Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 49 Kayla Williams

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear.

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown:

49. Kayla Williams

Sport: Basketball

Arrival year at Cal: 2024 (2024-2025 season)

Previous schools: USC

Contributions at Cal:

—Williams was an astute addition by Cal head coach Charmin Smith because Williams was not a major contributor in her final season at USC, where she averaged 10.8 minutes and 2.6 points per game without making any starts. But she proved to be the perfect point guard for Cal and the Bears’ style, which depended on a fast-paced tempo and perimeter shooting.

---Williams pushed the pace at Cal, speeding up the game to Cal’s liking, and that helped Cal to a 25-9 season in 2024-25, their Bears’ best record in 12 years while earning their first NCAA tournament berth since 2019.

---Williams was basically a complementary player on a Cal team loaded with scoring potential. But she still managed to average 11.1 points while hitting a team-best 38.8 percent of her three-point shots (50-for-129). She led the team in assists at 3.9 per game.

---Williams was the key person in Cal’s pressure defense, leading the team in steals with 56.

Standout performance: In a road game against a Gonzaga team that would finish with 24 wins, Williams scored 25 points, made 4-of-6 three-point shots and added six assists and four steals in an impressive 86-65 Cal victory on November 14, 2024. That Cal win ended Gonzaga’s 37-game home winning streak. “Kayla sets the tone for us defensively,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said after the game.

Impact on his team: Cal would not have had its outstanding 2024-25 season without Williams and her ability to push the pace at both ends of the court. She was the best three-point shooter by percentage on a Cal team that led the ACC in three-pointers made that season. Her quickness on defense was critical to Cal’s success.

Previously on our list:

No. 50: Georgia Hunter Bell

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