Baylor Putting Trust in Transfers for Women’s Basketball
Baylor isn’t used to not reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. That’s what happened in March when the Bears lost to South Dakota in the second round and failed to get to the round of 16 for the first time since 2008.
Worse yet, Baylor lost three of its top players to pro basketball — NaLyssa Smith, Queen Egbo and Jordan Lewis. That’s close to 40 points and 20 rebounds per game out the door.
Coach Nicki Collen’s first full recruiting cycle reaped rewards on the prep trail. But, to get an immediate impact in place of their ‘Big Three’ from a season ago, Collen had to dip into the transfer portal, and she came away with some big gets.
Two former SEC players and a national champion are set to join the program next season, and there’s a good chance at least two of them will be starters when the season begins.
Former Kentucky forward Dre’una Edwards may be Baylor’s best chance to emulate what Smith gave them last season, which was a double-double nearly every game. Edwards, who is 6-2, is coming off a season in which she averaged 16.8 points and nearly nine rebounds. Edwards played opposite Rhyne Howard, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft last month.
For guard help, the Bears turned to a player they know well — former Missouri guard Aijha Blackwell. The Bears and Tigers faced each other in December, with Baylor winning, 70-68. Blackwell had 20 points and 16 rebounds in that game. The 6-foot guard was one of the best players in the SEC the day she set foot on campus at Columbia, and last season she averaged a double-double — 15.4 points and 13 rebounds.
For additional outside shooting help, the Bears took in Stanford guard Jana Van Gytenbeek. She spent two seasons out in Palo Alto and won a national championship ring with the Cardinal in 2021. But she didn’t get much of a chance to prove herself behind an experienced team. She averaged just 2.4 points last season, but in two seasons she showed glimpses of the kind of outside shooter she can be, as she’s shot 37 percent from the arc.
Baylor isn’t wanting for outside shooting with the return of Sarah Andrew and Ja’Mee Asberry. The pair shot better than 36 percent from the 3-point line and they averaged a combined 20 points last season.
Baylor has a big recruiting class coming in — forward Kyla Abraham, guard Bella Fontleroy, guard Catarina Ferreira and guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the last of which is a five-star recruit that Baylor stole out of Oklahoma’s backyard.
But with Edwards, Blackwell and Van Gytenbeek, the Bears have brought on depth that will allow Collen and her staff to build a team with more options than it had a season ago, when it played seven players most nights.
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