Kiki Iriafen announces transfer to USC

After entering the transfer portal earlier this month, junior forward Kiki Iriafen announced Saturday that she will transfer to USC.

Iriafen was arguably Stanford’s best player this past season, leading the Cardinal in scoring with 19.4 points per game while gathering 11 rebounds en route to winning the Katrina McClain award as the best power forward in the nation. Originally hailing from Los Angeles, Iriafen will join forces with burgeoning superstar JuJu Watkins, creating what’s becoming the most anticipated duo in women’s college basketball and immediately launching the Trojans into national championship contention.

Iriafen’s departure has left new head coach Kate Paye with a program forced into an identity shift. Along with departures from senior forward Cameron Brink and graduate guard Hannah Jump, Paye’s roster currently features no players who averaged double-digits last season. While many are hoping to see significant leaps from returning players like junior forward Brooke Demetre and sophomore guard Telana Lepolo, Paye will likely have to lean on her younger players to try and replace the lost production at both ends of the floor. Expect to see freshman forwards Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden, as well as the incoming freshman class, play big roles for Stanford moving forward. 

This next season will be a massive transition for the program. As the Cardinal look ahead towards their first season in the ACC, their first season without former head coach Tara Vanderveer, and with a roster that lost some of its most important pieces, Paye will have a challenging road ahead in order to bring the program back to the mountaintop.

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