Laila Phelia added her name to the already extensive list of the NCAA transfer portal for next season. After her rocky experience with the Texas Longhorns, she is looking for a new destination where she can potentially finish her career in college basketball.
Laila Phelia’s Possible Destinations
Phelia’s main handicap is that her new team can only count on her for one season. However, her contribution can be desirable for any program looking to build a winning momentum, and even for some with aspirations to compete at the highest levels.
Let’s take a look at five possible destinations for Phelia.
South Carolina
The Gamecocks seem to have lost MiLaysia Fulwiley completely, so Phelia could be a great fit to fill in as their new guard. There is no doubt that South Carolina will try to maintain or improve on their second-place finish in last season’s NCAA Tournament, and an experienced player can help them do that.
Indiana
With the departure of Yarden Garzon to Maryland, the Hoosiers lost a tall player (6’3″) and an outstanding three-point shooter (she has shot 42.6% from the perimeter in her career).
Phelia may fit the role well at 6′ tall. While her three-point shooting isn’t quite at Garzon’s level, it shouldn’t be dismissed either. The Cincinnati native is 33.1% effective for her career, but has had one season above 40% (2022-23 with Michigan).
Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets will have to make up for the 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game that Tonie Morgan’s departure to Kentucky will take away. But just like Indiana, Georgia Tech may find the answer in Phelia.
Excluding 2024-25, in which she played only eight games with the Longhorns, Phelia had better scoring records than Morgan in the previous two seasons, 16.7 in 2022-23 and 16.8 in 2023-24, both with Michigan. Her records for assists and rebounds per game were also excellent in both seasons.
As if that weren’t enough, Georgia Tech also lost another guard (Rusne Augustunaite to Clemson), opening the door even wider for Phelia. The challenge will be to see if she can get back to her best.
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
Stefanie Ingram left FAU for USF after a season in which she averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point land. The Owls could find those numbers in Phelia, who averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 33.1 percent from the perimeter during her career.
University of South Florida (USF)
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Not to leave the Sunshine State, another option for Phelia could come from USF, which also lost one of its big guards in Vittoria Blasigh, who is on her way to Miami.
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