Ranking Colorado Buffaloes Top-Two Biggest Transfer Portal Needs

Following an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Colorado Buffaloes are looking to continue their upward trajectory under coach JR Payne. Even with success, there are some areas Colorado could look to improve. So here are a few key areas the Buffaloes could try to find answers to in the transfer portal.

1. Front Court Depth

Ranking Colorado Buffaloes Women's Basketball Biggest Needs in Transfer Portal Front Court Depth Bench Scoring Big 12 — Mar 7, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia guard Sydney Shaw (5) gets set for a throw in against Colorado Buffaloes forward Jade Masogayo (14) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images | Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

The Buffaloes are slated to lose most of their depth in the front court with forwards Jade Masogayo and Anaelle Dutat graduating, in addition to forward Tabitha Betson and center JoJo Nworie leaving the transfer portal.

This leaves freshman forward Logyn Greer as the lone returner in Colorado’s front court who has significant experience from the 2025 season.

Masogayo was one of the Buffaloes' most important players on the interior as she was third on the team in rebounds per game, averaging 4.9, and was tied for second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game. Her versatility to contribute on offense and defense is something the Buffaloes will miss and must replace for 2026.

Dutat was also crucial for Colorado as she was the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. She added 8.6 points per game on the offensive end as well. With the loss of Dutat’s rebounding and offensive contributions, Colorado must find a replacement.

As she leaves in the transfer portal, Betson was a great frontcourt piece for the Buffaloes with averages of 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Betson was a solid contributor for Colorado, and her departure will force Payne to find a replacement who can be consistent at both ends to maintain the frontcourt presence Betson provided.

Lastly, Nworie has also entered the portal and has a limited role as she played in just 14 games and averaged 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. The loss of Nworie is not a major one, but it could benefit Colorado to find a young center to develop and potentially carve out a significant role in the front court.

With the graduating seniors and transfer portal activity, the Buffaloes have lost significant players who had starting roles and provided depth on the interior, which has become a major need for Payne to fill through recruiting from the high school level and in the transfer portal.

It will be interesting to see if Payne prioritizes quality or quantity for this need and how much she relies on the transfer portal versus high school recruiting. Regardless of what she decides, Payne should be able to find the frontcourt players she needs to help Colorado get back to the NCAA Tournament during the 2026-27 season.

2. Bench Scoring

One of the more important players for Colorado was guard Desiree Wooten, who constantly came off the bench and provided great scoring at 13.4 points per game, which led the team in 2025.

Wooten had solid efficiency as a scorer, as she shot 38.0 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from behind the arc, and 71.1 percent from the free-throw line. Finding a scorer who can score at all three levels is very difficult to do, and with Wooten entering the transfer portal, Colorado will have to embrace that challenge head-on.

The Buffaloes could either approach this need by adding a few players to create that volume of scoring, or find one player who has a similar skillset in the portal to step right in to replace Wooten and leave other roster spots open.

Wooten was also one of Colorado's best playmakers as she averaged 2.6 assists per game, which led the team last season. Wooten’s scoring, in addition to her playmaking, is what made her so important for the Buffaloes and why she could be very hard to replace.

There is not one approach that would give Colorado and Payne exactly what they need to replace Wooten. Finding the scoring and playmaking they need has to come from finding players who were productive last season and have a desire to play in a conference like the Big 12 next season.

Replacing Wooten will be one of Payne’s harder tasks this offseason, and if she wants to help the Buffaloes climb the Big 12 standings and get back to the NCAA Tournament, this is one area Payne has to get right for 2026.

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