The Big Ten Freshman of the Year is looking elsewhere.
The transfer portal certainly makes the offseason more interesting. I’ll give it that. We learned yesterday that Purdue women’s basketball will be losing their star freshman forward Mary Ashley Stevenson to the transfer portal. Stevenson won freshman of the year for the Boilermakers after averaging 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in her first season with the Boilermakers.
#Purdue freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, a source tells Boiler Upload.
https://t.co/hhtjIWp1Ds pic.twitter.com/5zfToxvBCy
— Boiler Upload (@BoilerUpload) April 25, 2024
This is a tough blow for the Katie Gearlds led squad who will be without a player who was largely considered a building block and key future piece for the rebuilding Boilermakers. It must be maddening to be a coach in Gearlds’ position who has recruited a very good player, placed that player in the starting lineup, seen that player win accolades, and yet then see that player walk out the door.
This makes next year an even bigger question mark as Stevenson was the only returning starter from this seasons Boilermaker squad. Purdue lost the other four starters to graduation. Now, when the Boilermakers roll out for their first game next season the starting five will be brand new. Something that I can’t remember happening for a very long time, if ever, in the program’s history.
There is always a chance that Stevenson could pull her name from the portal and return, something that would be great news for the Boilermakers, but for right now the assumption is that she is gone. The rebuild for women’s basketball continues.