2 Northwestern Women's Basketball Standouts Declare for NCAA Transfer Portal

A pair of young Northwestern players are ditching the team this spring.

Oregon’s Katie Fiso, center, shoots between Northwestern’s Caroline Lau, left, and Tayla Thomas during the friar half at Matthew Knight Arena Jan. 1, 2026. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A pair of Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball players have already entered the NCAA transfer portal since the team hired former Princeton head coach Carla Berube to replace a departing Joe McKeown.

Per Kevin Yu of Roundtable, sophomore forward Tayla Thomas and freshman guard Angelina Hodgens have now left the friendly confines of Welsh-Ryan Arena for greener pastures.

Tayla Thomas, We'll Miss Ya

Losing Thomas is a big blow, but clearly she was ready to move on following an 8-21 run in 2025-26. A starter in 28 of her 29 games with Northwestern this season, the 6-foot-3 undergrad notched impressive averages of 9.7 points (on 43.9 percent shooting from the floor and 65.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe) and 7.2 boards this past season, plus 1.2 blocks, 0.9 dimes and 0.6 steals.

Fire us up, Tayla! 😤

Thomas cleans up her own miss! 'Cats on a 12-0 tear! pic.twitter.com/wyXTnJutlf

— Northwestern Women’s Basketball (@nuwbball) November 22, 2025

A scrappy forward out of East Orange, New Jersey, Thomas is likely looking for a more winning program after emerging as a keeper this year.

Untapped Upside for Hodgens?

Hodgens never cracked McKeown's rotation consistently, but she did produce when injuries forced McKeown's hand and gave her lineup minutes in December.

Angelina Hodgens with a wide open three 💥 @nuwbball

Subscribe/watch on B1G+ https://t.co/zZpCnwMQHQ pic.twitter.com/2xGhPRdilA

— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) November 15, 2025

The news of her exit last week may have been a bummer, but it wasn't altogether unexpected. Clearly, she's ready for her next opportunity — in a spot where she might be able earn more regular run.

The 5-foot-10 guard appeared in just 16 contests for the Wildcats this year, averaging a scant 1.7 points on .222/.167/.800 shooting splits and 0.9 rebounds.

Northwestern is also losing the best passer in the conference, 2024-25 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention senior point guard Caroline Lau, as she leaves college. So there are plenty of key roles to fill.

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