Finishing last in the Big Ten was already cause for concern regarding Penn State women's basketball, even with a younger roster. But the alarm is ringing loudly as the majority of the roster is in the transfer portal.
The Nittany Lions (10-19, 1-17 Big Ten) are slated to only have two returning players from the 2024-25 team: Shaelyn Steele and Vitoria Santana. Jayla Oden and Tamera Johnson aren't returning due to exhausting their eligibility, but everyone else is currently looking for a new home.
Here are the names of everyone in the portal, with grad transfers receiving an asterisk:
| Name | Class | Statistics |
| Gracie Merkle | Redshirt So. | 15.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 67%FG |
| Grace Hall* | Redshirt Jr. | 5.7 PPG, 46%FG, 42%3P |
| Talayah Walker | Fr. | 5.6 PPG |
| Cameron Rust | Fr. | |
| Gabby Elliot* | Gr. | 13.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 42%3P |
| Jill Jekot | Fr. | |
| Ariana Williams | Fr. | |
| Moriah Murray | Redshirt So. | 10.4 PPG, 40/38/96 splits |
| Alli Campbell* | Gr. | 8.1 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.1 RPG |
Besides Steele and Santana, three signees from the 2025 recruiting class will join Carolyn Kieger's squad next season: Rachel Okokoh, Philadelphia native Shayla Smith and Nyla McFadden. Kieger had also improved the program record year-to-year except last season.
To call for a coaching change would be aggressive considering there's been a longer positive track record on the court during her tenure, but the recent season's performance, combined with the roster exodus, cannot be ignored.
It will be important to watch how Kieger fills out the roster during the spring and summer. Will she add more high school recruits in the spring signing window (which is from April 16-May 21)? Or will she build the upcoming roster via the transfer portal with players looking to prove themselves? And how competitive will that team be with about eight months to build a foundation?
Regardless of the outcome, it will be a new-look Penn State women's basketball team once the season kicks off in November.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State women's basketball has unclear future after portal exodus
