Virginia added Hawa Doumbouya, Latasha Lattimore, Rylee Grays, and Casey Valenti-Paea (left to right) from the transfer portal.
This Virginia women’s basketball season showed signs of a promising future. The Cavaliers secured their first postseason appearance and win since 2018, had four ranked victories, and set a program record for most season tickets sold. Plus, leading scorer Kymora Johnson was just a freshman but earned All-ACC Second Team honors.
As UVA coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton and her staff prepare for next season, the Hoos have been active in the transfer portal. Here’s a quick recap.
Outgoing
The Cavaliers are losing a host of players in the transfer portal. Mir McLean will be playing for Maryland next season after missing all of 2023-24 due to knee surgery rehabilitation. In the 2022-23 season, McLean appeared in 15 games, starting in 13 of them. She averaged 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds. Her strong interior presence will certainly be missed by the Hoos.
Fellow seniors Kaydan Lawson and Alexia Smith also entered the transfer portal, with Smith committing to Oklahoma State. Lawson appeared in 78 games across the last three seasons for Virginia. After a solid junior season where she started in 18 games, averaging 5.6 and 4.5 rebounds, her numbers took a slight dip this year. She finished the season averaging 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. Smith arrived at Virginia in 2022 after two years at Minnesota. This past season, she averaged 4.1 points, 2.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. She could play a more prominent role on an Oklahoma State team that finished 14-16 last year.
Finally, fan-favorite Cady Pauley will be leaving Charlottesville and is heading to Missouri State. It’s hard to forget the back-to-back 3-pointers she hit against Clemson in Virginia’s “Play for Kay” game. Pauley averaged 3.5 points this past season on just 10.3 minutes.
Incoming
While several players have left the program, Virginia has brought in four transfers from the portal.
The first transfer Coach Mox got from the portal was Hawa Doumbouya. The rising sophomore is a center from Maryland who appeared in 13 games for the Terps. She played just 3.4 minutes per game, but still averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds. At 6’7”, Hawa brings good size and a strong presence in the post to this Virginia team. She also has three years of eligibility left, meaning the UVA staff has time to develop Hawa.
Another rising sophomore coming to Virginia next year is forward Rylee Grays. The North Carolina transfer ranked 90th in the 2023 recruiting class. In one year with the Tar Heels, she appeared in just five games off the bench. With Kymora Johnson and Olivia McGhee already on the team, Virginia now has three players from the top 100 of the 2023 recruiting class. Like Hawa, Grays still has three years of eligibility.
The third transfer joining the Cavaliers next season is Latasha Lattimore from Miami. Unlike the first two transfers, Lattimore has tons of experience at the college level. She started at Texas, where she appeared in 32 games as a freshman, before transferring to Miami. An injury kept her sidelined for most of her sophomore season (2022-23), but as a junior this past year, Lattimore averaged 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds. The 6’4” forward adds good experience to a pretty young Virginia roster.
Finally, Virginia announced the addition of Casey Valenti-Paea as well. The fourth transfer in the group, she too logged a lot of experience last season when she started 32 games at Long Beach State. She averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. She shot 37.9% from 3-point range and 84.9% at the free throw line. The 5’9” Australian guard spent her first two seasons at Buffalo where a knee injury limited her to 6 games and a redshirt season.
