Kim Mulkey Sends Message to Former LSU Players Who Entered NCAA Transfer Portal

LSU Tigers coach Kim Mulkey got honest about her former players entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Mar 27, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey talks with media during an NCAA Tournament practice session at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

Potentially losing players to the NCAA transfer portal each season has become an unavoidable reality for every college athletics program, regardless of the sport, given the country's current NIL landscape.

However, the LSU Tigers women's basketball team has been hit pretty hard since their 2024-25 campaign ended. Five players from last season's roster have entered the NCAA transfer portal, some of whom were key components to Kim Mulkey's squad advancing to the Elite Eight.

While Mulkey has also added transfers (with more perhaps still to come), one would imagine that losing five players in whom she has invested time, energy, and money would bother the legendary coach. But she conveyed this wasn't the case during an April 23 interview with WAFB9 Sports.

"I don't have animosity, I don't have anger toward any of these players. What I want for them is happiness," Mulkey said of her former players who have transferred. "Now, do I believe in my heart of hearts that you're gonna be any happier somewhere else? Maybe if you get more playing time. But as you see, not just at LSU but across the country, starters are transferring, All-Americans are transferring.

"So the reasons young people transfer and get in the portal now can be anywhere from money, to playing time, to 'I just graduated and need a change.' There is no finite reason why it's happening. But it's here," she added. "And as I said, we'd better adapt or die. So, for every player we lose, you hate it, but you bring somebody in. And my philosophy on that is bring in players that can help you continue to be relevant in women's basketball.

"We feel like we're gonna do that, and we're not done yet," Mulkey concluded.

"I don't have animosity. I don't have anger towards any of these players. What I want for them is happiness." @LSUwbkb @KimMulkey sat down with @WAFB9Sports for an extensive one-on-one interview Tuesday addressing many subjects, including #LSU players that entered the portal.… pic.twitter.com/ZZj8eB58Rj

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) April 23, 2025

Respect to Mulkey for understanding the transfer portal's current nature and wishing the best for her ex-players.