While not specifically known for being a hub of women’s basketball, Big Ten schools Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington head the list of 25 teams without a single player in the transfer portal. While unsure what to make it, you must commend the process and the retention. Yet, the question remains, why? Which other teams made it?
Which Women’s Teams Haven’t Had Any Players Enter the Portal?
At this point, should we praise a team for keeping all of its players, or do we need to question them, regarding why? On3’s national women’s basketball writer, Talia Goodman, highlighted the teams in a tweet.
There are 25 programs that have had zero players enter the transfer portal (scholarship or walk-ons).
Nebraska
Oregon
Washington
Creighton
Marquette
Davidson
Longwood
Drexel
Sam Houston
Green Bay
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Kent State
Belmont
Air Force
Wagner…— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 24, 2025
The list that Goodman published doesn’t really have any rhyme or reason. The only distinction you could see is that 22 teams reside in what you would call a mid-major conference.
Six of the teams made the 2025 NCAA tournament. However, delving deeper reveals a smaller pattern: 13 of the programs are considered high academic institutions. As a result, finding athletes who can academically qualify for those schools becomes even tougher.
Resistance to Change?
For some coaches, the entire transfer portal process can be daunting. Oregon head women’s coach Kelly Graves leaned on football coach Dan Lanning and basketball coach Dana Altman. In this quote to 24/7 Sports’ Erik Skopil, Graves comes clean and offers an honest assessment.
“The one thing I have learned with the portal is not to take anything personal. I talked with Dana Altman about that when we started to have some turnover. He just said ‘Listen, I’ve had players leave who loved it here. I’ve had players who didn’t like it; some who played a lot, and some who didn’t play. There’s a million different reasons why they’re leaving.”
“We’re all playing for one year now,” he said. “The honest truth is that I think we’re in that day and age now where it doesn’t happen in every program, but it happens in most. You’re just going to have turnover each and every year. I think we’re going to have free agency every year with a lot of people.
“I just talked to a coach the other day, one of my good friends, and she was talking about her great freshmen class and how they’re going to grow together. Well, that’s great in theory, but the reality is you probably won’t have half or two-thirds of those players in two years. That’s just kind of the way things are done now.”
RELATED: Can South Carolina’s Transfer Portal Additions Lead Them to the 2025-26 National Championship?
Again, of the 25 teams, how many are seriously considered threats to do damage in the NCAA? Moreover, how many of those teams will even get to the tournament by winning their conference? This season, Wagner will play their 45th season as a Division 1 women’s team. In 14 seasons, they finished with a winning record.
Meanwhile, 18 seasons ended with 20 or more losses. Credit head coach Terrell Coburn for his continued attempts to turn things around. The job appears difficult, and recruiting would also look like a struggle.
Not every women’s basketball team can become a UConn, South Carolina, or LSU. Even a traditional power like Tennessee isn’t what it used to be. The portal currently contains thousands of players. If athletes aren’t sure they will find a new home, they will stay where they are.
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