Florida Transfer Guard Nina Rickards Commits to Louisville

The guard was a 1,000-point scorer with the Gators, and is the fifth transfer addition for next season's roster.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Once again, head coach Jeff Walz and the Louisville women's basketball program has dipped into the transfer portal to land an impact playmaker.

Nina Rickards, a former guard who spent had spent her entire four-year career at Florida before entering the transfer portal earlier this month, announced Thursday that she has committed to the Cardinals. She has one more year of eligibility remaining thanks to an optional COVID waiver.

The 5-foot-9 combo guard had a career year in her final season with the Gators. Playing in all 34 games with 30 starts, her 12.1 points and 1.4 steals per game were both second on the team, while her 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists were good for third. She also shot 40.0 percent from the field and 28.6 percent on three-point attempts.

The Queens, N.Y. native had been a consistent piece of Florida's starting rotation ever since she arrived in Gainesville. Playing in all but two of UF's 122 games over the past four years, accompanied with 103 starts, she collected 1,041 points, 592 rebounds, 194 assists and 129 steals.

Rickards is now the fifth D1 transfer that has committed to the Cardinals, joining Georgia Tech guard Eylia Love, Cal guard Jayda Curry, Cal State Bakersfield forward Hennie van Schaik and James Madison guard Kiki Jefferson. These five transfers combined to average 60.5 points, 26.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game at their respective schools last season.

They are part of a massive roster overhaul that Walz and his staff are having to undergo heading into next season. The program is graduating six seniors, and five more players - including All-Ameican guard Hailey Van Lith - have entered the transfer portal. Currently, Louisville is in line to return just Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell, Alexia Mobley and Nyla Harris, and has no high school commitments in their 2023 class.

Louisville went 26-12 overall for the 2022-23 season, experiencing their first double-digit loss season since their 2011-12 campaign. Despite having a "down year" by their typically lofty standards, the Cardinals saved their best basketball for the postseason. They made the ACC Championship game as a No. 4 seed, then clinched their fifth-straight appearance in the Elite Eight before falling to national runner-up Iowa in the NCAA Tournament

(Photo of Nina Rickards via University of Louisville Athletics)

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