Louisville women's basketball roster 2023-24: Projecting Jeff Walz's starters next season
Louisville’s 2023-24 women’s basketball team will look very different from the season prior.
After losing Hailey Van Lith to LSU and other key players to graduation, only three players have on-court experience in a Cardinals jersey, two of which were starters in Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris. Both helped Louisville reach the Elite Eight for the fifth time in as many NCAA tournaments.
U of L head coach Jeff Walz, who did not sign a high school recruit from the Class of 2023, filled the openings on the roster by bringing in five players through the NCAA transfer portal after the 2022-23 season ended.
Because of the large turnover the Cardinals had following the 2022-23 season, they’ll need all of their incoming players to contribute right away. Here’s an early look at the projected starters for the upcoming year:
Jayda Curry, Guard
After leading California in scoring as a starter for the past two seasons, Curry comes to Louisville looking to expand her game by taking on the point guard position. And the Cardinals need that with Mykasa Robinson gone. Curry, 5-foot-6, had some experience at the position with the Golden Bears and was second on the team and 10th in the Pac-12 with 3.5 assists per game.
From Cal to Cardinal: Jayda Curry adds scoring to U of L roster after offseason turnover
C.L. Brown: Hailey Van Lith made basketball decision, and the right call, in leaving Louisville
Sydney Taylor, Guard
In her final season at Massachusetts, the 5-9 Taylor averaged 16.1 points per game and shot 38.5% from 3-point range, which ranked 55th in the country last year and is the highest of anyone on the current Cardinals roster. Her experience as a two-year starter and her shooting will be key in the absence of Chrislyn Carr, who was the team’s best 3-point shooter last season.
Kiki Jefferson, Guard
Jefferson, a three-year starter, adds both to Louisville’s scoring and rebounding after averaging 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds last year at James Madison. The 6-1 guard had nine double-digit rebounding performances and shot 42.9% from the field.
Nyla Harris, Forward
The rising 6-2 sophomore proved her mettle by earning a full-time starting spot with eight games left in the regular season, ending her collegiate debut with 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
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Olivia Cochran, Forward
Despite being undersized, the 6-3 Georgia native started every game last season and was a steady force inside the paint for the Cardinals as their leading rebounder with 6.5 boards per contest to go along with shooting 50% from the field for an average of 8.4 points per game.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville women's basketball roster 2023-24: Who will Jeff Walz start
