College basketball teams around the country are anxiously counting down the days (really, look at some of their social media accounts) until the regular season gets underway.
Among the most important storylines every offseason: Who took their talents elsewhere via the transfer portal? Some of the most prominent stars from New England are on the move.
More than 30 New England natives entered the portal this spring and summer. Below are 10 players who I think will make an impact right away at their new schools.
The names to watch include likely contributors on Top 25 and NCAA Tournament teams, all the way down to an underrated move from Div. 2 up to Div. 1.
MORE COLLEGE COVERAGE: Impact freshmen | Can BC be relevant?
Carys Baker, Louisville
Senior, 6-2 forward
Loomis Chaffee/West Hartford, Conn.
Baker is, in my opinion, the best New England native who transferred this offseason. She is a huge addition for a Louisville team that lost in the Sweet Sixteen last March. Baker led Virginia Tech in minutes per game (32.6) and averaged 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. She's canned 39.2 percent of her career college 3-pointers. The Cardinals can plug Baker into all sorts of lineup combinations with her size and shooting. She may be a sleeper WNBA prospect if she shows out as a senior.
Tish Blackwood, Austin Peay
Sophomore, 5-11 guard
Tilton/Falmouth, Mass.
Here's my deep cut for this list. Blackwood spent her freshman year at Div. 2 Southern Connecticut and won NE10 Rookie of the Year. She's a super bouncy, athletic player who posted 11 double-doubles as part of her 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Austin Peay nearly got to March Madness last year, losing in overtime of the ASUN conference title game. I'm always fascinated by leaps between divisions, so Blackwood is worth remembering.
Kaelyn Carroll, Washington
Sophomore, 6-3 wing
Tabor/Dedham, Mass.
Ranked No. 15 in the national 2025 class by ESPN, Carroll's college career had a bumpy start at Kentucky. She averaged 11.8 minutes off the bench as her playing time fluctuated throughout the winter. More than 80 percent of her shots came behind the arc, which she made at just a 30.9 percent clip. A fresh start at Washington should see Carroll in a major role right away in a program that has made the last two NCAA Tournaments.
Jasmyn Cooper-Derba, Northwestern
Sophomore, 6-1 forward
Nobles/North Easton, Mass.
Like Carroll, Cooper-Derba was another nationally-ranked 2025 prospect (No. 60) who never quite found her footing. She averaged 10.8 minutes across 24 games but did shoot 71 percent inside the arc. Cooper-Derba transfers with Camdyn Nelson (Greenwich, Conn.) to Northwestern, now under new head coach Carla Berube.
An aside: While researching for this story, I found an incredible feature on Cooper-Derba's upbringing written by Jordan Kimball at the Daily Orange. I definitely recommend reading it.
Anna Foley, Villanova
Senior, 6-3 center
Andover/Andover, Mass.
After three solid seasons at Quinnipiac, Foley moves to the Big East. She made two All-MAAC (now All-Metro Conference) teams in her first two years but moved to the bench as a junior, something Foley adapted to as the Bobcats kept winning. She's a standout passer at her position who holds career averages of 11.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Oralye Kiefer, Sacred Heart
Graduate student, 6-3 forward
Beaver/Wayland, Mass.
In her lone season at Merrimack, Kiefer swatted 2.3 blocks per game, ranking 10th in the country. She averaged 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds on the Warriors and now joins a Sacred Heart program that's looking to bounce back from a 13-18 season.
Lana McCarthy, Fairfield
Junior, 6-4 center
Bedford/Bedford, N.H.
McCarthy was an instant-impact center at Purdue as a freshman, and though she only started 14 games as a sophomore, she still managed 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds. McCarthy became a much more efficient inside scorer, upping to 57.5 percent shooting from the field in total. She gives Fairfield, a perennial mid-major powerhouse at this point, a boost of size and strength in the paint.
Mackenzie Nelson, Clemson
Senior, 5-8 guard
St. Luke's/Greenwich, Conn.
Nelson teamed up with Baker in the starting lineup at Virginia Tech. Now she's also on the move after ranking 17th nationally with 5.7 assists per game last year. Nelson also averaged 8.0 points and 3.3 assists with her lightning-quick speed at point guard. She'll lead a Tigers squad looking to bounce back after an overtime loss to USC in the NCAA Tournament first round.
Grace Oliver, Boston College
Junior, 6-1 forward
Nobles/Norwell, Mass.
Oliver joins her third college in three years, most recently starring at Wake Forest. She averaged 14.3 points on extremely efficient three-level shooting splits last season and looks like a cornerstone player for BC's revamped program. Oliver scored a career-high 30 points against Gardner-Webb last December.
Christina Pham, Penn
Sophomore, 5-7 guard
Nobles/South Boston, Mass.
Pham immediately showed her 3-point prowess, drilling 37.5 percent of her long-range attempts as a Fairfield freshman. She scored 18 points against Richmond on Dec. 7 but fell out of the rotation during the Stags' playoff push. Pham gets a new opportunity to help Penn reach the upper echelon of the Ivy League.
