As college sports players all over the country enter the transfer portal looking for new opportunities, the Maryland Terrapins expect changes.
Maryland women’s and men’s basketball have a combined 52-17 record; men’s with a 27-9 record and women with a 25-8 record. As both rosters are stacked with talent from top to bottom, the key names, besides a few for both rosters, are transfers.
Maryland basketball is highlighted by two transfers, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice. Gillespie is originally from Tennessee and committed to Belmont in 2021. Gillespie transferred to Maryland ahead of the 2024-2025 season. He made a huge impact for the Terps as he averaged 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
Rice went to Dematha for high school and also committed to Virginia Tech in 2021. He transferred to Maryland ahead of the 2024-2025 season. Rice, the other half of the backcourt, averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. After reaching the sweet 16 this year, tragedy struck when Maryland head coach Kevin Williard took a job at Villanova.
Williard left, following Athletic Director Damon Evans, who went to Southern Methodist University. Willard’s leaving sparked Gillespie and Rice’s transfer, among others. Gillespie returned to his hometown and committed to the University of Tennessee. Rice is still pending his options, but his top three are Maryland, Tennessee, and Villanova.
Maryland women’s basketball team, led by Brenna Freese, has been a consistent powerhouse. The Terps are led by three key transfers, Kaylene Smikle, Saylor Poffenbarger, and Allie Kubek. Smikle, the leading scorer committed to Rutgers in 2022 and then transferred to Maryland 2024, averaged a huge 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Poffenbarger transferred twice: she committed to the University of Connecticut and then transferred to Arkansas after the 2021-2022 season. Following redshirting for two years, she committed to Maryland in 2024.
Poffenbarger has almost averaged a double-double with 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Kubek stayed in Maryland, committing to Towson at first and then transferring to Maryland in 2022. Poffenbarger averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. Freese and the Terps look to continue their consistently good seasons.
The men’s basketball team has recently hired Head Coach Buzz Williams from Texas A&M. A&M was consistently in the AP poll last season, being a top-20 team. In order to replace leaving players, it is important to have a head coach so players know who they are transferring for. Since Williams joined the Terps, two players have followed him in the portal: Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington. Washington was a former five-star and looks to drastically improve as he has only averaged 4,7 points and 6.4 rebounds. Payne was a star in the tournament for the Aggies, averaging around 26 points a game, when only averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. Hopefully, Williams continues his past and leads the Terps to another wonderful season.
