TCU Women's Basketball Portal Class Brings Youth, New Look to Fort Worth

The transfer portal is now closed for women’s college basketball.

Over the past two weeks, TCU women’s basketball made several moves to bolster its roster after losing eleven players - seven to graduation and four through the transfer portal - from a team that won the Big 12 Conference regular season title and made an Elite Eight appearance.

It’s possible the Horned Frogs could add a few more players in the coming days, but players are not allowed to enter the portal after Monday outside of a few exceptions, like a coaching change.

TCU’s five-player portal class looks a little different from the last three classes head coach Mark Campbell has brought to Fort Worth since arriving on campus in March 2023. It features three rising sophomores and two rising juniors, rather than the graduate-student- and senior-laden classes of past seasons.

However, it is a very talented class with a bright future ahead, and, given Campbell’s track record, each player should take significant steps forward next season.

As a reminder, here’s the incoming transfer portal class with their class year listed for the upcoming 2026-27 season:

Lara Somfai, 6-3, Forward, Sophomore, Stanford

Jadyn Wooten, 5-6, Guard, Junior, Oklahoma State

Lanie Grant, 5-9, Guard, Junior, North Carolina

Avery Hjelmstad, 6-1, Guard, Sophomore, Utah

Bella Hines, 5-10, Guard, Sophomore, LSU

Young Promising Talent

Campbell brought in a guard-heavy class to fit with his pick-and-roll offense. Junior Clara Silva returns as the starting centerpiece down low and now has a new frontcourt mate in Somfai.

Somfai averaged nearly a double-double last season (10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds per game) and will help stretch the floor with her 3-point shooting ability. The other valuable thing she brings is experience with 32 starts during her freshman season at Stanford. Grant is the only other portal pickup who started multiple games at her previous school, North Carolina, with 29 last season and two as a freshman. Hjelmstad logged one start at Utah.

Experience has been a hallmark of past TCU transfer portal classes.

In last season’s class, four of the six players - Olivia Miles, Marta Suarez, Veronica Sheffey and Kennedy Basham - combined for 290 starts at their previous schools.

The 2024-25 class, headlined by Hailey Van Lith, brought in a similar wealth of experience. Van Lith alone had 134 starts, Taylor Bigby had 18, Maddie Scherr added 55, and Donovyn Huner started 34 games as a freshman at Oregon State. That doesn’t even take into account the starts racked up by Madison Conner, Sedona Prince, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu during the 2023-24 season at TCU and their prior stops.

Veteran leadership defined those classes, and that got TCU into the national conversation. This group is more about building for the future with young, promising talent while still competing at a high level.

Somfai, Hjelmstad, and Hines were top-50 ranked prospects coming out of high school in 2025 and showed flashes of their potential last season.

Somfai earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors and was a top-20 transfer portal recruit. She was born in Hungary, later moved to Australia and graduated from IMG Academy in Florida.

TCU womens basketbal — Louisiana State Tigers guard Bella Hines (3) is defended by Oklahoma Sooners guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) Friday, March 6, 2026, during the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Louisiana State Tigers 112-78. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hines arrived at LSU from Eldorado High School in New Mexico and gradually increased her playing time as the season progressed. She logged at least 15 minutes in seven of the last 10 games as the Tigers made a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, Hines appeared in 33 of 35 games and shot 45% from the field, including 37% beyond 3-point range, while taking a team-high 28 charges on defense.

Hjelmstad remained a steady rotational piece for the Utes, averaging 14 minutes per game over 31 games. She could emerge as a reliable shooting threat, as evidenced by her 53% shooting average (45% from three) during a four-year high school career at Edmond (Oklahoma) Memorial.

These three rising sophomores will likely take on bigger roles at TCU, which will cause growing pains, but they can become elite players under Campbell’s guidance.

Grant and Wooten have already proven their mettle at the collegiate level.

Despite the lack of starts at Oklahoma State, Wooten has played in high-pressure situations. She averaged nearly 28 minutes per game last season, dished out 5.3 assists, and shot 49% from the floor as the Cowgirls made the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Grant became the Tar Heels’ go-to 3-point shooter en route to a Sweet 16 appearance last season, shooting 41.9% (71-of-172) from beyond the arc. That mark ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Wooten and Grant will form a dynamic backcourt duo while running Campbell’s offense. Their leadership could also shape this team as they are the oldest players on the roster according to class year alongside Silva.

As of right now, the Horned Frogs’ 10-player roster does not have any seniors following the departures of Hunter and forward Aaliyah Roberson through the transfer portal.

Silva, Wooten, and Grant will be juniors in the fall, while guard Clara Bielefeld, who became an important role player for TCU last season, joins Somfai, Hjelmstad, and Hines in the sophomore classification. Center Sarah Portlock redshirted last season and will technically be a redshirt freshman even though she has been on campus for a year.

TCU has rounded out the current roster with incoming freshmen Jessie May-Hall, a 5-8 point guard from Australia, and 6-5 center Laura Vilcinskas from Belgium. May-Hall and Vilcinskas bring international experience and could play right away.

Youth Will Show, but So Will the Growth

Even with all the varied experiences, this team’s youth will show at times next season. Team and individual growth will be much more noticeable. There could be a few more bumps along the way, too, but this team can keep the Horned Frogs amidst the top of the Big 12 standings.

Now, just how far they can go in the NCAA Tournament will be determined by their progress during the season.

NCAA Tournament Experience

After two straight Elite Eight appearances, postseason expectations remain high for TCU. The players behind those runs had extensive NCAA Tournament experience, and were very familiar with win-or-go home situations.

Van Lith became the first player in NCAA history to take three different teams to the Elite Eight while guiding the 2024-25 team. That same squad had Conner and Emma-Nnopu, who played on the two teams in the 2021 national title game. Emma-Nnopu’s Stanford team beat Conner and the Arizona Wildcats. Prince had several NCAA games under her belt from her time at Oregon.

Last year had a similar feel as the active roster yielded 33 games of tournament experience.

This squad, as currently constructed, has 19 tournament games under its belt. Silva and Grant combined for 10 of those games, while Hines, Wooten, and Bielefeld have three each.

Looking even closer at those numbers, Bielefeld racked up 26 total minutes during TCU’s Elite Eight run, with all but one minute coming in the first two rounds. Hines played 45 total minutes in the first two rounds, and seven during LSU’s Sweet 16 game against Duke.

Wooten, Grant and Silva averaged 20 or more minutes per game in their tournament appearances.

Expecting another deep tournament run could be a tall task for this squad, partially because they lack the tournament experience of past TCU teams. March 2027 is a ways off, though. This team will have plenty of time to gel, and could hit its peak at the exact right moment.

The Horned Frogs are also defending back-to-back Big 12 Conference titles. That’s a big weight for a young team, especially when you look at other portal movements within the conference.

Big 12 Portal Moves

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State signed arguably one of the best transfer portal classes this offseason after nine players entered the portal. Former Iowa State center and All-American Audi Crooks was the latest signee, but that talent boost is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Cowgirls signed Crooks, the top portal recruit, and the No. 2 portal recruit Liv McGill out of Florida. McGill earned First-Team All-SEC and All-American honors while averaging 22.5 points on 43% shooting, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

Talexa Weeter, the Division 2 player of the year at Fort Hays State, is going to Stillwater this year alongside All-Big 12 Freshman guard LA Sneed from Utah, Rutgers' top 3-point shooter Nene Ndiaye, and a First-Team All-OVC guard Ellie Brueggemann out of Lindenwood.

Oklahoma State has finished in the top four of the conference standings the last two seasons and seems to be positioning itself for a run at the title with this new group. Usually, the Cowgirls run a fast-paced, guard-heavy offense, so it will be interesting to watch how Crooks fits into that system.

TCU — Iowa State Cyclones' center Audi Crooks (55) shoots the ball over Oklahoma State Cowgirls forward Achol Akot (11) during the second quarter in the senior day women basketball at Hilton Coliseum on February. 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia, last year’s Big 12 regular season runner-up and tournament champion, lost some key pieces due to graduation in guard Jordan Harrison and forward Kierra Wheeler, but filled some gaps through the portal. UCF center Khyala Ngodu came aboard after averaging 27 minutes, 10.8 points on 48.5% shooting, seven rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game in 2025-26. The Mountaineers also picked up former five-star prospect Nylah Wilson from the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Baylor Bears

Baylor should remain a contender as it does every season, despite several players finishing their collegiate careers, and keep an eye on Texas Tech. The Red Raiders did lose Bailey Maupin, the program’s fourth-best scorer all-time (1,825 points), but they have recruited well. Guard Kiki Smith from Purdue brings a scoring mentality, and the Red Raiders have yet to play 7-1 center Stephanie Okechukwu, who joined the team in January.

The Big 12 is usually one of the toughest conferences in the country, and that should really test this young TCU team. Those battles can benefit the Horned Frogs now and for years to come as they continue building an elite program.

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