Louisville Women's Basketball 2023-24 Roster Outlook 2.0

An updated look at how the 2023-24 roster could look for the Louisville women's basketball program.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In a short amount of time, 2022-23 roster for the Louisville women's basketball program has received a massive shot in the arm through the transfer portal.

It's only been just under two weeks since our last update, but the Cardinals have been extremely busy in the portal, adding three impact playmakers to next year's squad.

As a result, Louisville now sits at nine scholarship players, which is well below the NCAA-allotted maximum of 15 scholarship players. However, with head coach Jeff Walz saying that he might only keep 10-12 players on a team moving forward, the roster is closer to being set than many realize.

UofL is still actively perusing the portal for additional players, but for now, let's take a look at how this team currently shakes out.

Departures and Arrivals

Last week, Louisville added some much needed depth in the backcourt, announcing on Apr. 11 that they had signed former Cal State Bakersfield forward Hennie van Schaik. She was incredibly productive as a senior last season, leading the Roadrunners with 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, collecting a double-double in 16 of her 22 games played.

This week, Walz and Co. made a pair of big time additions in the frontcourt. The Cardinals got a commitment from former James Madison guard Kiki Jefferson on Apr. 17, then a few hours after she signed on Apr. 20, Louisville got a commitment from former Florida guard Nina Rickards.

Both guards are big time playmakers. Jefferson led the Dukes in scoring and rebounding at 18.3 points and 7.9 boards per game, and was tabbed as both the 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year. Rickards had a career year in her final season with the Gators, putting up 12.1 points and 4.9 points per game.

Add in former Georgia Tech guard/forward Eylia "LeLe" Love and former Cal guard Jayda Curry - who have both already signed - and Louisville is bringing in an extremely talented group of transfers. In fact, these five combined to average 60.5 points, 26.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game at their respective schools last season.

This is exactly what the staff needed to accomplish considering the amount of players they are losing from last year's roster, and the fact that they have no high school commitments in their 2023 class. The program is graduating six seniors, and five more players - including All-Ameican guard Hailey Van Lith - have entered the transfer portal. Only Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell, Alexia Mobley and Nyla Harris are returning.

Projected Depth Chart

Given all that we know now about the current state of Louisville's roster, below is an early look into what the depth chart next year could look like:

*Mobile users can scroll left & right on the table*

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Guard/Forward	Power Forward	Center
Jayda Curry	Nina Rickards	Kiki Jefferson	Nyla Harris	Olivia Cochran
	Merissah Russell	Eylia Love	Alexia Mobley	Hennie van Schaik

Losing Hailey Van Lith is undoubtedly a massive loss, but gaining a player like Curry is a good consolation prize. She gives Louisville not only great Power Five experience, considering she was a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection this past season and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year the season before. Pair her with Rickards, who was a 1,000-point scorer at Florida and is coming off of her best year, at Louisville has a good one-two punch in the backcourt. Russell also gives them a veteran presence and could be in line for a big step forward, but Louisville probably needs at least one more true point guard on the roster for depth purposes.

The wing for Louisville is filled with potential. Considering Jefferson was able to pile up 1,838 points and 815 rebounds during her time at James Madison, she has All-ACC written all over her. If Love can round back into form after a down junior year at Georgia Tech (10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore), that will only add to the lineup creativity that will be at Walz' disposal. Not to mention that, as a bigger guard, Russell could also see time here.

Down low in the paint, Louisville returns two keys pieces in Cochran and Harris. As the Cardinals' leading rebounder from last season and leading returning scorer, Cochran is extremely motivated heading into her senior season. Harris' stat line last season might not stand out, but she helped played a role in getting Louisville back on the right track once she was inserted into the starting lineup. Mobley barely saw the floor this past season but has always been full of potential, and van Schaik - at the very minimum - gives Louisville size on the interior and rebounding prowess that fans always clamor for.

(Photo of Jeff Walz, Nyla Harris: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)

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