Kiki Iriafen transferring to USC after breakout year at Stanford, will team up with JuJu Watkins
Stanford breakout Kiki Iriafen has picked her new team. After two weeks in the transfer portal, Iriafen told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that she’s chosen USC for the 2024-2025 NCAA season.
Just in: Former Stanford F Kiki Iriafen — the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft — has committed to the USC Trojans, she tells ESPN. Iriafen will return to her LA home to team with Juju Watkins on a national title contender for coach Lindsay Gottlieb. pic.twitter.com/MAnmUfyENY
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 28, 2024
Iriafen posted a link to Woj’s report on her Instagram Story, and she also edited the poster from the movie “Dreamgirls” into a USC team-up image, with the heads of Iriafen and USC standouts JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall replacing the heads of the film’s stars.
Iriafen, a Los Angeles native, had a meteoric rise in women’s college basketball this year. She was Stanford’s leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points, 11 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a junior this past season, shooting 54.6% from the field and a career-high 77.3% on free throws. She was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player, but “most improved” might be underselling it. In her sophomore year Iriafen averaged 6.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game. In the span of just one season, she doubled or nearly tripled her core numbers.
That’s exactly the kind of help USC needs to get over the hump and win another national championship. Seeded No. 1 going into 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans were stopped in the Elite Eight, losing 80-73 to No. 3 UConn.
Stanford underwent a lot of change this offseason. Cameron Brink, the team’s second-highest scorer, was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks. Longtime head coach Tara Van Der Veer retired and was replaced by assistant coach Kate Paye. With Iriafen potentially jumping into the WNBA draft in 2025 (where she could be a No. 1 pick), she’s got one more chance to win a national title. Teaming up with Watkins, one of the sports most talented young players, she’s got the best opportunity of her career.