UMass Transfer Guard Sydney Taylor Commits to Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville women's basketball program has landed yet another high-impact playmaker via the transfer portal.
Sydney Taylor, a former guard who spent had spent her entire four-year career at UMass before entering the transfer portal earlier this month, announced Friday that she has committed to the Cardinals. She has one more year of eligibility remaining thanks to an optional COVID waiver.
Starting 33 games last season for the Minutewomen, the 5-foot-9 shooting guard played a key role in UMass going 27-7 with a berth in the Women's NIT. Her 16.1 points per game was good for second on the team, while also chipping in 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists en route to a First-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection. A long ball specialist, she led the team in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent, while her 104 made threes last season was good for seventh in all of Division I.
After a quiet freshman campaign, the Long Island, N.Y. native became a regular starter for UMass, and has averaged at least 15.0 points per game in each of the past three seasons. Making 107 total appearances with 90 starts, she collected 1,465 points, 404 rebounds, 170 assists and 250 made threes during her time in Amherst.
Taylor is now the sixth 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, James Madison guard Kiki Jefferson and Florida guard Nina Rickards. These six transfers combined to average 76.6 points, 31.6 rebounds and 12.3 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 Sydney Taylor via UMass Athletics
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