Virginia Women's Basketball Adds Adds Maryland Transfer Center Hawa Doumbouya

Matt Newton | Apr 16, 2024

Maryland Athletics

Virginia women's basketball picked up its first transfer addition of the offseason, as Maryland center transfer Hawa Doumbouya has signed with the Cavaliers, as announced by UVA head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton on Tuesday. Doumbouya comes to UVA with three years of eligibility remaining.

A 6'7" post player from The Bronx, New York, Doumbouya was initially recruited by Virginia out of high school (Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Maryland) but ultimately committed to Maryland, where she appeared in 13 games as a true freshman this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in just 3.5 minutes per game. Doumbouya entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and ultimately committed to the Cavaliers after a recent official visit on Grounds.

“I am thrilled to officially welcome Hawa into our family,” said Agugua-Hamilton. “We recruited Hawa my first summer here on Grounds two years ago and had a great connection, and even though she chose Maryland there were no hard feelings. Once we saw her name in the transfer portal, we jumped on the opportunity to add her to our program because we knew she would be a perfect fit."

Doumbouya fills an immediate need for Coach Mox's Cavaliers, who are losing several key front court players from last season, including Camryn Taylor, Sam Brunelle, and London Clarkson. At 6'7", Doumbouya will be one of Virginia's two tallest players on the roster next season alongside former Kansas State transfer Taylor Lauterbach, another 6'7" center who is expected to return to UVA for her fifth and final year of eligibility.

"Hawa is a high-character student-athlete and fits our culture. She is a skilled post player with off-the-chart potential," said Coach Mox. "At 6-7, she is physical, can score, rebound, pass and stretch the defense with her shot. We will continue to develop her, which leaves no doubt in my mind that with three years of eligibility remaining, she will have a phenomenal career here at UVA.”

Virginia is expected to make a few more moves in the transfer portal this offseason, as the Cavaliers are currently only utilizing 10 of their 15 scholarship spots for the 2024-2025 season.

As always, we'll keep an eye on all of the roster movement for the Virginia women's basketball program this offseason at CavaliersNow.