USF women’s basketball loses four players to transfer portal
Since the Bulls were squashed in the first round of the NCAA tournament, they’ve suffered transfer portal losses that left their roster frail.
Four South Florida players chose to jump ship while others’ time at USF has expired. Looking forward to the 2025-26 season, the Bulls have eight players left on their roster.
Related: USF women’s basketball’s NCAA tournament run crushed by Tennessee
Since the loss, four Bulls entered the transfer portal: senior forward Romi Levy, sophomore guard Vittoria Blasigh, freshman guard Amy Thompson and junior forward Jeniffer Silva.
Blasigh committed to Miami after averaging 11.9 points per game as a Bull.
The window for transfers will be open for just under a month from March 25 to April 23.
The Bulls have also lost cornerstone pieces, such as graduate guard Sammie Puisis and graduate guard Mama Dembele, who have both run out of NCAA eligibility.
Puisis, the Bulls’ leading scorer, finished the season averaging 15.2 points. Puisis held six individual season highs for the Bulls, including a season-high 34 points in a 80-70 win over Memphis.
When asked to reflect on her season, Puisis was visibly emotional.
“I’m so glad I was able to come back,” Puisis said after the loss to Tennessee. “This year was special.”
Dembele often commanded the Bulls on both sides of the floor, leading the Bulls in assists while also taking home the AAC Defensive Player of the Year award.
Related: USF’s Mama Dembele, L’or Mputu receive conference awards
Even with the loss of four players, the Bulls navigated a similar situation just last year. USF lost five of their players to the transfer portal and added just three, one of them being Dembele.
Entering Fernandez’s 26th season, the Bulls roster currently has eight players listed.
Senior forward Carla Brito remains on the Bulls roster after her MVP performance in the AAC tournament.
Through three tournament games, Brito averaged 14.3 points and 10.6 rebounds on her way to her first AAC title.
Other notable returning Bulls include graduate forward L’or Mputu and sophomore guard Raina Tomasicka.
Mputu was a vital player for USF, hauling in 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 points per game through 34 games played. Mputu took home the AAC Most Improved Player award for her efforts.
As for Tomasicka, the sophomore guard only averaged 5.4 minutes through 27 games and started in zero.
However, Tomasicka could be expected to take on a bigger role as one of only two rostered guards in the absence of Dembele and Puisis.
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