Louisville women's basketball offseason roster tracker
Jody Demling
University of Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and his staff are back at it.
The Cardinalslost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Walz last season, finishing 24-10 and upset byNo. 11 seed Middle Tennessee in Baton Rouge, La., in the NCAA opener back in March.
A few months later, Walz and his staff have rebuilt the roster.
The Cardinals have seven new freshmen and one addition via the transfer portal for next season's roster. All but two newcomers have already been on campus with McDonald's All-American Mackenly Randolph expected to arrive in July and Australian Isla Jefferman not expected to arrive until August.
The others have already been working out with the staff.
U of L lost three graduate seniors - Kiki Jefferson (12.3 ppg), Sydney Taylor (10.4 ppg), and Nina Rickards (7.0 ppg) - off the roster. All three of the seniors were graduate transfers who played just one season at U of L. The Cardinals also had three players leave via the transfer portal.
Walz said in the news conference after the loss to Middle Tennessee that he felt like the Cardinals had a bright future.
"I'm excited about our incoming class for next year, I'm excited about our returning players," Walz said. "I think our future is really bright. I think we're going to make great strides next year, especially with (Russell) and (Cochran) coming back."
Cardinal Authority will keep you posted on everythingWalzand his staff are doing with the roster. Below we look at the roster, departures, portal entries, portal targets, and new additions for the roster heading into the 2024-25 season.
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END OF ELIGIBILITY
The onlyfollowing players on the Louisville roster exhausted all of their eligibility:
F - Kiki Jefferson - A one-year transfer from James Madison, Jefferson led the Cardinals in scoring at 12.3 points a game. Jefferson also averaged 4.5 rebounds a game and was second on the team with 79 assists. She was taken with the No. 31 pick in the WNBA Draft.
G Nina Rickards -A one-year transfer from Florida, Rickards averaged 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. She was the team leader with 83 assists, was second on the team with 38 steals and a field-goal percentage of 50.1 percent.
G Sydney Taylor -A one-year transfer from UMass, Taylor was third on the team at 10.8 points a game and was third with 74 assists and 30 steals.
TRANSFER OUT
The following players put their names into the transfer portal and will transfer:
F Hennie van Schaik -A transfer prior to the season from CSU-Bakersfield, van Schaik played in just 15 games and averaged just 5.5 minutes a game before heading back into the portal. She averaged 1.5 points and 0.8 rebounds a game. She hassigned to playatSan Jose State.
F Alexia Mobley -A redshirt sophom*ore from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Mobley heads into the portal after three seasons at U of L. She sat out the first season after reclassifying and graduating early and then played seven games during the 2022-23 season. She played 24 games and had 39 points and 41 rebounds this season in 5.2 minutes a game. She has signedto play atFlorida.
F - Eylia Love -A former transfer from Georgia Tech, Love played in 31 games this season but averaged just 16.3 minutes a game and played a combined 42 minutes in the final six games of the season.Love transferred to Louisville for the spring semester in 2023. She averaged 3.8points and 2.7 rebounds. She has signed to play at Houston.
CURRENTLY ON ROSTER FOR 2024-25
RETURNING PLAYERS
F - Olivia Cochran -A four-year starter, Cochran averaged 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a game this season. She has a career total of 1,259 points and 838 rebounds in 134 career games. She has made 129 career starts.
F - Merissah Russell -Another four-year player for the Cardinals, Russell has played in 108 career games and she has scored 407 points and grabbed 238 rebounds during her time at U of L. Russell averaged 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds this season.
G - Jayda Curry -A junior and transfer from California, Curry averaged 9.2 points and was third on the team with 66 assists in her first season at U of L. Curry was second on the team with 45 made three-point field goals.
F - Nyla Harris -A sophom*ore from Orlando, Fla., Harris has started 49 in two seasons with the Cardinals. She averaged 10.4 points and was tied with Cochran for the team leader in rebounds with 6.6 a game. Harris has 513 career points.
C - Elif Istanbulluoglu -A native of Turkey,Istanbulluoglu played in 34 games during her first season at U of L. She started two games, and averaged 12.7 minutes a game while scoring 90 points and grabbing 76 rebounds.
C - Eseosa Imafidon -A freshman from Nigeria, Imafidon was a late addition to the roster and was a redshirtlast season.
INCOMING FRESHMEN
Reagan Bender -Bender helped Sacred Heart Academy to a 128-20 record during her four seasons, winning a state title each season. She was a finalist for Miss Basketball.Infour seasons as a starter at Sacred Heart, Bender has scored 1,818 points and grabbed477 rebounds. She has hit212 three-pointers during her career.
Anaya Hardy -A 6-foot-4 forward from Detroit, Mich., Hardy averaged a double-double and was named to the Division I All-State first-team two years in a row at Renaissance High School. She helped her team to three straightDetroit Public School League titles.
Mackenly Randolph -A McDonald's All-American from Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif., Randolph is a 6-foot forward and the daughter of former Michigan State star and two-time NBA All-Star Zach Randolph. Randolph averaged 19 points and 11.7 rebounds a game as a senior.
Izela Arenas -A 5-foot-9 guard from Sierra Canyon and teammate of Randolph, Arenas is the daughter of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.The younger Arenas was tabbed 'Queen of the Court' in May at the Overtime Elite Takeover in Atlanta.The Queen of the Court event was a one-on-one showcase of the top female high school basketball players.
Isla Juffermans-A 6-foot-4 post player from Australia, Juffermans has made a name for herself in recent years with Australian national teams.
Tajianna Roberts -Playing her senior season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Roberts earned Naismith Trophy honorable mention All-American honors. She played her first three seasons at La Jolla, Calif., Country Day.
Imari Berry -A McDonald's All-American from Clarksville, Tenn., de-committed from Clemson recently andhad Louisville in her final three along with North Carolina and Kentucky.She is ranked as the No. 13 player in the ESPN Hoopgurlz rankings of the Class of 2024. Berrycommitted to Louisville on April 20.
TRANSFERS IN
G Ja'Leah Williams -A three-year player at Miami, Williams played in 99 games with the Hurricanes before going into the portal last month. For her career at Miami, Williams averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while finishing with 158 steals. She committed to Louisville on April 16.
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