It's been just under two months since Indiana’s season ended in the NCAA tournament as we head into the summer months waiting for the Hoosiers to take the court once again in late fall. It is still relatively early in the off-season with Indiana being active in the early stage of the portal but with a few remaining spots on the roster, we can take of look at what the Hoosiers currently have and what pieces they will receive at the start of the 2023 season.
WHO'S LEAVING?
Indiana losing four players from this past year's team. The biggest loss for Indiana is the reigning All-American and recent top-10 WNBA draft pick, Grace Berger. Berger alongside Mackenzie Holmes, led the charge this past season for the Hoosiers and was their biggest weapon. She is coming off her fourth straight season averaging more than 10 points per game as she averaged 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists this past year. Berger is obviously Indiana's biggest loss and it will be hard to replace her but it was bound to happen as her talent was clearly ready for the next level.
The other three players that are leaving were role players for coach Teri Moren. Alyssa Geary will not return due to graduation after having transferred over to Indiana from Providence for her fifth and final year as a graduate transfer.
Kiandra Browne and Mona Zaric are also leaving the team after both entered the portal shortly after the season ended. Browne entered the portal back on March 29 and then later announced that she would be transferring to Duquesne University. Browne spent the past two seasons with the Hoosiers appearing in 30 games last year.
Zaric announced that she would enter her name in the portal on March. 28 one day before Browne did. Zaric averaged 4.6 minutes this season with 1.0 points per game this season playing in 14 games all of which coming off the bench. In her freshman season, Zaric only saw 10 minutes of play with the Hoosiers.
WHO'S COMING IN?
With the way that the current roster stands, Indiana has four scholarship spots open. They have looked at a few players from the portal like Iowa State transfer Lexi Donarski but the Hoosiers missed and are yet to land anyone from the portal.
The two sure additions are upcoming freshmen guards with a lot of promise. Lenee Beaumont and Jules LaMendola are both four-star recruits who landed in ESPN’s 2023 HoopGurlz recruiting rankings.
Beaumont had a stellar senior season with Benet Academy averaging 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. She was named Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Illinois and finished the year ranked as the No. 83 recruit in the country.
A lot of the same can be said for LaMendola. The 6-foot-1 guard is the higher-ranked recruit between the two coming in at No. 52 in ESPN's rankings. Her senior season with Coppell High School saw her average 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game as she lead her school to the state tournament for the first time in her school's history. LaMendola also received Gatorade Player of the Year in her respective state being named Player of the Year in Texas.
Together, Beaumont and LaMendola combine for the No. 20 recruiting class in the country.
The good news for Hoosiers fans is that Indiana will be bringing back the majority of their roster from their historic season. The main core of Holmes, Sydney Parrish, Sara Scalia, and Yarden Garzon return for another chance as a top team in the country but Moren and her staff continue to look to fill the few remaining spots.
Indiana has had some involvement since the portal opened but with it only being the first week of May, the conversations will start to heat back up as we get deeper into the summer.
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