Indiana Backcourt Stalwart Lexus Bargesser Has Entered The Transfer Portal

Lexus Bargesser played three seasons with the Hoosiers. The Indiana’s women’s basketball roster continues to transform in the offseason.

Indiana's Lexus Bargesser (1) shoots over Illinois' Genesis Bryant (1) and Kendall Bostic (44) during the Indiana versus Illinois women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The transfer portal is open, and a second Indiana women’s basketball player has decided to enter it to further her college basketball ambitions.

According to On3Sports, guard Lexus Bargesser entered the portal on Tuesday.

NEWS: Indiana’s Lexus Bargesser has entered the transfer portal, sources told @On3sports.

The 5-9 junior averaged 3.4 ppg this season.

TRACKER: https://t.co/StsxDxjlYl pic.twitter.com/Fm1RcKkqgP

— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) March 25, 2025

Bargesser played three seasons for the Hoosiers and was part of Indiana’s Big Ten regular season championship team in 2023.

Bargesser played a total of 90 games for the Hoosiers, starting nine of them, all during the 2023-24 season.

The Grass Lake, Mich., native averaged 3.3 points over her Indiana career. She made 45.7% from the field and converted 31% of her 3-point shots.

Bargesser peaked at 4.3 points and 21.6 minutes per game in 2024. Bargesser’s playing time slipped in 2025 to 17.4 minutes per game as the addition of Shay Ciezki allowed Indiana to have her play point in tandem with or in place of starter Chloe Moore-McNeil.

Bargesser played behind, and sometimes with, Moore-McNeil during her Indiana career. Bargesser was also versatile enough to spell Sydney Parrish in the lineup – as she did during the 2024 season when Parrish was injured.

Bargesser was a dependable defensive presence for the Hoosiers. She is one of the reasons Indiana ranked no lower than third in Big Ten scoring defense during her career.

The departure of Bargesser, and of Julianna LaMendola, who announced her intention to enter the portal on Tuesday, leaves Indiana with few experienced backcourt players to depend on.

Ciezki and Yarden Garzon return. Lenée Beaumont is also scheduled to return after missing the 2024-25 season with a knee injury.

Indiana is also bringing in point guard Neveah Caffey and wing player Maya Makalusky in its incoming freshman class. But it would be a surprise if Indiana coach Teri Moren wasn’t active in the portal to bolster Indiana’s backcourt.

Moren spoke to her priorities after Indiana’s second-round loss to South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. While she wasn’t speaking of backcourt players specifically, Indiana was undersized everywhere on the floor against some of its Big Ten opponents.

“I think with the addition of the four new teams from the West Coast, there's no doubt when I look at our team, we're going to have to get bigger. We'd like to get more athletic for sure,” Moren said Sunday.

“But the intangible things are still really important to me, and that's the high character piece. That's being about the team, not being about myself or yourself,” Moren continued. “We want competitors. We want kids that want to come in and work every single day. The willingness and the commitment that our staff has and pouring into those players and helping them develop as players is off the charts.”

“We'll continue with that recipe, because I feel like it has worked for us. But as the game has grown and continues to grow, we're going to have to grow with it,” Moren concluded.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• LAMENDOLA INTO PORTAL: Two-year Indiana guard Julianna LaMendola has entered the transfer portal. CLICK HERE.

• SOUTH CAROLINA USES BIG THIRD QUARTER TO BEAT INDIANA: The Gamecocks pulled away after halftime to end Indiana's season with a NCAA Tournament second round victory. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT MOREN SAID: Teri Moren's postgame thoughts on the loss and the 2025 season after it came to a close on Sunday. CLICK HERE.

• MOREN ON INDIANA'S BLACK JERSEYS: Teri Moren gives her thoughts on Indiana's alternate black jerseys. CLICK HERE.

• PARRISH, PAOPAO REUNITE: Indiana's Sydney Parrish and South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao reunite in the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE.

• MEISTER IS WHAT MARCH MADNESS IS ALL ABOUT: Indiana post player Lilly Meister had a tough Big Ten season, but her productive game against Utah is the kind of story March Madness is all about. CLICK HERE.