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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