Where last season's WBB grads and transfers ended up

So I started putting this together in a more innocent time before the women’s basketball team lost 6 players to the portal, but here we are. I got curious how our grads and last year’s transfers were doing, so here is a quick rundown for each of them. 

Grads:

Naz Hillmon: Atlanta Dream (WNBA), Melbourne Boomers (Australia WNBL)

• In her 2nd season in the WNBA, Hillmon stuck with the Atlanta Dream, playing in all 40 games for them (13.5 minutes per game) and averaging 4.1 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game
• This offseason, she has been in Australia playing with the Melbourne Boomers and has been a star, starting all 24 games for them and leading the team in total points with 365. She averaged 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She is also trying to evolve her game as she went 8-20 from deep after attempting just 6 three pointers in her whole career at Michigan, making none of them. 
• Hillmon is in the 2nd year of a 3 year contract with the Dream, so she looks set to return for them this season

Leigha Brown: Connecticut Sun (WNBA), AE Sedis Bàsquet (Spain)

• Leigha Brown was drafted by the Atlanta Dream last season, then traded to Connecticut before the season began. She played in 25 games and averaged 5.2 points per game, mostly in garbage time. Brown was waived by the Sun on 5/5 and will be looking for another place to play basketball this season. 
• Brown was set to go play in Israel this offseason until the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out and the season got canceled. She did find another place to play in Spain with AE Sedis Bàsquet, where she has played in 20 games, averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. She also appeared in 4 games for Sedis during the Eurocup, though Sedis went out in the round of 16. 

Emily Kiser: AO Eleutheria Moshatou (Greece) 

• Emily Kiser was not drafted by the WNBA, but is still pursuing professional basketball in Greece with AO Eleutheria Moshatou. She appeared in 18 regular season and 8 Eurocup games for them, averaging 12.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, as well as 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the Eurocup. 

   

Transfers: 

Maddie Nolan: Colorado

• Maddie Nolan transferred to Colorado for her last year of eligibility and started 22 games on a team that made it to the Sweet 16 before falling to Iowa. She has returned to her three point shooting form this year after disappointing a bit last year, improving from 34.2% to 42.9% this year. On the year, she averaged only 6.6 ppg (2.5 less than last year), but was a large part of Colorado’s tourney run, starting all three games and averaging 11.7 ppg. 

Danielle Rauch: Clemson

• After working as a grad manager for Clemson last year, Danielle Rauch returned to the court this year for her final season of eligibility. Clemson finished 12th of 14 in the ACC and Rauch’s statistics don’t look much better as she is only averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 assists per game. Hopefully she’s enjoyed one last season as a player.

Ari Wiggins: Butler

• Ari Wiggins made a playing time transfer to Butler after last season. Wiggins has definitely gotten more time on the court, playing in all 32 of Butler’s games, starting 20 of them, and averaging 19 minutes per game. She averaged 4.5 points per game and led the team with 1.4 steals per game. Butler finished their season in the second round of the WNIT with a loss to Purdue. 

Kate Clarke: DePaul

• Kate Clarke also transferred out to find more playing time and has played in all 32 games, started 11 of them, and averaged 22.8 minutes per game. She is second on the team in three point percentage (34.4%), second only to Michelle Sidor. You may have seen a highlight of hers pop up in November when she scored 32 points (8-15 from deep) in a loss to Louisville in the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis, though she only scored 20 or more points three other times this season. DePaul did not make the postseason, but Clarke looks like she might round into a mid-major star who is hopefully not just a shooter.

Michelle Sidor: DePaul

• After sitting out last year at Michigan with an injury, Michelle Sidor transferred to DePaul for her last year of eligibility and played in all 32 games for them, starting 24 of them, and averaging 24.3 minutes per game. She shot 40.3% from deep and averaged 7.9 points per game.  

Izabel Varejão: Syracuse

• Izabel Varejão only played two years for Michigan after sitting out both the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, then transferred to Syracuse with two years of eligibility in her pocket. She started the season strong, but then suffered an undisclosed injury that held her out for most of December and all of January. She has appeared in 17 games and started 8 of them, averaging career highs in both points (5.2) and minutes (16.9) per game. Syracuse earned a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Arizona before losing to UConn in the round of 32.

Coaches Erin Batth and Valerie Nainima: Providence

• Erin Batth was an assistant for one year at Michigan before taking over the head coaching job at Providence and taking Valerie Nainima with her. Providence finished 13-21 this year, 8th in the Big East, and lost in the second round of the WNIT to Colgate. Their star player is Olivia Olsen, who is not Olivia Olson the incoming Michigan freshman. 

Ariel Atkins: Washington Mystics (WNBA), USA basketball

• Atkins is back with the Mystics this year for her seventh season in the WNBA. She was also a part of Team USA’s Olympic Qualifying Roster for 2024, though the official roster for the Olympics has not been announced yet. She won gold with Team USA at the 2020/21 Olympics, so her longevity on the team would point to another roster spot this summer. 
• Here is a nice article about her at The Next: How coaching at Michigan is helping Ariel Atkins lead the Washington Mystics