Vanderbilt women’s basketball has momentum following its first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade in 2024.
The Commodores return four of their starting five from a year ago in Iyana Moore, Justine Pissott, Khamil Pierre and Sacha Washington, as well as key players Jordyn Oliver and Aga Makurat. Promising sophomore Madison Greene also returns after suffering a torn ACL in December.
Coach Shea Ralph bolstered that core in the offseason with two transfers and two freshmen. One of those freshmen, Mikayla Blakes, was considered a top 10 player in the class of 2024. Ralph also has a good history of transfers, including Ciaja Harbison, Marnelle Garraud, Oliver and Pissott.
Here’s how all the newcomers could contribute to the Commodores in 2024-25:
Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Incoming Transfers
Leilani Kapinus, Pennsylvania
Kapinus, a 5-foot-10 guard, is a shutdown defender who was twice named to the Big Ten defensive team. He can play multiple positions on the court; Although he has played more without the ball, he is also capable of handling the ball and facilitating the offense. Defensively, he has averaged 2.4 steals per game in his career.
As a scorer, Kapinus averaged 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game. He is efficient, shooting 58% from the field and 41% from three in 2024. He is best used as a secondary scoring option. Vanderbilt should be able to use it that way with high usage players like Iyana Moore and Khamil Pierre on the roster. He’s not a one-for-one replacement for Jordyn Cambridge, but he brings many of the same defensive skills with some scoring ability and versatility that Ralph values.
Jane Nwaba, Pepperdine
Nwaba was the best player on a Pepperdine team that was one of the worst in women’s college basketball in 2023-24. She led the team in scoring (10.7 points per game), rebounds (7.6), assists (2.8) and steals (1.3).
Although Nwaba’s high-level efficiency numbers weren’t great with the Waves (41.7% from the field and 22.2% from three), it stands to reason that playing on a better team with a lower usage rate will help Nwaba’s production. The Commodores probably won’t see her as a primary scoring option. He has similar abilities to Jordyn Oliver. Nwaba has the skills to play any 1-4 position, where she profiles as a secondary ball handler and rebounding specialist with some scoring ability who can guard multiple positions.
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Incoming Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Freshmen
Mikayla Blakes
The Commodores landed Blakes at several blue blood programs. She could start right away at point guard or Vanderbilt could make it easier for her by having her play off-ball alongside other veterans. She played in both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic and in those contests she demonstrated his smooth shooting as well as enough athleticism to have an impact on defense, often the most difficult part for a junior. first year.
Blakes should immediately take over one of the guard positions.
trinity wilson
Wilson is a strong and physical post player at 6-3. He scored over 1,000 points and had over 1,000 rebounds in high school, which speaks to his ability to make an impact both offensively and defensively.
Vanderbilt already has Sacha Washington, who projects to take up the bulk of the minutes at center, as well as sophomore Aiyana Mitchell. Because of that, Wilson may not see as much playing time right away, but he is a developmental prospect who could take on a much larger role when Washington graduates. For now, she might come off the bench to see when one of the other bigs is in foul trouble.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
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