USC's Kiki Iriafen speaks during the Big Ten women's NCAA college basketball media day Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Rosemont, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Southern California’s Kiki Iriafen can’t wait to start delivering highlight-worthy plays with JuJu Watkins now that the former Pac-12 rivals are teammates in the Big Ten Conference.
Iriafen won the Katrina McClain Award last season as the top power forward in women’s college basketball, and her move from Stanford to USC was perhaps the most notable offseason development in the transfer portal. Iriafen and Watkins, coming off a sensational freshman season, were two of the five players selected to the Associated Press preseason All-America team.
The combination helped earn USC a No. 3 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25, behind only defending national champion South Carolina and UConn. Iriafen promised USC would deliver a fast-paced, high-energy, relentless style.
“We want people to come watch us and be like, ‘Wow, this is an exciting team,’” Iriafen told reporters. “Kind of playing into that Lakers Showtime. We’re in L.A.”
Iriafen, who is 6-foot-3, 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’s playing 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 most ever for a freshman.
“We’re both very unselfish,” Iriafen said. “I feel like that’s why our dynamic is able to work so well. I think we’re just both going out there and trying to have fun and win.”
Here’s a look at some of the other top transfers in women’s college basketball this season (former schools in parentheses):
Georgia Amoore, Kentucky (Virginia Tech)
When Kentucky hired Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech, Amoore followed her coach from Blacksburg to Lexington. Amoore, who is 5-foot-6, ranked fourth among all Division I players in assists per game (6.8) last season. She also had 18.8 points per game last year after averaging 16.3 in 2022-23. She was a third-team selection on the AP All-America team. She was first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference each of the last two years and is a preseason first-team all-Southeastern Conference pick.
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 all-SEC pick. She’s not the only notable player who left Oregon State amid 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 all-Big East honors last season while averaging 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. King, a 6-footer, was selected as the ACC’s most improved player and as 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 boost a Notre Dame frontcourt that won’t have Kylee Watson or Maddy Westbeld to start the season. Watson is recovering from a torn ACL and Westbeld is dealing with a foot injury.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA (Washington State)
The 5-10 guard from New Zealand collected 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 remainder of the year.
Lucy Olsen, Iowa (Villanova)
Iowa will need plenty of people to help pick up the slack now that NCAA career scoring leader Caitlin Clark has moved on to the WNBA. Adding Olsen should prove beneficial in that regard. The 5-10 guard scored 23.3 points per game last season to rank third among all Division I players. She was a unanimous first-team all-Big East performer and also was selected as the league’s most improved player. Olsen received honorable mention on 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 who spent last season at LSU. The 5-9 guard averaged 11.6 points and 3.6 assists at LSU. TCU would love to see Van Lith regain the productivity she had at Louisville. She was an AP All-America honorable mention selection her last year at Louisville and had 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game that season.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
