Transferpalooza: COVID-19 causes transfer portal chaos (women’s edition)

Earlier this week, I published the men’s edition of “Transferpalooza: COVID-19 causes transfer portal chaos.” Now, let’s discuss some impactful transfers on the women’s side. While there isn’t any scholarship jockeying happening for the women (they're either on a full-ride scholarship or nothing), there are still a lot of impactful transfers who will make an immediate difference at their new programs.

No list discussing impactful transfers is complete without Janice Tjen, the rising sophomore who has transferred from Oregon to Pepperdine. I can’t recall any recent transfers ranking as high as #6 at the season’s finish; that’s extremely rare to see. She’s not listed here because she made my “5 women’s players to watch this season” article last week. With that said, let’s discuss three other women who will have an immediate impact on their new programs.

1. Ayana Akli (Maryland → South Carolina)

Ayana Akli was recruited by South Carolina in high school, but decided to stay in her home state of Maryland to play collegiate tennis. Akli has clearly re-evaluated that decision after being Maryland’s standout player for two seasons -- a team that, despite Akli’s impressive personal record, still went an unimpressive 3-16 this season. Akli will be joining the Gamecocks with three seasons of eligibility remaining. 

Maryland’s unimpressive team performance didn’t stop Akli from having stellar results in her two years on campus. She went a combined 36-7 in singles, playing all of her dual matches at the #1 position. Akli became the first Terrapin in school history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2020. She achieved a career-high ranking of #29 this March and ended her season losing a close, 3-set match in the second round of the NCAA singles championships to 6th seeded Anna Rogers (NC State).

There’s no doubt Akli is joining a better program with South Carolina; however, South Carolina had a down year in 2021. They went a mediocre 12-12 after a historic run in 2019, where the Gamecocks won the SEC tournament and made their second-ever NCAA QF. To add insult to injury after this 2021 season, South Carolina is losing three of their top 4: #1 Horvit and #4 Chinellato graduated, and #3 Shelton transferred to Florida. Suffice it to say that Akli’s transfer comes at a key time for the South Carolina program, and I expect her to play immediately at the top of the lineup. In addition to Akli, it’s worth noting that Sarah Hamner, the #1 recruit in the class of 2021, will join South Carolina as a freshman this year. South Carolina still lacks the roster depth needed to make another deep NCAA run, but Akli and Hamner are setting the foundation for a successful future. 

2. Layne Sleeth (Florida → Oklahoma)

Sleeth joines the Sooners after two years at Florida where she was ranked as high as #54 in the ITA rankings. Overall, it was a fairly disappointing 2 seasons for the former #36 ranked junior in the world. During her two seasons, Florida, the 7-time NCAA team champion, wasn’t playing at a national-title contender level. They were 2-2 in the SEC season before COVID shut down the season in 2020 (Sleeth didn’t play in any dual matches), and they lost in the R32 at the NCAA team tournament in May 2021. So, while Sleeth went 9-1 in 2021, she primarily played at the #4 position. Given Florida’s poor season, and her position in the lower portion of the lineup, Sleeth wasn’t on my radar as a transfer to watch until her summer results. 

Sleeth beat former ITA #1 Katarina Jokic (UGA) 6-4, 6-4 in qualifying at the $25K Sumter in June and took #87 in the world, Potapova, to three-sets in the Montreal qualifying first round this month. Oklahoma returns the majority of their roster from last season -- a roster that earned Oklahoma its best season in almost a decade. So, assuming Sleeth keeps up her level from this summer (plus the fact that Oklahoma adds another transfer in Alexandra Pisareva, who went 9-1 at the #1 position for Appalachian state), I’m expecting Oklahoma to compete hard against Texas in some Big-12 battles. 

3. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (Oklahoma State → San Diego State)

In one of the truly most puzzling transfers this season (maybe ever?), Bunyawi Thamchaiwat transfers from Oklahoma State to San Diego State as a graduate transfer with 2 remaining seasons of eligibility. Thamchaiwat has a long list of accolades: All-American, R16 at the NCAA singles championships, 2021 Big 12 Player of the Year, #17 in the ITA rankings -- she’s consistently been at the top of the women’s game and is coming off of her best season ever. The point is, if Thamchaiwat wanted to transfer, there isn’t a school in the country that wouldn’t have been interested. So, to leave the Big-12, a Power 5 conference, to join a school that finished 5-9 last season in the low-level Mountain West conference and enroll in a generic graduate program (Interdisciplinary Studies) ranks up there as one of the more stunning decisions I’ve seen in college tennis. The only connection I could find between Thamchaiwat and SDSU is that Thamchaiwat’s former teammate at Oklahoma State, Tamara Arnold, transferred to SDSU after the 2019 season. Despite the oddity, this transfer is fantastic news for SDSU. Thamchaiwat will have an immediate impact on their program, both in terms of results next season and in their ability to recruit better players.