Report: Louisville Guard Payton Verhulst Enters Transfer Portal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In a bit of a stunning move, Louisville women’s basketball guard Payton Verhulst has entered the transfer portal, according to a report from the Associated Press' Mitchell Northam. She did not make the trip to the Cardinals' Sunday road matchup at Middle Tennessee.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore had played in every one of Louisville's eight games up to this point of the season, all in a reserve role. She averaged 6.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, while also shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 20.8 percent on three-point attempts. She had recently scored a career-high 16 points in Louisville's 100-37 victory over Longwood on Nov. 25.
With Kianna Smith declaring for the 2022 WNBA Draft and Chelsie Hall graduating, Verhulst's role on the current team was expected to take a major uptick. But with the offseason additions of transfers Morgan Jones and Chrislyn Carr, as well as the retention of Mykasa Robinson, Verhulst has averaged 15.1 minutes per game.
The De Soto, Kan. native came to to Louisville as their highest-ranked recruit in the 2021 recruiting cycle. She was a consensus top-15 prospect, and was ranked as high as the No. 8 overall by PASS. During her freshman campaign last season, she averaged 3.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game, getting named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in the process.
Fresh off of a Final Four run, Louisville has surprisingly struggled over the first month of the 2022-23 season. Entering their matchup against Middle Tennessee, the Cardinals sport a 5-3 record - the first time since the 2015-16 season that they have collected three losses in the month of November.
(Photo of Payton Verhulst: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)
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