Second Purdue Women's Basketball Forward Planning to Enter Transfer Portal
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A second Purdue forward plans to enter the transfer portal, according to a report from On3's Talia Goodman. Kendall Puryear, who spent two years with the Boilermakers, will explore her options outside of West Lafayette.
Puryear is the second Boilermaker planning to enter the transfer portal, per On3. The other is fellow sophomore forward Lana McCarthy. Both will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Puryear played in 30 games for the Boilermakers during the 2025-26 season, making 14 starts. She averaged 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the floor.
In two seasons in West Lafayette, Puryear appeared in 59 games and made 15 starts. She tallied 407 points and 205 rebounds in those two years.
Puryear and McCarthy split time starting at the forward position for the Boilermakers. The frontcourt was a position of depth this past season, having those two and 6-foot-7 freshman Avery Gordon in the post.
With both Puryear and McCarthy expected to enter the portal, coach Katie Gearlds and her staff will have to look to the portal to help improve its frontcourt situation for the 2026-27 campaign. Right now, Gordon is the only post player expected to return.
The Boilermakers concluded the 2025-26 season with a 13-17 record, reaching the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at the end of the season.
Purdue replacing at least three players
When the 2025-26 season concluded, Gearlds knew she would have to replace at least one player, with Madison Layden-Zay's eligibility up.
With both McCarthy and Puryear planning to enter the portal, that brings the total up to three players. The transfer portal doesn't open until April 6, so there could be more players who decide to enter in the coming weeks.
Purdue is bringing in three recruits in its 2026 recruiting class, all international players: Maya Zilbershlag, Keona Douwstra and Katarina Sediva.
Zilbershlag shined for Israel's U18 team during the 2025 EuroBasket, which was played in July. She led the event in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game and shot 35.7% from the floor. The skilled guard also averaged 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
Douwstra was actually a member of Purdue's 2025 recruiting class, alongside Gordon and Hila Karsh. However, she reclassified and will now join the Boilermakers for the 2026-27 campaign.
Sediva comes to Purdue as a 6-foot-1 guard/forward. She participated in the Women's U20 EuroBasket with Slovakia in 2025, averaging 10.8 points and 8.2 boards per game. She also played in the U18 EuroBasket and put up even better numbers, scoring 12.4 points, collecting 11.3 boards and dishing out 3.4 assists per contest.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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