Ole Miss Women’s Basketball head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin spoke about the Lady Rebels’ 2026-27 transfer portal class in a press conference on Monday, April 27, at the Olivia and Archie Manning Athletics Performance Center.
McPhee-McCuin was recently named the “transfer portal queen” by The Athletic for her success in this portal window. She has signed nine new players, including two of ESPN’s Top 20 transfers this offseason: No. 7 Talaysia Cooper and No. 12 Jada Richard.
Last offseason, McPhee-McCuin also earned commitments from two ESPN top 20 transfers: No. 3 Cotie McMahon and No. 19 Latasha Lattimore.
The 2025-26 team landed at No. 21 in the final AP Poll, but the firepower from that team is gone. The squad featured seven seniors; this group contributed 82% of all scoring from last season. Three other players entered the transfer portal, including Sira Thienou. Lauren Jacobs and Desrae Kyles are the only returnees from last season, meaning McPhee-McCuin had a lot of work to do this offseason.
“I had seven seniors, so we had a lot of work to do even from there. (We) lost three in the portal and (had) two remaining,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I thought, as a staff, we did a phenomenal job. (I am) really happy with the class that we put together.”
The Lady Rebels reloaded with offensive juice. Transfers Cooper, Maya Anderson, Jade Tillman and Doneelah Washington were the leading scorers for their previous teams.
McPhee-McCuin and her staff worked to find players that fit Ole Miss’ style of play. Once the portal opened, she and her staff knew exactly the type of players they were looking for.
“We’re very intentional about what we need to do. We didn’t have to get a lot of surprises because we knew we were losing seven (players),” McPhee-McCuin said. “All during the season, we didn’t know the names, but we knew what we wanted to identify for each position, what we thought were missing (and) what we thought could make us better as far as depth is concerned.”
Commits landed almost immediately after the portal opened, which demonstrates the desirability of Ole Miss as a transfer destination. Cooper and Boise State transfer Emily Howard announced their commitments the day that the portal opened.
McPhee-McCuin noted that the biggest selling point of the program is its success rate with transfers, referring to the amount of players that choose to finish their careers as Lady Rebels.
Additionally, the post-college success of Ole Miss players indicates that the coaching staff builds up players and prepares them for the next level. In eight seasons with Ole Miss, McPhee-McCuin has coached five WNBA draft selections.
“I take great pride that now, GMs (general managers) and cultures are starting to see us as a place that develops pros,” McPhee-McCuin said.
