s culture during a transitional year.

23. Amaya Staton ā€“ Wright State (F)
Previous Schools: Merrimack (2021-24), Cleveland State (2020-21)

Staton is making a return to the Horizon League after beginning her career at Cleveland State in 2020-21, and she should provide leadership and depth to the Raidersā€™ vastly-improved frontcourt. Following the Vikingsā€™ 2021 WBI championship, she moved on to Merrimack (coincidentally, new CSU assistant coach Emily Taylor was on the Warriorsā€™ staff at the time) and developed into one of those underrated bigs who makes blue collar plays that deliver wins. Last season, she was the teamā€™s leading rebounder (6.7) and shot blocker (1.7), and she has also put up seven double-doubles over the last two seasons.

24. Jordan Reid ā€“ Purdue Fort Wayne (F)
Previous School: Indiana Wesleyan (NAIA) (2020-24)

Reid is still another piece contributing to what will probably be the Horizon Leagueā€™s most-experienced roster next season, given that the Mastodons now have a whopping eight players listed as graduate students, fifth-years, or garden-variety seniors. The central Indianan spent the last four years at Indiana Wesleyan where she built a heavily-decorated career, including all-conference honors at the end of each season, and an NAIA All-American third team nod for a senior campaign where she averaged an extremely-consistent 12.0 points per game, and helped the Wildcats reach the NAIAā€™s round of 16. PFW will boast an extremely-crowded lineup this fall, but itā€™s hard not to see Reid playing a notable role.

25. Aaliyah McQueen ā€“ Detroit Mercy (G)
Previous Schools: Madonna (NAIA) (2023-24), Oakland (2021-23), Illinois (2020-21)

Admittedly, I struggled with the idea of giving McQueen this final spot over several other deserving candidates, given that she spent two years at Detroit Mercyā€™s archrival with limited effect, and sheā€™s now on her fourth different school in five seasons. Still, the Flint, MI native was once a very highly-regarded recruit for Illinois, and as long as she has eligibility remaining, the hope that she can somehow tap into that potential will still be alive ā€“ not unlike the case of new teammate Fields. McQueen spent last season in the NAIA at Madonna University and was selected for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conferenceā€™s first team after averaging 19.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game.

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