NCAA College Transfers: The Australian hoopers changing colleges in 2026
Young Aussie men and women are taking flight across the US to find a new college as their home. As of mid-June, 62 Australians have transferred in the 2026 portal with some huge names as the headline.
(Photo credit: FIBA.basketball)
The 2026-27 NCAA season is going to start before you know it. Australians continue making their mark across the United States, with next March Madness shaping up to feature even more Aussies than this year. At this juncture of the college calendar, young Australian hoopers trade out a month of American summer for a slice of Aussie winter, with some of those players returning to a different school.
The full list of college transfers is available at the bottom of this article, but first, let’s take a look at some of the more interesting themes playing out here.
Freshmen graduating
Really, this could easily be read as “2025 Under-19 World Cup representatives” graduating, with a slew of boys and girls changing deck after their freshman year. Bonnie Deas, Emilija Dakic and Sienna Harvey all transferred from good to great programs, with opportunities likely to match.
Dakic and Harvey will be meeting at the Iowa State Cyclones, a school that rose to notoriety on the back of Audi Crooks. Crooks followed the ever-growing theme in college basketball transferring to Oklahoma State after three years at Iowa State. A new dawn beckons for the Buckeyes with Dakic and Harvey having the ability to shape it.
The former spent her freshman year at the Florida Gators who went 18-15 and missed out on the tournament. Harvey’s Washington Huskies were 22-11 and won a game in March Madness before falling to Olivia Miles’ TCU Horned Frogs, which is also Somfai’s new home. Neither of Dakic or Harvey started last year, but they were in the rotation and gameplan in their respective situations.
Although Lara Somfai wasn’t part of that Gems team, it feels like she was, plus she very conveniently bolsters the argument. Somfai was an instant starter for the Stanford Cardinals. She averaged a near double-double as a freshman with 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, with a few tantalising statlines sprinkled throughout. It’s hard to go past her monster 15 point, 23 rebound, eight assist, five stocks (steals plus blocks) performance against Pitt in February.
Somfai raised the standard at Stanford as one of the most consistent contributors during a 21-14 season that didn’t include a March Madness berth. Opportunities have opened up at TCU after Miles and Marta Suarez were selected in the WNBA draft. The pair were top two in scoring and assists, as well as making up two of the top three in rebounds. These are massive holes that will need to made up by committee, but Somfai tracks to provide a bit of everything. Her passing game was not much of a feature last season, by design of the Stanford offence, but it would be welcomed at TCU. At 19-years-old, she might not be the biggest part of TCU’s rotation right away, but she’s found herself in the right ecosystem for the next three years.
Her roommate at the CoE, Bonnie Deas, is in the same situation having transferred from the Arkansas Razorbacks to the UCLA Bruins. The parallels don’t stop there, with each player notching 32 games, all as starters, and Deas a fraction behind in points and rebounds, at 10.2 and 9.0. The Razorbacks finished with a 12-20 record but Deas clearly did enough to get noticed by one of the biggest programs in the entire NCAAW.
UCLA went on a tear last year, going 37-1 en route to the NCAAW championship. They had six, count them, six players selected in the WNBA draft with five in the first round and the sixth coming at the start of the second round.
What’s true of both UCLA and TCU is that they have proven track records of developing world-class basketball players. If a player puts in the hours at either of those schools, the opportunities will come. Deas and Somfai have always appeared to be on track for a professional career with Deas already getting her start in the WNBL. Although that might have always seemed like the case for both, this step appears to be the most substantial in attaining that goal. Whether it’s in the WNBA, WNBL, Europe or anywhere in between, these two CoE roommates have set themselves on the path for greatness.
We haven’t even flipped to the Emus side of the coin yet.
(Photo credit: FIBA.basketball)
Emmett Adair, Luke Fennell, Jacob Furphy and Roman Siulepa found new homes with all of them ostensibly moving to bigger schools except for Furphy. He’s made the move from UConn to Boston College after a freshman year in which he had 14 appearances for 35 total minutes. Two of UConn’s starters clocked more than that in their final game of the season against Michigan, with a third starter one minute behind at 34.
It’s an interesting dynamic that has been playing out in college basketball over the past few seasons. Historically, hitching your wagon to a big, reputable program for your entire college career would set you up for a professional career. In recent times, however, players have opted to start at smaller schools for the opportunity to showcase their game and move to the bigger school after.
Where Furphy’s situation gets even more interesting is that Boston College just hired a new head coach, Luke Murray, who was an assistant at UConn with Furphy last season. Murray has been a longstanding assistant to Dan Hurley, one of the most successful college basketball coaches ever. He was with Hurley at three different stops with the past five seasons at UConn being the most potent by far. They rebuilt the college back into a powerhouse with Hurley attaining his five best win-loss records when Murray was copilot. This included three runs to the NCAA men’s final which UConn turned into two championships.
Now, Murray is in the chair and he’s bringing Furphy with him. The two will embark on a new chapter for Boston College together. Furphy might not burst out the gates this season but it’s safe to say he will see a consistent role on the team. However you want to chop it, Jacob Furphy will have one of the most intruiging stories in college basketball next season.
He and Siulepa were by far and away the most relied upon contributors for the Emus in the under-19 World Cup last year and the latter will make his way from Pitt to Ole Miss. Both of these schools have shortened their names from Pittsburgh and Mississippi due to lore that is well above the understanding and, frankly, care, of an Australian.
Siulepa was the third best contributor for a 13-20 Pitt team and was only outplayed by two seniors, both of whom have been invited to pre-NBA draft workouts by multiple teams. The future for Pitt looks challenging, but that isn’t Siulepa’s problem anymore. He put up 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while leading the team in offensive boards at 2.9. This would place him fifth in the ACC, two spots behind Cameron Boozer and three spots above Caleb Wilson, both of whom are touted in the infamous top-4 prospects in the 2026 NBA draft (ESPN, yahoo!, The Ringer, Tankathon, CBS, nbadraft.net, NBA Draft Room, honestly add anywhere you get your basketball news).
It’s great company to keep and hopefully a sign of things to come for Siulepa. Not only did Ole Miss have a better record than Pitt last year, they did so in a harder conference as the SEC had 10 features in March Madness while the ACC had eight. Siulepa was not only able to get reps in his freshman year as a starter, but he’s hardened by the level of competition he has been in.
Emmett Adair sits in his own category, which seems to be the case for a lot of the Aussie freshman class. He transferred from Loyola Chicago to George Mason, which is a substantial step up. Adair was in and out of the starting lineup throughout the year before commanding a starting spot for Loyola’s last 10 games of the season. The school went 12-20 as a whole and 4-6 in this last stretch. Adair would average 20 points on 47% from the field, 37% from deep and 95% from the free throw line in these games, garnering attention throughout the NCAA.
George Mason had a very good season last year but narrowly missed March Madness due to their play within the A-10 conference. The two schools who made it to the tournament were Saint Louis and VCU who both went on to win their first games in the tournament. Adair’s previous conference, the Patriot League, had one school (Lehigh) invited to the first four who lost, unable to clinch a berth.
This leaves Luke Fennell, who’s the perfect segue for another major theme in this transfer window.
Hawai’i and Saint Mary’s
Now, why would these schools heavily feature for Australian collegiate basketballers during the transfer window?
It’s great to see how substantial the roots are that have been planted within the NCAA/W. Of the transfers, the University of Hawai’i has three women moving on to bigger things and the Gaels have two. Each school has one man joining the fray.
Fennell is transferring from Syracuse to Saint Mary’s with shades of Furphy’s situation, minus the head coach moving. He joins Josh Dent and Rory Hawke who both notched minutes in March Madness last season, albeit in a loss. Harry Wessels also led Saint Mary’s last year but has since finished his college tenure. Flynn Pavely will join the Aussie barrage at Saint Mary’s as a freshman. The school, with a longstanding connection to Australia, is primed to return to March Madness. Fennell and co. will be tasked with making it out of the first round with an amended roster.
Bol Dengit transferred from UC San Diego to Hawai’i. He replaces Harry Rouhliadeff who was the captain at the college but now plies his trade with the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL. Hawai’i have long had an affinity to Aussies, which only grew stronger after appointing Patty Mills as their general manager last June.
Dengit keeps his own Australian connections up as he has played at a school with at least one other at every stop. Last year he was at UC San Diego with Erin Condron, albeit on the women’s side. Before that, Dengit spent two seasons with the Portland Pilots who have also become synonymous with Australia. As a freshman, he shared the court with Tyler Robertson who then graduated before the school added Max Mackinnon and Austin Rapp. All three of those players have risen in profile and Dengit has the opportunity to cease his moment as a senior with Hawai’i.
Foxwell and Wickstrom: What lies ahead?
Speaking of the Portland Pilots, they just came off one of the more interesting seasons in their history behind Joel Foxwell. He led the WCC in assists per game at 6.5 while leading Portland in scoring with 15.6 points. These are incredible numbers for a freshman but it should really come as no shock, considering he had already been signed to and played for Melbourne United in 2024.
He now makes the move to Arizona State in the Big 12. His role will look different at his new school with less of a demand to create for his team and for himself, allowing him to round out his overall game. In the NCAAW, Hannah Wickstrom is faced with a similar opportunity following her transfer.
Wickstrom’s 2025-26 NCAAW season will go down in Australian basketball history. She led the Big West conference in scoring at 23.4 points per game, which was good for fifth across the NCAAW. She outscored countless women who are now in the WNBA, granted they were in tougher conferences and sharing the court with other players who made it to the league.
She now sets her sights on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten where she will likely spend her last two college seasons. Both her and Foxwell will be players to keep tabs on as they enter situations where their roles will change and allow them to develop their games beyond being the main source of offence. This season for each of them could have implications for Opals and Boomers teams down the line.
Those are just a few of the storylines and dynamics to keep an eye on following the college transfer portal. There are a number of young Australians who are still within the portal and seeking a new opportunity, so this story is ever-evolving. And these are just the players who have transferred, it doesn’t mention the players staying with their teams or freshmen entering college for the first time.
NCAA women’s transfers
Jemma Amoore, IU Indy → Kentucky
Olivia Bradley, UCSB → Utah
Tabitha Betson, Colorado → Michigan State
Sophie Burrows, Syracuse → North Carolina
Layla-J Cameron, Tulsa → Central Arkansas
Lily Carmody, Boston College → Northwestern
Hannah Chicken, Portland State → Illinois State
Edie Clarke, Saint Mary’s → Clemson
Ella Collins, Hawai’i → Robert Morris
Georgia Cox, Evansville → East Carolina
Jada Crawshaw, Georgia Tech → Seton Hall
Emilija Dakic, Florida → Iowa State
Pania Davis, Florida State → USC
Bonnie Deas, Arkansas → UCLA
Jasmine Fearne, Bowling Green → Wright State
Kira-May Filemu, Hawai’i → CSUN
Harriet Ford, Duquesne → Richmond
Grace Foster, Utah → Boise State
Claire Fraser, Northern Colorado → Seattle
Hilary Fuller, Belmont → Oregon
Mia Galbraith, Texas State → Northern Colorado
Rubi Gray, Sacramento State → Fresno State
Sienna Grieger, Santa Clara → Cal Baptist
Sienna Harvey, Washington → Iowa State
Amelia Hobson, North Dakota State → FGCU
Phoebe Holmes, Xavier → North Alabama
Keira Hudson, New Mexico State → USC Upstate
Mia Jordan, Northern Kentucky → FAU
Isla Juffermans, Louisville → Charleston
Danijela Kujovic, Hawai’i → Long Beach State
Amy Kurkowski, Saint Mary’s → North Alabama
Makayla Minshall, UC Riverside → Queens
Liz Murphy, Akron → UT Arlington
Jess Petrie, Nebraska → Indiana
Madeline Potts, Syracuse → Saint Joseph’s
Shorna Preston, Pepperdine → FIU
Emmy Roach, Rider → Gonzaga
Jelena Savic, Evansville → Sacramento State
Lara Somfai, Stanford → TCU
Nikki Stanic, New Mexico State → Houston Christian
Malia Tharpe, San Diego → FIU
Hannah Wickstrom, UC Riverside → Purdue
NCAA men transfers
Emmett Adair, Loyola Chicago → George Mason
Truman Byrne, Central Arkansas → Lipscomb
Ryder Cheesman, Missouri State → WT
Nate Deer, Oakland → Canisius
Bol Dengit, UC San Diego → Hawai’i
Luke Fennell, Syracuse → Saint Mary’s
Joel Foxwell, Portland → Arizona State
Jacob Furphy, UConn → Boston College
Tasman Goodrick, Siena → Syracuse
RJ Greer, Davidson → UNCG
Joshua Hughes, Evansville → USC
Josh Ibukunoluwa, High Point → Bradley
Chol Machot, Charleston → Georgetown
Jesse McIntosh, South Dakota → William & Mary
Noah Pagotto, East Texas → Northern Kentucky
Roman Siulepa, Pitt → Ole Miss
Rex Stirling, Wofford → Jacksonville
Ben Tweedy, Colgate → Manhattan
Marcus Vaughns, LSU → Arizona State
Yaak Yaak, Oregon → New Mexico State