Ole Miss' Coach Yo Addresses Media After Securing Star-Studded Transfer Portal Class

After leading the Ole Miss Rebels to the Sweet 16 last season, Coach Yo is reloading her roster for another postseason run.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team has taken advantage of one of the busiest windows in the history of the NCAA Transfer Portal. With over 1,000 names in the portal this offseason, Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin knew that she needed to capitalize on all that talent if she wanted to build off the momentum she and her team created during the 2022-23 postseason. 

"Coach Yo" has no intentions of slowing down any time soon and spoke with the media on Monday about her recent transfer portal haul.

"I thought we did a great job in the portal," Mcphee-McCuin told reporters. "Last year was a fun year so we really wanted to focus on adding some pieces in the offseason that fit our team, what we're trying to do, and where we're trying to go. I thought we hit it at every single mark."

Ole Miss announced last Monday that McPhee-McCuin landed three Power Five transfers in senior guard Kennedy Todd-Williams, sophomore forward Kharyssa Richardson, and graduate guard KK Deans. Todd-Williams, the No. 5 player in the portal, transferred from the North Carolina Tar Heels after leading the team in three-pointers made last season with 52. 

Richardson appeared in 28 games as a freshman for the Auburn Tigers and was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after recording a double-double versus the Florida Gators. Deans led the Gators in scoring in 2022-23 with 14.1 points per game and made 77 three's her senior year.

The Rebels struck gold in the portal and found the perfect replacement for senior guard Angel Baker in Todd-Williams. McPhee-McCuin mentioned that players in the portal are definitely more open to what she has to say now than they were a year ago, and it is because her team tested their mettle during the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament.

"Getting Kennedy [Todd-Williams] was huge for us," McPhee-McCuin said. "When she went into the portal and we got on the phone, immediately she said she watched us play Stanford. So obviously [transfers] are paying attention to that. She liked our style of play, and I don't think we would've had a chance at getting a caliber player like herself if we didn't perform the way we did."

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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