The Iowa State women’s basketball team entered the offseason with one goal in mind — rebuild the roster.
The Cyclones have plenty to work to do after the season ended and the bulk of the team moving on.
Nine players on last season’s roster, including four starters, announced they were hitting the transfer portal.
Guards Arianna Jackson and Evangelia Paulk said they plan to come back to Iowa State. Fellow guard Freya Jensen originally planned to enter the portal, but changed her mind.
That leaves plenty of spots for the Cyclones to fill.
Here’s a look at the Cyclones who have revealed their plans to transfer, along with Iowa State’s incoming transfers.
Iowa State roster additions through the transfer portal
Mya Babbitt
Babbitt, a guard from Kent State, was the first to announce her plans to come to Iowa State. The rising senior guard has one season of eligibility remaining and gives the Cyclones some scoring and experience.
During Babbitt’s three seasons at Kent State, she started 60 of the 84 games she played in, averaging 11 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
She set the school’s single-season record for made 3-pointers with 83 as a sophomore, and is coming off her best season, averaging 16.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a contest.
Gift Ezekiel
Ezekiel is a 6-foot-1 center from Florida who announced on Instagram on April 14 that she committed to Iowa State. She gives the Cyclones some much-needed help in the frontcourt.
Ezekiel played in 31 games for Florida last season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Ashleigh Connor
Connor began her collegiate career at Saint Louis but moved on to La Salle where she really shined. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 13.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 42 games, all starts there.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native is coming off her best season yet when she averaged a career-high 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field.
Connor, who redshirted her first season at Saint Louis, has one season of eligibility remaining.
Alex-Anne Bessette
The 6-foot-2 guard/forward spent one season at Loyola but was a star. Anne Bessette averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 33 games including 33 starts.
The Canada native was tenacious on defense as well, blocking a team-high 29 shots and recording 36 steals in 30.1 minutes per game.
Iowa State outgoing transfers, departures
Reese Beaty
Beaty, a 5-foot-8 freshman guard, made an immediate impact during her first collegiate season, appearing in 27 games and making two starts. She averaged 4.6 points per game while shooting 37.7% from the floor.
She handed out 90 assists and ranked in the top 100 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.80). She announced on social media that she plans to transfer to Mississippi State.
Alisa Williams
Williams came to Iowa State from LSU, where she was a part of a national title team. After redshirting her first season, Williams moved into a role backing up Iowa State star Audi Crooks, adding valuable depth the last two seasons.
She played in 32 games last season and made two starts while averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game before announcing she was leaving.
Williams announced she’ll play next season at Indiana.
Jada Williams
The other Williams on Iowa State’s roster spent just one season with the Cyclones after coming to Ames from Arizona. She turned into one of the best point guards in the country, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors by averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
She took over the starting spot for Emily Ryan and became a star, ranking in the top five nationally in both season assists and assists per game. Williams also delivered one of the best performances in program history, tallying an Iowa State Big 12 game and Hilton Coliseum record 44 points on 15-of-22 shooting against Cincinnati.
She announced that she plans to play at LSU.
Lilly Taulelei
Taulelei began her career at UMass but then transferred to Iowa State, where she’s spent the past two seasons providing depth in the post for the Cyclones. She appeared in 43 games over the last two seasons, averaging just 1.9 points in only 4.9 minutes per game.
Taulelei signed to play at Rice.
Kenzie Hare
Hare began her collegiate career at Marquette, where she was an elite 3-point shooter, but never got into a rhythm at Iowa State. A hip injury limited her to just 10 games during the 2024-25 season. Hare redshirted that season and returned the following season as a starter.
She averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds and hit one of the biggest shots of the season, knocking down a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Kansas.
Reagan Wilson
Wilson was an important player off the bench at times for Iowa State. She appeared in 59 games during her two seasons with the Cyclones and made three starts. Wilson, a high-energy guard who began her sophomore season buried on the bench, battled for brief playing time and finished the campaign with 2.5 points in 9 minutes per game.
Wilson announced on April 13 that she committed to Toledo.
Addy Brown
Brown, a McDonald’s All-American out of high school, was one of Iowa State’s biggest recruiting wins and it showed. She earned a starting spot right away as a freshman and turned into one of the most versatile players in the country.
Brown started all 89 games she played in during her career at Iowa State and did a little bit of everything, averaging 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. During her junior season, she tallied the school’s first triple-double in over a decade.
A lower-body injury forced Brown to miss 11 games and the Cyclones suffered during her time on the sideline.
Aili Tanke
Tanke was a big pickup out of Johnston High School. During her freshman season, she played in 32 games and made six starts. But the following season, her playing time diminished with Tanke appearing in just 12 games and averaging only 0.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per contest.
Audi Crooks
Crooks was the biggest loss for the Cyclones in the transfer portal. The Algona native was a star on and off the court for the Cyclones as a popular player, with fans flocking to see her. Crooks usually delivered, averaging 22.8 points per game during her 99 games with the Cyclones.
The multi-time All-American led the Big 12 in scoring and set Iowa State’s single-season scoring and field goal records.
She broke the school’s single-game scoring record multiple times and still has the mark after tallying 47 points on 19-of-25 shooting during a victory against Indiana.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tracking Iowa State women’s basketball adds, departures in transfer portal
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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