Women of Troy forward Vivian Iwuchukwu enters transfer portal
The Trojans lose nearly all of their frontcourt from last season to the portal.
Ahmad Akkaoui (247Sports.com) — It’s nearly a complete rebuild for USC and its frontcourt after sophomore Vivian Iwuchukwu announced her departure on Instagram and enters the NCAA transfer portal.
“To my sisters, teammates, my girls for life, thank you for all of the laughs, smiles and memories,” she said in an Instagram post. “The bonds we built mean everything to me and will last forever. With that being said, I’ve made the extremely difficult decision to enter the portal. My drive to keep improving and compete never changes, and I feel like this is the best step for me moving forward.”
The 6-foot-3 forward played in 31 games this season, starting 11 of them. She averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Iwuchukwu is the fourth player to confirm their departure from USC along with guard Malia Samuels (10), forward Dayana Mendes and center Yakiya Milton. Forward Gerda Raulsaityte has also been rumored to be on her way out, though that has not been confirmed.
Milton and Raulusaityte both transferred to USC last offseason, but neither were likely to get significant playing time next season. Milton came from Auburn, where she missed the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season with an injury. Meanwhile, Raulusaityte transferred from LCC International University as the 2024-25 Lithuanian Women’s Basketball League Most Valuable Player.
Milton never started in a game for the Trojans but averaged 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 7.1 minutes per game. Raulusaityte made 10 starts in 32 games and averaged 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.6 minutes per game.
Iwuchukwuarrived in Los Angeles as a part of the seven-member 2024 recruiting class that included guards Kennedy Smith, Kayleigh Heckel (now at UCONN), Avery Howell (pictured at UW), Rian Forestierand Brooklyn Shamblinplus fellow forward Laura Williams.
Lindsay Gottlieb‘s team finished 18-14 overall and ended the regular season in ninth place in Big Ten standings. The Women of Troy took a second-round exit from the conference tournament with a loss to Washington and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. They defeated Clemson in overtime in the first round then got sent home by No. 1 seed South Carolina, who played in the national championship game. Iwuchukwu played a combined 20 minutes in each of the three postseason games and scored her final two points as a Trojan in the blowout loss to the Gamecocks.
Expectations are high for USC’s 2026-27 season as superstar JuJu Watkins returns to the court for her fourth collegiate season, No. 1 overall prospect Saniyah Hall (2) and No. 10 prospect Sara Okeke both arrive on campus, though Okeke hasn’t signed with the Trojans yet, and the Women of Troy can add key pieces in the transfer portal to last season’s core that included Jazzy Davidson and Smith.
The Trojans could easily be a strong contender for Final Four contention next season. USA Today ranked USC as the No. 1 team in the nation going into the offseason in their “way-too-early 2026-27 top 10 rankings” on Sunday.
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College football transfer portal WR rankings (top 20): Cam Coleman (TEXAS), Nick Marsh (IU) top the list Sam Khan, Jr (The Athletic) — Receiver has typically been one of the deepest positions in the transfer portal, and this year was no different. The 2026 crop of transfer receivers includes some game changers at the top, but there’s plenty of depth and playmaking beyond the elite pass catchers. Like our previous position rankings, we constructed this list by accounting for players’ abilities, resumes and the impact they could make with their new teams in 2026. 6. Terrell Anderson (6-2, 220; two… Read more »
I think the transfer portal has actually helped both men’s and women’s basketball. The overall quality of teams has definitely improved IMO, and that’s because players are staying in college longer because of NIL and big-time compensation, and also because they can move to better teams very quickly through the portal, or profitably leave situations where they aren’t necessarily wanted that much anymore. If the USC women were stuck with all these disappointing players who are splitting after a totally mediocre season, our chances for a much better team next year would be greatly reduced. It’ll be interesting, and critical,… Read more »
USC is being consistently ranked in the top 20 for basketball next year. Mich St, Illinois and Michigan in the top 10. Purdue in the top 15.
Looks like a fun year for the Trojans.
“To my sisters, teammates, my girls for life, thank you for all of the laughs, smiles and memories,” she said in an Instagram post. “The bonds we built mean everything to me and will last forever. With that being said, I’ve made the extremely difficult decision to enter the portal. My drive to keep improving and compete never changes, and I feel like this is the best step for me moving forward.”
Iwuchukwu is the fourth player to confirm their departure from USC along with guard Malia Samuels (10), forward Dayana Mendes and center Yakiya Milton. Forward Gerda Raulsaityte has also been rumored to be on her way out, though that has not been confirmed.
Iwuchukwu arrived in Los Angeles as a part of the seven-member 2024 recruiting class that included guards Kennedy Smith, Kayleigh Heckel (now at UCONN), Avery Howell (pictured at UW), Rian Forestier and Brooklyn Shamblin plus fellow forward Laura Williams.
Expectations are high for USC’s 2026-27 season as superstar JuJu Watkins returns to the court for her fourth collegiate season, No. 1 overall prospect Saniyah Hall (2) and No. 10 prospect Sara Okeke both arrive on campus, though Okeke hasn’t signed with the Trojans yet, and the Women of Troy can add key pieces in the transfer portal to last season’s core that included Jazzy Davidson and Smith.
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College football transfer portal WR rankings (top 20): Cam Coleman (TEXAS), Nick Marsh (IU) top the list Sam Khan, Jr (The Athletic) — Receiver has typically been one of the deepest positions in the transfer portal, and this year was no different. The 2026 crop of transfer receivers includes some game changers at the top, but there’s plenty of depth and playmaking beyond the elite pass catchers. Like our previous position rankings, we constructed this list by accounting for players’ abilities, resumes and the impact they could make with their new teams in 2026. 6. Terrell Anderson (6-2, 220; two… Read more »
The transfer portal will have negative consequences to Women’s NCAA basketball. It has become the “one-and-done” syndrome on steroids.
I think the transfer portal has actually helped both men’s and women’s basketball. The overall quality of teams has definitely improved IMO, and that’s because players are staying in college longer because of NIL and big-time compensation, and also because they can move to better teams very quickly through the portal, or profitably leave situations where they aren’t necessarily wanted that much anymore. If the USC women were stuck with all these disappointing players who are splitting after a totally mediocre season, our chances for a much better team next year would be greatly reduced. It’ll be interesting, and critical,… Read more »
USC is being consistently ranked in the top 20 for basketball next year. Mich St, Illinois and Michigan in the top 10. Purdue in the top 15.
Looks like a fun year for the Trojans.
It’ll be very exciting to see JuJu come back. Just how spectacular will she be after all this rehab time off and dealing with her knee injury?