Florida women’s basketball lost the final prized piece of a recruiting class Tuesday.
Me’Arah O’Neal officially announced she is entering the transfer portal, leaving the Gators with just one returning player – Jada Weathersby – for Tammi Reiss’ maiden voyage.
The daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, Me’Arah was a McDonald’s All-American in 2024. The native of Houston, she committed to Florida under prior coach Kelly Rae Finley. The 33rd ranked prospect in the Class of 2024, O’Neal’s commitment – along with Liv McGill – gave UF its best recruiting class in program history.
McGill announced her departure from UF last Monday and officially transferred to Oklahoma State Tuesday after she was first-team All-SEC and an All-American Honorable Mention in 2025.
O’Neal never took off in the same way that McGill did, but the 6-foot-4 forward still had a breakout season in 2025-26. She started all 33 games and averaged 13.6 points per game along with 6.4 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three.
Reiss has secured two transfers in the portal. Buter’s Mallory Miller transferred in Monday, followed by Rhode Island’s Vanessa Harris Tuesday morning.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1 and on Instagram @Ramreporter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida women’s basketball’s Me’Arah O’Neal, daughter of Shaq, enters transfer portal
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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