When Rachael Rose stripped the ball away from Khamil Pierre and then connected on a fast break layup, it was easy to see the energy shift inside Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum with about two minutes left to play.
The swipe-and-score gave Clemson a 10-point advantage against mighty North Carolina State, and the Tigers would hold that margin to defeat the Wolfpack 75-65 on Thursday night. It was the first time Clemson had beaten NC State in women’s basketball since 2011, snapping a 16-game losing streak in the series for the Tigers, and served as a statement win for coach Shawn Poppie in his second season at the helm.
“I feel like we got a gritty group. Bunch of scrappy kids. It’s slowly building confidence as this thing’s gone on. Part of getting over a hump is you got to believe,” Poppie told USA Today Sports. “They think they’re good, they’re seeing the results. We’re a heck (of) a lot better today than we were in November, that’s for sure.”
Beyond just being a signature victory for Clemson, the moment could be interpreted as an avatar for the increased parity across women’s college basketball during a season in which upsets haven’t been hard to find.
Just look at the results in the past week: Oregon defeated USC, Cincinnati got over Iowa State, Ole Miss won at Oklahoma, and Alabama took down Kentucky. Elsewhere in the sport, two unlikely programs — Vanderbilt and Texas Tech — remain undefeated and have stormed into the national rankings. The Red Raiders haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and the Commodores haven’t won a game in March Madness since the same year.
The increased parity in the sport can be attributed to many elements, but one rises above all else. The transfer portal and freedom of movement for players has leveled the playing field and allowed coaches to flip rosters quickly and fast-track what would have been lengthy rebuilds just a few years ago.
Clemson is a prime example.
“Part of the parity is, some of these kids, instead of sitting and watching, they want to play. And they’re good players. And so, that has helped in our case,” Poppie said. “The other side of it is, some mid-major kids that want to come and prove themselves at a higher level get the opportunity. And we’re in a position to take some of those kids that have a chip on their shoulder and can compete at a high level.
“It’s allowed us to compete in a heck of a conference in the ACC again.”
After working under Kenny Brooks for six years and helping build Virginia Tech into a team that would reach the Final Four in 2023, Poppie spent two seasons as the head coach at Chattanooga, where he went to NCAA Tournaments in both seasons. Ahead of last season, he was hired at Clemson to revive a program that had been to March Madness just once since 2002.
Poppie transformed the roster, bringing in 11 newcomers — 10 of them transfers. Clemson improved marginally on the court last season, but also captured a meaningful win in the ACC Tournament by defeating Stanford. The Tigers also set a program record for 3-pointers made in a single season, embracing the identity he wanted them to adopt. Ahead of this season, Poppie reshaped the roster again, bringing in three freshmen and six transfers.
One of those transfers was Rose, who missed most of last season at Wofford with a leg injury.
A decade ago, Rose would have likely spent her entire college basketball career at USC Upstate, where she played as a freshman. The transfer portal didn’t exist until 2018, and before 2021 non-graduate students had to sit out a full season after transferring to a new school in most cases. That rule discouraged transferring and made roster flipping difficult.
But Rose — and countless other players — have taken advantage of the new system.
When her coach at USC Upstate, Becky Burke, left for Buffalo in 2022, Rose bolted too and transferred to Wofford. In the 2023-24 season, as a junior, she was seventh in the nation in scoring with 22.3 points per game and led the Terriers to an appearance in the SoCon tournament title game, where they lost to Poppie’s Chattanooga.
Since she only appeared in five games before her injury last season, Rose got an extra year of eligibility. After graduating from Wofford, she elected to stay in South Carolina and spend her final year of college hoops with Poppie at Clemson.
“I think for us, (the transfer portal) is something we’ll always try to utilize. I don’t want to necessarily build our program off of that. I think we’ve had the most success out of the kids we know,” Poppie said. “Like in Rachael’s case, competing against her for two years at Chattanooga. I saw what kind of a competitor she was. … I’ve stayed up plenty of nights trying to figure out how the heck we’re going to guard her.”
And now, she’s helping the Tigers win crucial games in the ACC.
“She’s just playing aggressive again,” Poppie said. “It’s nice that she’s seen the ball go through the basket a little bit. That helps your confidence as well. But the kid has always been a competitor.”
Rose had a season-high 19 points in the victory over NC State, which is Clemson’s second Quad 1 victory of the year. Clemson is 12-5 overall and 3-2 in ACC play, and looks like a team that could sneak into the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, Rose isn’t the only transfer shining for Clemson. Rusne Augustinaite is among the ACC’s leaders in 3-point shooting, hitting at a 42.9% clip, and played last season at Georgia Tech. Mia Moore played at Mississippi State and UAB before landing with the Tigers. Leading rebounder Hadley Periman came to Clemson from Tulsa.
Across the sport, programs are using transfers to reach new heights.
Texas Tech, which is off to its best start in program history, got its second-leading scorer from Ole Miss and its leader in assists from Campbell. Vanderbilt is led by high-scoring sophomore Mikayla Blakes, but also starts two transfers. The top scorer for Ole Miss is Cotie McMahon, who played three seasons at Ohio State. Mia Jacobs — who, like Rose, is on her third collegiate team — tallied 11 points and five assists in Oregon’s upset of No. 21 USC. Cincinnati’s best scorer in its win over No. 13 Iowa State was Mya Perry, who played her last two seasons at FAU. And for Alabama, former NC State guard Jessica Timmons was its top scorer in its victory against No. 7 Kentucky.
“I think there are a lot of those stories out there. I think we have a handful on our roster right now where the portal is a good thing,” Poppie said. “And I give my staff a lot of credit. You know, as these names come through, we’re not just going for kids chasing money or for the wrong reasons. We’re getting the ones that are in there for the right reasons and giving them an experience here at Clemson that I think is first class.”
Six of the last eight national championship-winning teams in women’s basketball have had at least one transfer in their starting lineup. As transfers continue to be impactful, that’s likely a trend that will continue.